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Introduction

Keighley, a town in West Yorkshire, stands at the cusp of significant regeneration with a focus on transport and housing. Bradford Council, in collaboration with CBRE and the Keighley Town Board, sought to engage the local community to shape the town’s future and attract strategic investment. Faced with tight deadlines and the need for inclusive engagement, PlaceChangers was selected to deliver a digital-first consultation. By leveraging PlaceChangers’ interactive platform, the council aimed to gather actionable insights and innovative ideas that would feed into Keighley’s development framework and serve as a foundation for future funding bids.

Challenges

Bradford Council faced several challenges in their consultation approach for Keighley’s regeneration. Traditional methods, such as static surveys, were no longer sufficient for fostering meaningful engagement, particularly given the need for rapid feedback and broad participation. A key priority was ensuring accessibility for diverse community members while capturing both known concerns and fresh ideas.
Additionally, with only two weeks to conduct the consultation, efficiency and scalability were critical. The council also required tools that allowed for independent reporting and the synthesis of insights, as manual analysis would be impractical under time constraints. Overcoming these hurdles would determine the success of Keighley’s Vision preparation and the prioritisation of projects.

Solutions

Using PlaceChangers, CBRE conducted a two-week online consultation that engaged 573 participants, generated 2,052 responses, and collected 90 new ideas. The platform’s interactive tools, including spatial mapping and guided project tours, enabled participants to provide location-specific feedback, creating what one user described as ‘micro-conversations.’
Promotion through local press, social media, and leaflets ensured widespread community awareness. The platform’s user-friendly design allowed residents to easily contribute their thoughts on proposed projects, even within the short timeframe. Automated analysis tools distilled results into concise insights, which were presented to council stakeholders regularly, significantly improving efficiency compared to traditional methods.

Results

The consultation exceeded expectations, yielding a comprehensive and well-informed long list of projects. Existing proposals were refined based on community input, while previously unconsidered ideas received strong support, highlighting new opportunities for development. The council praised the platform’s cost-effectiveness, speed of deployment, and ease of use, noting positive feedback from both residents and officers.
This successful consultation provided evidence-based data to underpin funding applications and future community collaboration.

The feedback was excellent, I received complimentary comments from both Council officers and members of the public, who agreed on how easy it was to engage with the platform.

Michelle Rushworth
Regeneration Manager, Bradford Council

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