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Public Consultation 139suitable for consultation oncitywide concerns, but they areoften not suitable for addressingmore local issues.Care should be taken with theuse of religious buildings, sincepeople of different faiths may bedeterred. Such buildings may beappropriate when they areknown for non-denominationalcommunity use.If those primarily affected by aparking scheme are car owners,it may be acceptable to have asingle venue covering a widerarea if adequate free parking isavailable, such as a school andassociated playground outsideschool hours.A wide range of people (includingemployed people) should beable to attend, albeit withoutcreating an undue burden onexhibition staff. An examplewould be from mid afternoon toearly evening on a weekday (say3pm to 8pm) and during themiddle of the day on Saturday(11 am to 4pm).It is recommended thatexhibitions should not be openfor more than five hours on anyday, as the work is verydemanding for the professionalsinvolved. The arrangementsshould be such that the staff atthe exhibition are properlybriefed and have sufficientsupport if difficult orconfrontational situations arise.When consultants are managingthe consultation, it is essentialthat Council officers are also inattendance. Questions oftenarise that are outside the scopeof the consultation and a councilofficer will be able to answersuch questions or be able to takethe matter back and seek aresponse from the appropriatepart of the Council.people likely to be affected bythe scheme. It is difficult to getinformation across in a publicmeeting, while a few activistswith preconceived views caneasily dominate feedback.Public meetings tend to providea platform for organised interestgroups who are already verycapable of making their viewsknown by other means. If it is stillfelt to be necessary to hold apublic meeting, the localauthority should be representedat a political level. Officers andconsultants should be presentonly to make technicalpresentations and to advise themeeting on technical matters.9. Press and otherpublicationsInvolving the local media is a keypart in keeping the publicinformed, as frequently it is theonly way in which local peopleare aware of what is beingproposed. It is important to sharewith the local media what ishappening and the reasons for it.This should be seen as acontinuous process of informingthe press rather than an “one-off”exercise at the start of theintended scheme. It may behelpful to consider paidadvertisements in the localpress, regular media releasesand information packs.References(1) Regina V Camden, London Boroughex Parte Mark Dyson, Gordon Cran,and Others, 1995 (colloquially knownas the “Primrose Hill” case).(2) Valleley, M 1997, ParkingPerspectives. Produced by theUniversity of Westminster TransportStudies Group.8. Public MeetingsPublic meetings are anineffective method of obtaininginformation for the developmentof a parking scheme. Effectiveconsultation requires thedissemination of quite detailed ortechnical feedback from the