The 25-year, Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority’s (GMWDA) PFI Waste Management Contract is the largest of its kind in Europe. Remarkable was appointed to provide an integrated community and stakeholder consultation programme in support of the community consultation required by Viridor/Laing as the preferred bidder for the £3.8 billion Greater Manchester 25-year PFI contract.
The Brief
The sheer scale of development involved in the GMWDA project, involved consultation on a massive scale.
Remarkable was tasked with ensuring that local residents and all stakeholders were provided with information about proposals for some 20 new and upgraded waste management sites across all the boroughs of Greater Manchester.
As well as creating and distributing clear, simple explanatory information about the contract and the individual facilities, it would be necessary to manage media interest and capture and respond to individual queries.
The Solution
Remarkable created an integrated communications programme, drawing on the expertise and experience of its property and planning, public relations, and marketing and design teams.
The overarching strategic approach involved the creation of an attractive and informative campaign with strong visual identity, built on a solid foundation of research, and with a high level of individual contact through an extensive programme of public exhibitions and one to one stakeholder briefings.
Key activities involved the preparation of a detailed political audit to establish a full understanding of the nature and imperatives driving the local authorities in whose areas waste facilities would be improved or built. Mailing lists of local residents and influencers were prepared to facilitate a programme of public exhibitions and briefings.
Communications materials specific to 20 sites were prepared, including web pages, leaflets, display panels, letters, advertisements, and news releases. The Remarkable team handled all distribution and ongoing follow up activity that was required as each planning application came to committee.
In one instance Remarkable provided issues management backup for the media when a single proposal was opposed by local residents in an area not previously used for waste management.
Results
In April 2009, the GMWDA contract was signed. Over the life of the contract it is estimated to be worth £3.8 billion to Viridor Laing.
While successful consultation was only one part of a massive and complex effort needed to close the deal, engagement with local communities across Greater Manchester proved fundamental in creating a positive climate for the proposals.
With the main thrust of the programme on direct communications, Remarkable consistently recorded positive responses from attendees at exhibitions and public and stakeholder briefings.
We were regularly complemented on the quality of the leaflets, and other communications materials.
