As the building industry is looking at ways it can continue to operate through the coming months, our Chelgate Local division has assembled an engagement package that takes direct contact out of the process but still enables effective consultations to take place. With most people confined to their homes, an effective campaign will be able to maximise outreach into the community and to engage hard-to-reach groups. We have created a combination of measures to promote the consultation as widely as possible within the local communities. These include direct mail to their homes, providing multiple channels for responses, increased social […]

  A great deal has happened since Chelgate decided to close its offices and move to home working’ on 10th March in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. We took an early decision to avoid travel and meetings and protect our staff, clients and prospects as the underlying spread of the virus was not being recognised or reported. Subsequent statements by the Government on 20th March and this week have sought to protect the NHS and save lives asking us all to, as far as possible, stay at home. Our teams are effectively working remotely. We have had access to […]

  Like any landscape, social media is full of potential friends, antagonists, and personalities that lie somewhere in-between. Normally there’s nothing to worry about. Posting an article or commenting on a link is like walking along a Hawaiian beach: you might step on a rock or shell, but most of the time you’ll just feel the warmth of the sand beneath your feet. Of course, when it comes to the management of your or your company’s online reputation, things are much more consequential. Given the hyperspeed with which masses of users tend to distort and disseminate information, a rumour, insinuation, […]

  The impact of the Coronavirus on planning process, housing pledges in spring 2020 budget, Sevenoaks local plan is dead, should beauty be at the centre of our planning system and how the Environment Bill is likely to impact the planning system.   Housing Pledges in 2020 Spring Budget (The impact of the Coronavirus on planning process) By Kasia Banas, Account Director With the budget focused on the response to the Coronavirus crisis, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak did not have much space left for housing announcements, something the industry has got used to over the years. The key pledges consist […]

Social media, despite its blessings of connectivity and information-sharing, has also created a never-ending torrent of new problems and issues. Cruising through the rough seas of Twitter and Facebook can sometimes seem like a Sisyphean task. You send out a well-meaning message, only to be shouted down and condemned by angry strangers. You reply to a post and trolls – like hydra heads – rise up to sink in their fangs. Why all the negativity? Is everyone really out for blood or do threads and feeds just bring out our inner werewolf? According to a recent study by University of […]

International Issues and Crisis Management Consultants, Chelgate Ltd have announced a switch to “minimal presence staffing” at the company’s London Headquarters.   In a memo to staff Chelgate Executive Chairman, Terence Fane-Saunders said that the company would be making “important changes to the way we work, in order to protect our staff, our clients and our business contacts. “Public transport is potentially a petri dish for the virus, and I want to minimise the degree to which people are required to expose themselves to this risk. I also want to minimise the risks created by unnecessarily bringing together groups of […]