Consultation paves way for 1,460 new homes in Margate
Our team led community engagement for a major housing development in Margate, which secured outline consent in 2025.
About the project
Thanet district is not alone in facing a huge housing challenge. Demand for homes of all types in the district has surged in receny years. The local council spends millions of pounds each year on temporary accommodation to vulnerably housed residents.
Axis Land Partnerships asked us to lead engagement on plans for 1,461 homes at Nash Lane, Margate. The 22 hectare site benefitted from an allocation in Thanet District Council’s local plan, which sets out where homes and jobs should go in the period up to 2031.
But the team faced local concerns around new development and infrastructure provision, which needed sensitive handling.
Our support drew on three principles for consultation for housing development to provide clarity, strong connection points and avenues for two-way communication.
What we did
Working with an amazing project team, our successful consultation engaged thousands of local households and businesses to shape the vision and inform the scheme’s progress.
Storytelling drove our consultation strategy from the outset. We created a new brand and identity for the site – called Humber’s Mill – which drew on the area’s historic landmarks.
Our media engagement highlighted the development’s human impact and explained its support for the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
And our communication programme provided options for local people and businesses to engage the project team online, offline and in person.
The engagement included...
- Direct contact with important stakeholders, including local councillors, business leaders and Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale, who we met in London to discuss the project.
- Creating a new website that acted as a hub for the consultation. The site clearly explaining the masterplan and key information about the project and provided opportunities to give feedback through a survey or contact the team. The website received more than 6,500 unique visits during the consultation period.
- Two Facebook campaigns to drive visits to the project website and encourage people to attend community events. These sponsored campaigns generated more than 4,000 visits to the project website during the consultation.
- We wrote, designed and distributed a leaflet and newsletter to more than 2,000 households in the area.
- We built a GDPR-compliant email list with almost 150 subscribers, who received three updates during the consultation.
- Local media engagement, with positive coverage secured in local and regional titles generating links back to the project website.
- A consultation event at Margate Football Club with consultation boards and members of the project team, attended by 64 people.
- Two webinars on the proposals, accessed by around 50 people.
Outcomes
- Our public consultation gave every household and business in the area an opportunity to engage in the proposals – online, in writing and in person.
- During the consultation, hundreds of people engaged in discussions on the plans for Humber’s Mill.
- The feedback received shaped important revisions to the application around infrastructure and green space at Humber’s Mill.
- Thanet District Council granted outline consent for 1,461 homes at Humber’s Mill in 2025, with just 15 objections formally lodged against the proposals.
Hundreds of conversations with residents, stakeholders and businesses
Unique visitors to the project website during the consultation
Outline consent granted for 1,461 new and affordable homes at Humber’s Mill
What the client said
“It was important to us that people had the opportunity to engage meaningfully in our ambitions for this important site.
“Ben’s team led this process for us well, ensuring our proposals were clearly communicated and sensitively handled.
“This was an outstanding effort by the project team. I’m grateful to everyone who took the time to engage in these proposals.”
Phil Grant, Director at Axis Land Partmnerships.
Consultation for housing development
“This project is a brilliant example of what can be achieved with a clear vision and a team that works together to achieve it.
“We thoroughly enjoyed working with Phil and the team on the Humber’s Mill project. I’m delighted to have supported efforts to make a positive difference here.”
Distinctive director and founder, Ben Lowndes.
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