Key Takeaways from the Consultation and Stakeholder Engagement for Infrastructure Conference 2026

On 20 October, Waterfront Conference Company hosted the Consultation and Stakeholder Engagement for Infrastructure Conference in London, bringing together developers, local government and communication leaders.

Following the July 2026 removal of consultation requirements for major infrastructure requirements, the event explored what this means for the future of consultation and engagement. Other key topics included the challenge of building trust with communities and how organisations can deliver more effective engagement.

Leading developers shared valuable insights into the evolving consultation landscape and the approaches helping organisations achieve better outcomes for both projects and communities.
The overall message is engagement is as important as ever but there is now the flexibility to tailor your strategy. As sponsors of this year’s event, it was great to be part of the conversation and hear how the sector is adapting to meet changing expectations.

Here are five of our key takeaways:

1. Meaningful consultation still matters

While recent reforms may provide greater flexibility, speakers were clear that effective consultation remains rooted in the Gunning principles: engaging while proposals are still at a formative stage; providing enough information for people to respond meaningfully and allowing sufficient time for feedback to genuinely take responses into account.

2. Start with the purpose, not the process

Whether you’re informing, engaging or consulting, every activity should have a clear objective. Rather than following a template, new legislation means that engagement can be designed around the project and the audience. Defining what success looks like from the outset, and being clear about what decisions engagement can influence, helps organisations choose the most appropriate channels, activities and measures of success, ultimately leading to more valuable feedback.

3. Make your message clear and accessible

Consultation only works if people can understand the information they’re being given. Clear messaging, straightforward language and accessible formats are essential to helping people engage confidently and provide informed feedback. Several speakers highlighted that overly technical language and lengthy documents can discourage participation, while concise, audience-focused communications help remove barriers and widen engagement. The removal of the requirements changes how you can present information to communities – these no longer need to be restricted to town hall formal consultations – and really can be tailored to the project and community.

4. Show the impact of engagement

Good consultation doesn’t end when feedback is received. Demonstrating how views have influenced proposals through a clear “you said, we did” approach helps prove participation is worthwhile and strengthens future engagement. People are far more likely to take part when they can see that their contributions have been listened to and considered, even if every suggestion cannot be taken forward.

5. Remember that consultation is about people

Despite the growth of digital engagement tools, speakers repeatedly highlighted the importance of face-to-face engagement, empathy and human connection. Communities want authentic conversations, not just information sharing. While digital tools have an important role to play, successful engagement is often built on trust, relationships and a genuine understanding of local concerns.

Freshwater can help you with communicating your message to communities in a way that’s engaging and accessible. We create explainer animations that bring complex information to life, helping to make major infrastructure projects easier to understand and giving communities a clearer picture of what’s proposed, why it matters and how it could affect them.

If you’re looking for creative ways to engage and communicate with your target audience, our animations can help get your project across in an accessible way. Get in contact with the team at Freshwater – hello@freshwater.co.uk.

The Consultation and Stakeholder Engagement Conference for Infrastructure will return next year to explore the most effective strategies for delivering high-quality engagement across all infrastructure sectors including energy, transport and water. For anyone involved in consultation, communications or stakeholder engagement, it remains an important forum for sharing best practice and discussing the future of the profession. You can keep up to date on the conferences at https://waterfrontconferencecompany.com/