COALFACE™

COALFACE™ is a UK-based planning communications and stakeholder engagement consultancy that works primarily with developers, local authorities, and promoters. Founded in 2018, the firm focuses on helping clients secure better planning outcomes through effective, legally compliant consultation. While they serve a range of sectors—including town-centre regeneration, mixed-use development, housing, education, health, employment, logistics, transport, utilities, and energy—their core expertise lies in navigating the often complex statutory and non-statutory consultation processes required for planning applications, Local Plans, and Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs).

How COALFACE™ Helps Clients Reduce Planning Risk

At its heart, COALFACE™ operates as a bridge between developers, local authorities, and the communities affected by change. The consultancy plans and delivers consultations that are both legally sound and policy-compliant, supporting clients through pre-application, determination, and construction phases. Their approach is grounded in the Gunning Principles, ensuring that engagement is meaningful, timely, and capable of influencing decisions. By providing structured stakeholder mapping, political relations with councillors and MPs, and community liaison, COALFACE™ helps reduce planning risk, increase public understanding, and build consent for development proposals. The firm also produces consultation reports and Statements of Community Involvement that are audit-ready for committees and planning inspectors, strengthening evidence for planning statements and inquiries.

Services and Specialties

COALFACE™ offers a comprehensive range of services tailored to the needs of planning and development projects. Their capabilities span strategy, digital engagement, on-the-ground outreach, and reporting. Typical services include:

• Local plan engagement and community codesign workshops
• Place narrative and proposition development
• Digital engagement consultation microsites (integrating with platforms like Commonplace, Citizen Space, and EngagementHQ)
• Gunning Principles compliance and statutory consultation
• Insight data analysis and surveys
• Construction communications and neighbour liaison
• Political stakeholder relations (with councillors and MPs)
• Stakeholder mapping and strategy development
• Media and press relations
• Pre-application community engagement
• Content development (FAQs, newsletters, website copy, key messages)
• GIS-led catchment analysis and accessible materials
• Measurable KPIs and audit-ready reporting

These services are delivered either in-house or through integrated digital tools, allowing COALFACE™ to tailor engagement to the scale and complexity of each project. Their reporting is designed to be defensible in front of committees and inspectors, making them a reliable partner for both small-scale applications and large infrastructure projects.

Location and Reach

Headquartered at 71-75 Shelton Street in London, United Kingdom, COALFACE™ primarily delivers its services across London and the South East. However, the consultancy also undertakes projects UK-wide, including work on NSIPs and Development Consent Orders (DCOs). This geographic flexibility allows them to support clients in diverse settings, from urban regeneration schemes to rural infrastructure developments. While their base is in the United Kingdom, their expertise in statutory consultation and stakeholder engagement is applicable wherever planning processes require robust community input.

COALFACE™ is a good fit for developers, local authorities, and promoters who need practical, defensible, and constructive consultation support. Their focus on compliance, evidence-based engagement, and reducing planning risk makes them particularly valuable for projects that face scrutiny from committees, inspectors, or the public. Whether you are navigating a complex Local Plan process or seeking to build community consent for a major development, COALFACE™ offers a structured, legally sound approach to stakeholder engagement.