titlepage/contents pg 1-16 - British Parking Association

Public Consultation 131Elected MemberinvolvementThe stages involving electedMembers are set out in Chapter4.Planning a schemeconsultationConsultation needs to becarefully planned and managed.The aim is to obtain the bestscheme in accordance with thepriorities of the Authority and theaffected parties. The processmay start with a view that aparticular approach is required,but must be sufficiently flexible tomanage changes in theapproach, even radical changes,if the consultation processindicates that change is needed.A defined project group shouldbe established, which wouldnormally include councilMembers, and the appropriatesenior officers as well asprofessionals with skills inmanaging the consultationprocess and getting the bestresults from it. Some consultantswill have these skills, but they willneed to be blended with anunderstanding of the localpolitics and public attitudes, andthe personal contacts with thelocal stakeholders and media.The council’s public relationsdepartment is, therefore, anessential part of the team, and itmay on occasion be desirable tosecure the services of externalpublic relations advisors withsuitable experience.It is important to remember that apublic consultation is one of theoccasions when a local authorityis very visible and gets veryclose to the local community. Theperformance of the authority isoften judged by the contactsmade during such consultations.Likewise, consultation on parkingissues can be affected bycontact between the council andthe public on other matters.Experience suggests that thesuccess of public consultationand involvement depends notonly on the appropriateness ofthe procedures themselves, buton the general standing of thelocal authority with thecommunities it serves. If there isgeneral distrust or unrestconcerning aspects of theauthority’s work, this can bubbleto the surface during any specificconsultation exercise andparking is a particularlyvulnerable topic because itaffects everyone.From all these standpoints it isimportant to:● Plan consultation carefully;● Make adequate provision ofresources; and● Remain flexible andresponsive.Improving the schemethrough consultationWhere a large or complex onstreetparking scheme isproposed, such as theintroduction of a CPZ in a townthat has not had such controlsbefore, consultation is necessaryto:● Determine the acceptabilityof proposals; and● Shape the scheme.It is essential to produce aproposal before undertakingwidespread or detailedconsultations using, for example,leaflets and exhibitions. Thisshould be easy for people tounderstand, if they are going tobe able to contribute effectivelyto the process. It may takeseveral rounds of amendmentsto fine-tune a scheme, butwillingness to respond to localviews should be viewedpositively.It is important to keep the lines ofcommunication open duringimplementation of a scheme toprovide information and to dealwith issues of disruption.People responding to aconsultation are primarilyconcerned with how they arepersonally affected. It is,therefore, necessary to set outthe context of a scheme and howit would work, and howconflicting priorities would bebalanced.Questionnaires need to becarefully designed. Below aresome do’s and don’ts.Do explain:●●●●●●What scheme is proposed and itspurpose;The area affected, preferably witha map;How it will operate, includinglikely charges;The changes that will be madecompared to the presentsituation;What happens next; andThe action that the recipient isexpected or able to take.Do ask for:● Comments or opinions about anyof the above points;● Information about thehousehold’s vehicle ownership;● Comments from interestedpeople other than householders(e.g. local businesses);● Comments about how theresponded thinks he or she willbe affected by the scheme; and● A contact address or telephonenumber in case follow up isnecessary, and to avoidfraudulent returns.Don’t ask:● What the parking or permitcharges should be;● About personal information that isnot directly relevant to theconsultation; and● For opinions on a collection ofmeasures; it is preferable to beable to identify precisely whichaspects of a scheme are liked ordisliked.