Our client Ellandi commissioned Pagoda to protect the vitality and viability of a designated District Centre in Blaydon from a speculative development of retail that was on an edge centre site. We created and implemented a strategy of communication with local and strategic councillors, ensuring they understood the threat the speculative proposals were to the existing centre and its support for the local community as a resource.
Through working with third party advocates such as local and national retailers who would face a potential loss of footfall, we built a body of opposition to the proposals. We further created a suite of resources that these organisations could use in communication with the local council, which supported the many objections received from household name retailers.
The objections supported efforts by local councillors to demonstrate business support for a rejection of the development at committee. Collectively, this ensured the speculative applicant would withdraw the proposals in advance of going to Planning Committee.
