Create 51 Ltd celebrates 10th anniversary of strategic communications

Create 51 Ltd is celebrating 10 years of supporting the water sector to effectively communicate with its customers, stakeholders, regulators and the media.

The South East-based strategic communications agency was set up in 2014 and since then has expanded its client base to include many water companies, Water Resources South East, Water UK, UKWIR, the Environment Agency and sector-supported organisations such as WaterSafe and WaterRegsUK.

Its support has included:

· running statutory consultations and engagement programmes for water resource and drought plans

· supporting the development and production of water company five-year business plans

· delivering community engagement and consultations for planning for strategic infrastructure projects

· creating stakeholder and consumer-facing engagement tools including documents, film, websites, webinars, media packs and social material

· developing brand, communication and engagement strategies for activities including universal metering, water efficiency and fat, oil and grease disposal.

The agency is owned and led by directors Penny Hodge and Rebecca Burgess, supported by a small team of talented employees and specialist consultants.

Founding director Rebecca Burgess said: “It certainly doesn’t feel like 10 years since the founders had the idea to consolidate our communication expertise and experience and launch Create 51. Since then we’ve had the pleasure of working on some inspiring and challenging projects with many fantastic clients. It’s a privilege to be working in an industry providing essential daily water and playing a key role in our environment.

“We’d like to thank all our clients, employees and those we’ve worked with over the past decade for the many opportunities and support and we’re looking forward to the decade ahead and the change it will bring. For us, our ethos remains the same as the day we launched – keep our communications clear and simple and deliver excellent quality work on time, all the time.”

Director Penny Hodge added: Create 51 continues to go from strength to strength, offering clients a unique service from a team of communication professionals with a deep knowledge of the water industry. We are proud to have been involved in many challenging but important industry projects and for the recognition we have received for our work. We look forward to what the next 10 years brings.”

Highlights for the team have been playing a critical role in securing planning permission for Havant Thicket Reservoir in Hampshire; being an integral part of the WRSE team bringing regional water resource planning to the sector and supporting SES Water, Southern Water and Portsmouth Water on their recently-submitted PR24 submissions.