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Gravis Planning appoints Social Value Consultant in Belfast office
11 January 2024
Gravis Planning is delighted to announce that Sarah Fearon has been appointed as a Social Value Consultant in our Belfast office. With a proven track record in social value and community engagement work on major projects, Sarah will be working for Gravis on Translink’s flagship project, Belfast Grand Central Station, a new multi-modal Transport Hub in the heart of the city.
Social value requirements are now legally mandated and enforced in Northern Ireland as part of major public infrastructure projects following the enactment in July 2021 of Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 01 /21 by the Northern Ireland Executive, which states that tenders for these projects must allocate a minimum of 10% of the total award criteria to social value.
Social value has therefore become a vital requirement for the developers of large-scale infrastructure projects as they are now not just expected, but required to leave a positive legacy in local communities.
Welcoming Sarah’s appointment, Group Managing Director for Strategic Communications at Gravis Planning, David Kerr, said:
“Providing Social value is a crucial requirement for developers seeking to bring forward large-scale infrastructure projects, and rightly so. It ensures, through the provision of clear criteria, that local communities in the vicinity of these major projects genuinely benefit from their presence and the levels of investment involved in them.”
“Gravis Planning is constantly seeking to expand our service offering, to ensure our clients can meet and exceed what is expected of them through the statutory planning and construction processes.
“Sarah’s expertise and professionalism in the field of social value and community engagement fits perfectly within our values as a company, and now further extends our comprehensive service offering to our clients.”
