JTP Engages is our specialist in-house community engagement and co-design process, embedded within JTP’s masterplanning and architectural teams. With a renewed focus on reaching younger and more diverse audiences, JTP Engages reimagines how we connect and co-design with communities – blending creativity, technology and collaboration. We design and deliver engagement processes that bring communities, stakeholders and planning authorities into the design process ensuring that the places we create are shaped by local people. This approach builds trust, shares local knowledge and breaks down barriers, turning hostile and adversarial attitudes into more constructive and beneficial forms of dialogue.

JTP Engages creates bespoke engagement strategies tailored to each place, community, client objective and budget. We blend cutting-edge data and digital tools with innovative in-person techniques to address a diverse range of people. Our tools include JTP’s in-house interactive map, GIS, personalised project websites, targeted social media campaigns and AI-generated visuals. We combine these with pop up market stalls, youth-focussed events and creative hands-on co-design workshops.

JTP Engages has extensive experience of managing engagement on complex, contentious and politically sensitive projects. These include estate regenerations, town centre redevelopments and large-scale new settlements. We design a tailored engagement process that creates an environment for honest dialogue to address concerns and create shared ownership. Our approach allows us to get to the real problems, conflicts and needs of a place which ultimately leads to the construction of a collective vision.

Reaching younger audiences requires a different approach and JTP Engages embeds this into our process. Our team produces our own promotional social media videos and reels, targeted specifically at younger demographics to drive participation in our process, workshops and activities. At Chrisp Street Market, Poplar our promotional social media reels garnered over 100,000 social-media views. These were targeted, fun and reached the exact demographic of young people we wanted at our events.

Beyond social media, we deploy a suite of digital tools tailored to younger audiences including interactive online maps, personalised project websites and digital feedback platforms. These make participation easy, accessible and relevant. Social media comments are formally tabulated and included in our engagement feedback, giving young people a voice in the vision process.

What makes JTP Engages different is that we are the ones holding the pencil; we meet and draw with local people, listen to their unique insights and co-design with those who will go on to use the place. We don’t want to observe from the sidelines or be distanced by a communications consultant. Using these exciting and inspiring techniques, we engage meaningfully with more people to build trust, enrich designs and achieve planning permission more quickly. It is one of the most distinctive and valued aspects of JTP’s approach.

At Chrisp Street Market, Poplar, our JTP Engages approach engaged over 2,000 local people and achieved 88% support for the plans. Our engagement process at Nicholson Quarter, Maidenhead reached over 27,000 households, resulting in 82% support for our plans and unanimous planning approval at committee.