About COALFACE™, Our Brand, & People
COALFACE™ is a planning consultation and stakeholder engagement practice led by founder, Rowan Cole and supported by select senior practitioners from specialisms such as marketing, digital market, and grass-roots engagement . We work at the intersection of planning, politics and governance.
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Our Brands
COALFACE™
Our role is to help clients understand how decisions are shaped, surface risk early and design consultation that stands up under scrutiny.
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We are not a traditional engagement agency. We work with promoters, LPAs, councils and programme sponsors where planning and governance complexity demands senior judgment from the outset.
We support clients across three connected areas:
COALFACE
Engagement
Planning application and policy consultations and engagement shaped by political awareness and senior practitioner judgment. Focused on outcomes that withstand scrutiny, not activity for its own sake.
COALFACE
Insight
Analysis that interprets planning behaviour, governance pressures and political signals. Written for senior readers who need clarity rather than commentary.
COALFACE Council Scanner™
A structured diagnostic highlighting governance resilience, financial stress and planning performance. Designed to give early warning and support informed decision making. Powered by AI; analysed by human experience.
Our founding philopshy
Our perspetcive ​
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Rowan Cole founded Coalface Engagement in 2018 after more than fifteen years at the coalface of local government and development. He has sat in every seat around the planning table which means your project is guided by someone who understands how decisions really get made.
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Planning decisions reflect political pressure, organisational constraints, governance capability and public expectation. Budget pressures, resourcing gaps and scrutiny from the public, media and Members all influence how issues are framed and how much risk decision makers are prepared to carry.
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Coalface™ understands these conditions because we have worked across all sides of the planning system. We recognise how Members read risk, how officers balance capacity and reputation, and how communities experience planning processes. This allows us to design consultation and engagement that feels credible to Members, officers, communities and promoters.
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Consultation should improve the quality, legitimacy and resilience of decisions, not simply record activity. We focus on the political and governance realities shaping a scheme or programme so that decisions are better informed, more robust and easier to defend.
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The way people see a planning application is shaped far less by policy than by casual conversations with family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances.
Decisions are often reached with that wider social context as a real contributory factor. Which is why we ensure Councillors are given the space to vote on fact, not emotion.
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Our Senior Network
The Right Team
A small group of trusted directors and specialists who work alongside Coalface Engagement to strengthen our offer when projects demand it.
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Coalface Engagement is a senior-specialist-led consultancy. Every project is overseen by Founder and Director, Rowan Cole, who brings over 18 years’ experience in stakeholder engagement, political strategy and planning policy. For complex or high-profile schemes, Coalface Engagement draws on a small trusted network of senior advisers specialising in sustainability, communications and community participation.
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Together, this network gives clients the depth of a large practice while keeping Coalface Engagement’s hallmark senior-level focus, clarity and responsiveness.
Rowan Cole
Founder, COALFACE™
Leads COALFACE™, COALFACE Enagegement, COALFACE Insights & COALFACE Council Scanner™
As Founder, Rowan leads all client accounts and oversees the full lifecycle of Coalface’s work. He shapes strategy from the outset, assembles the right team of senior practitioners for each assignment, and remains closely involved throughout delivery. Rowan’s role spans client leadership, quality assurance and overall direction-setting, ensuring every project benefits from clear thinking, disciplined execution and a practical, real-world understanding of planning, engagement and governance.
Oliver Deed
Managing Director, ECF
Senior Practitioner & Adviser on community participation & grassroots engagement
Olly is a senior adviser specialising in community engagement and participation, along with reaching seldom-heard voices. He brings a wealth of experience in building local trust and fostering positive stakeholder engagement. With a strong track record in community engagement across a range of projects, he excels at creating constructive dialogue and delivering outreach strategies that align with the Coalface commitment to meaningful participation.
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Find out more about Oliver:
Toby Cope
Director, DO Sustainable Marketing
Sustainable Marketing Guy
Senior Practitioner & ​Adviser on sustainable marketing & built-environment communications
Toby is a senior adviser specialising in sustainable marketing and communications for the built environment. With experience spanning architectural practices and in-house roles for a property developer, he is skilled at translating complex sustainability and ESG messages into clear, relevant communications for specific audiences. He now supports built-environment businesses as a fractional marketing and communications director, helping them sharpen their offer, focus on the right clients and projects, and deliver lower-impact, more authentic marketing that aligns with Coalface's commitment to meaningful, politically aware engagement.
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Find out more about Toby: