What was the brief?
As part of its emerging Local Plan, Charnwood Borough Council (CBC) is developing a new Design Code to help guide future development and ensure high-quality design in the area.
The Design Code will set clear expectations for new developments, much like the Highway Code does for road users. It aims to enhance the quality of new buildings and public spaces while streamlining the planning process.
CBC was keen to ask residents, businesses, and stakeholders to share their views on the design of buildings, streets, and public spaces across the borough, pinpointing their views on an interactive map.
What did we do?
We created a digital platform that included an interactive map for visitors to ‘tag’ suggestions, ideas and observations to public spaces and streets across the Borough. In collaboration with CBC officers and Loughborough University researchers, the structure, content and user journey of the interactive map was refined to make it as easy-to-use and informative as possible for members of the public.
The website was custom branded to match CBC’s established corporate brand guidelines and identity, and provided key information on the project background and a contact form for users to get in touch with officers if they had any questions or queries. As with all public sector websites, it was designed to meet WCAG 2.2 AA web accessibility guidelines.
The Participatr platform automatically summarised the comments received, using our in-built AI-enabled open text analysis feature, meaning that all 579 comments submitted were summarised and coded the same day as the public participation period concluded. This AI-generated analysis was included in a summary report compiled by Participatr.
What was the outcome?
- 579 tags added to the interactive map
- 209 ‘likes’ made on tags submitted by others
- 233 participants in total
- 1,398 visitors to the ‘Shaping Charnwood’ digital platform
- 59% of visitors used mobile devices (tablets or smartphones)
The Shaping Charnwood digital platform - click to enlarge