Managing Stakeholders

Stakeholder identification

The three types of stakeholders on common land are:

• Legal interests including commoners, owners, sporting interests and rights of way

• County, district and parish councils and National Park Authorities or equivalent

• Other relevant interests such as:

  • Those with regulatory interests e.g. Natural England, Environment Agency

  • Those with lobbying interests e.g. CPRE, NFU, Open Spaces Society

  • Those with user interests e.g. walkers, cyclists, local history groups, wind turbine companies, RSPB

The last category can be very wide and will depend on what the common is used for and its apparent significance to special interest groups. A more detailed list categorised by uses is given in A Common Purpose.

Checklist: Stakeholder list Groups and individuals to consider contacting when carrying out works or introducing new management schemes on common land

• Top Priority

  • Common owner(s)

  • Commons Council, Association or other group

  • All active commoners

  • Others with a legal interest in the land

  • Natural England

  • Parish Council

  • Local Authority including National Park Authority or AONB Conservation Board where appropriate

  • Open Spaces Society

• Others to consider

  • English Heritage

  • Wildlife Trust

  • Local Access Fora

  • Council for Protection of Rural England

  • Ramblers Association

  • Local societies

  • Local user groups – riders, cyclists, paragliders

  • Individual inhabitants

  • National Trust solicitor if Trust owned common

It is important to identify all the interested parties as, without this knowledge, there is a risk that a management plan will leave out a key interest who will then, intentionally or otherwise, obstruct the management objectives.

Tip: Stakeholder groups such as commoners or walkers are not homogenous so ensure the range of views and interests within each group is understood. Detail is key, e.g. Where do you want to be in 10 years time? Do you have children who will take on the business from you? Where do you actually walk?

Use the MAGIC website to check what designations apply to the common.

Stakeholders’ interests and aspirations

The next stage is to assess the interests and objectives of the relevant stakeholders and then to analyse where areas of agreement and conflict arise.

The nature of this stakeholder analysis will depend on the management being addressed. Developing wind turbines on common land will require a different type of consideration to an application for an agri-environment scheme or a recreational access plan. Be aware of interstakeholder complexities.

Tip: Many issues have a long history; exploring past management through constructing a time line may be useful in understanding key concerns.

• Using the list of all stakeholders, highlight those with a primary interest and those with a secondary interest. These are the most relevant stakeholders.

• For each stakeholder, explore directly through interviews, or indirectly through literature and third parties, what their specific interests are. For primary stakeholders, face-to-face interviews in a setting conducive to open discussion are recommended. Group meetings often fail to capture the complete range of views but facilitated discussions within small groups with the same or very similar interests can help to identify common priorities.

• Identify areas where interests conflict.

• Identify areas where interests are complementary.

Tip: Commoners are often related so an understanding of these family ties, local history and their implications is recommended; but remember that being related does not guarantee commonality of interest!

Next up: Agreeing Objectives

Due to the conflicting nature of many of the stakeholders’ interests, it can be difficult to reach consensus, but, given enough time and consideration, a compromise is often possible. Click below to find out more about how to achieve this.