Running a local campaign

If there is a development that significantly threatens wildlife, you may want to raise awareness and support by running a local campaign. Such campaigns can serve several purposes, such as encouraging more people to respond to the planning application and showing the level of concern to the developer and the planning authority. Developments that may justify a local campaign include threats to SSSIs and NNRs (see protected sites), very large developments (such as Developments of National Significance) and new roads.

Every campaign will be different, but here are our top tips:

1. Get in early – larger developments will usually include some form of public engagement before the planning application is submitted, sometimes known as pre-application consultation. Get involved and share your views as soon as possible.
2. Tell others – let other people know as soon as possible. Tell them about the proposals, the threats to wildlife, and how they can get involved.
3. Use the media – use social media, local newspapers, and news websites. For a longer campaign, send out regular updates.
4. Get political – involve community councils, county councilors, Welsh Assembly Members, and your local MP. You can find out who represents you and how to contact them at TheyWorkForYou.
5. It’s all about the numbers – whether that’s number of written responses, or number of signatures on a petition. If you decide to use the Senedd petitions committee, petitions with more than 250 signatures will be discussed by the committee. Petitions with more than 10,000 signatures will be considered for debate in the Senedd.

You may find the following pages helpful: