North West Hydro Resource Model

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Hydro Resource Evaluation Tool

public acceptability and engagement

How should I go about engaging the public?

Have you identified all the relevant people?

Beyond the people who have to be contacted through the permissions processes of planning and an abstraction licence, there are other ‘stakeholders’ and interested parties who it would be advisable to contact from the outset.
The following is a ‘checklist’ of the main constituencies and stakeholders that you must ensure you have contacted early on in your engagement process:

• Landowner (a lease will have to be arranged)
• Environment Agency, including the Permits/Consents Unit, Fisheries and Water Resources
• Local Authority, including Conservation officer, Development control, Planning Department, and any interested or supportive councillors.
• Grid Provider
• ‘Customers’ for energy – either a company that will arrange a PPA (Power Purchase Arrangement), or a grid-connected building near to the site.
• Press and media, local, national and special interest (environmental, ‘green’, social enterprise and energy-related)
• Anglers/fisheries
• Highways Agency
• British Waterways (if a canal is involved)
• Interested
• “The Public”
• Local: local residents; local businesses via Chamber of Commerce; local landowners; local ‘greens’, including FoE; schools’ forum; PTA; Churches Forum; WI; Rotary Club; local politicians
• Regional/National: County-wide ‘greens’; FoE Regional coordinators; non-local green investors; investors in similar projects elsewhere [last two lists from a presentation by H20PE]

The diagram below is reproduced courtesy of H20PE, and shows the stakeholders involved in project development.

 

H20PE suggest the following advice on how to approach the above local/regional/national stakeholders/potential shareholders, who can form a ‘support base’: “In view of a limited budget  adopt a PR-led, as opposed to an advertising-led, strategy, focussing on press, personal contact via email and newsletters, use of websites and word of mouth, building awareness at a local level”