Due to the size and nature of the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm and its associated development, the project has the potential to impact upon a diverse community, reaching over a large geographical area which covers a number of local authority areas. To meet the requirements of the Planning Act 2008, we developed a comprehensive and robust approach to stakeholder engagement and consultation, and we recognised that different communities may have different concerns or interests, and may be impacted in different ways.

The aim of the community consultation process was to allow all sections of the community to register their interest and have their say in the development of the project. In order to ensure that the widest possible audience was reached, we adopted a range of consultation methods in order to encourage and engage community participation.

The range of consultation methods we used included:

• public exhibitions - these were open exhibitions held at 12 locations across Sussex where project details (onshore and offshore) were made available and members of the project team were on hand to assist in clarifying information, answering questions and receiving feedback. We advertised the venues and dates in local media (paper and radio), on posters, on a Facebook page and publicised them on the Rampion website
• a questionnaire relating to both onshore and offshore elements - this was available to pick up at the public exhibitions, from a wide range of public locations and available as an online version
• a dedicated website at eon-uk.com/rampion
• Project Liaison Group meetings – we set up six project liaison groups consisting of representatives from key stakeholder organisations across different interest areas. These groups are encouraged to maximise the scope and reach of communications regarding the project to those organisations sharing the same interest.
• a freepost address for questionnaires or comments to be sent to us at FREEPOST RAMPION OFFSHORE WIND FARM (no stamp required)
• an email address at rampion@eon.com
• a consultation hotline 01273 694 876 (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday)