Statement of Community Involvement 2025 Consultation
7. Addressing Equalities Comment
Plan making Comment
7.1. We recognise the diversity of our communities and value the contribution that such vibrancy can add to plan making. We also recognise that there are many groups of people who are harder to reach by traditional means of press notices, surveys, and exhibitions. We will make special effort to engage with 'hard to reach' groups, and others that may not be fully represented in the planning system. Further information on how we may do this can be found in Section 8.
7.2. We will work closely with voluntary and community sector representatives and umbrella groups representing the interests of diverse groups and identify opportunities for training and support to access consultation materials where this is appropriate.
7.3. An Equalities Impact Assessment (EqIA) will be carried out for Development Plan Documents and their consultation plans, and participation in the production of these documents will be monitored through collection of data to ensure that those who are likely to be impacted have ample opportunity to give their views. An EqIA for the Statement of Community Involvement is set out in the Appendix to this document.
Planning applications Comment
7.4. We recognise and value the diversity of the communities of Hastings and are committed to ensuring that everyone living, working, or with an interest in the future prosperity of the town has an opportunity to influence development.
7.5. Where a planning application or pre-application discussions indicate that there may be a negative impact on a particular section or sections of the community, we will try to support potential developers, the community, and/or representative organisations to hold focus groups or similar to address such issues.
