Residential Amenity Space and Place Quality SPD (Supplementary Planning Document): Brent Council

How are the public involved in the evaluation?

Co-production and Public and Community Involvement and Engagement (PCI-E) has been key to the design of this project. This was initially facilitated through the development of a Task and Finish Group consisting of four academic partners, four practitioners from Brent planning and public health teams and one public representative whose role was to ensure good PCIE. This group met bi-weekly during the first 12 weeks of the project.  

The study protocol has been co-produced with the practitioners and public partners. Co-production occurred during several research management group meetings, and in an in-person meeting in Brent to finalise research questions and methods. Brent Council officers also provided tours of different housing developments during this trip to allow researchers and the public representative to familiarise themselves with the context.  

Going forward we will form an advisory group to contribute to our co-production processes and provide expert advice including on PCIE. This group will meet quarterly from May 2024. 

Public involvement and co-production will be prioritised throughout the project through the involvement of public partners on the study management and advisory groups and the creation of a PPI panel comprised of Brent residents. These public partners, alongside practitioners, will contribute to the co-production of study materials, such as information sheets and consent forms. They will also help with interpretation of study data and enhancing dissemination materials and plans.

Lay summary of research

Brent Council are trying to improve the places where people live. They want all new developments to improve health and wellbeing and people's sense of community. They also want the developments to include everyone and be vibrant spaces. For example, they could include community gardens and children's playgrounds.  

There are four changes that the council have brought in: 

1. Guidance for new developments about the quality and amount of space for residents to use. This includes private gardens and balconies. The name of this guidance is the Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).  

2. People who want to build new developments have to complete a form. In this form they will have to explain what they will do to meet the guidance. 

3. Training for planning officers to decide if the applications meet the guidance.  

4. People writing planning applications will get feedback from a group of community members. The name of this group is the Community Review Panel.  

Taken together, these changes are called the Place Quality Intervention. 

The main aims of this study are: 

• To see how well the Place Quality Intervention is used in the planning application process. 

• To look at the collaboration between the public health and planning teams in Brent Council.  

• To see if any unplanned good or bad things happen as a result of the changes.  

Research questions: 

1. Are the new guidelines applied by people when preparing, submitting and assessing applications? These people can include planning officers, planning applicants and committees/panel members. 

2. Does consideration of health and wellbeing in planning applications vary depending on certain factors? These factors include;  

• Was the application approved? 

• Who submitted the application?  

• Was the application submitted before the Place Quality Intervention was in place? 

3. Do people think using the Place Quality Intervention will cause unplanned things to happen? These people can include planning officers, planning applicants and committees/panel members. 

4. Since using the Place Quality Intervention, how have council teams been working together? These teams include the planning team and the public health team in Brent Council.  

The study will use a range of methods including: 

·       Observations of meetings 

·       Looking at documents relating to planning 

·       Assessments of planning officers’ understanding of the guidance 

·       Interviews with different people related to planning  

We will try to understand the viewpoints of people involved in the planning process. These people will include: 

• members of staff at Brent Council who work in planning and in public health, 

• members of the public on the Brent Community Review Panel who look at and feedback on planning applications during face-to-face meetings, 

• members of staff at the external company who organise the Brent Community Review Panel, 

• developers/planning applicants, 

• expert members of the Brent Quality Review Panel who look at and feedback on planning applications during face to face meetings, 

• local elected members, such as cabinet members and ward counsellors.