Public and stakeholder consultations help major infrastructure projects to refine and improve their proposals before applying for planning consent.

Proper consultation means a planning application is more likely to be accepted. That’s because any issues can be identified early and either resolved or lessened, so there’s less likely to be opposition.

For schemes requiring national planning consent, Network Rail is required to demonstrate that adequate consultation has taken place with stakeholders and communities that would be affected. We must also show that we’ve listened to feedback.

As part of the formal application process, we have to prepare and submit a report summarising what consultation there has been.

It’s the law that we should consult beforehand, but that’s not the only reason why we do it. Sometimes, smaller-scale schemes may require more straightforward planning permission. However, they may potentially have great impact on a community – and may therefore also affect Network Rail’s reputation. 

So even if public consultation might not always be legally required, involving a community at an early stage in the development of proposals is a good idea. You should assess each scheme and the merits of consultation individually.

A public consultation will often be the first time we communicate plans for a new scheme to the public. In some cases, it might be a community’s first direct exposure to Network Rail. It’s therefore important that we communicate carefully and clearly with communities which may be affected by any of our proposals.