Consultation
A new Commonplace survey has just closed on the 8 November which asks residents to comment on the future of their town centre - can the council confirm that should the latest survey reveal significant opposition to the changes they will listen to the residents and reverse the measures already implemented?
Through the review process, being undertaken by an independent consultant, the council will be taking a range of matters into account when determining the future of Streetspace schemes. Feedback from stakeholders will be an important part of that process.
Will LBH extend the consultation period on the LTN closures currently in place as the traffic situation is obviously distorted by COVID measures, and will they wait until consultation is completed before putting the threatened next measures in place?
The council will consider the findings of the review process and determine the best approach on each individual scheme. This could be to extend the trial if that is deemed an appropriate response after proper consideration of the review's findings.
How does the council respond to criticism surrounding the consultation process for these schemes, and what is the consultation plan going forward?
The council has implemented scheme in Phases 1 and 2 of our Streetspace programme in line with government guidance requiring us to deliver projects 'as swiftly as possible', further clarified to mean 'within weeks'. This requirement precluded widespread pre-trial commencement consultation. However, we are undertaking a consultation on every scheme in tandem with the trial. Feedback from this will be an important part of the review process and the council will be undertaking further engagement as part of the review process and also ahead of the implementation of any future schemes, in line with recommendations of the revised DfT guidance.
What is the council’s view on the enforcement of the new restrictions with respect to charges imposed on residents through Penalty Charge Notices?
The council has sought to enforce the new restrictions proportionately and has carefully considered any challenges made to PCNs when received. All residents and businesses in Chiswick were advised by letter of restrictions being introduced and this was further communicated via social media and our website. The council does not want to issue PCNs, it wants people to adhere to the rules of the road.
Do you accept that the past approach using Commonplace is flawed given your view of the future?
The commonplace engagement exercise was intended only to gather initial ideas for action on the network from the public ahead of a consultation in tandem with trials. In this respect the tool worked well and provided an effective mechanism for people to clearly highlight areas of concern.
Why did the last consultation completely ignore the major issues facing and destroying this community which is road closures?
This is assumed to relate to the future of town centres consultation. This was an open consultation requesting feedback on a wide range of issues and respondents were free to leave comments on any matter they deemed of consequence.
You say that so many changes were made in W4 because people engaged more. In that case, the overwhelming desire on Devonshire Road was that it be left open. Why did you close it?
The decision to restrict access to Devonshire Road was not just based on feedback to the commonplace engagement but also an assessment of risk in respect to public health. Areas with relatively narrow footways with active frontage and on through routes into town centres were considered potential high risk, hence why space was reallocated from vehicles to pedestrians.
The Streetspace feedback is very flash but it's almost impossible to view other peoples comments and engage with them. What is the council’s view?
The primary consultation route for feeding back on the schemes through the review process would be via the Citizenspace consultation tool.
How do we ensure that consultation is free and fair?
The council has used multiple channels of communication to encourage those affected by Streetspace schemes to make their views known. In addition to our standard Citizenspace consultation portal, we have operated map-based interactive feedback on our website using Commonplace software, have made press releases, and have included an article in the council’s free borough-wide newspaper explaining how readers can let the council know their views.
Should a thorough audit, survey and consultation of the neighbourhood should be considered before any temporary or experimental changes are put into place?
The council has implemented schemes in line with the law and the guidance issued by central government and the Mayor of London in order to safeguard public health and tackle the immediate impact of the pandemic on the transport network.
How have the councils reached out to the less able in our community? Where are the Equality Impact Assessments for these schemes?
As described in answers to questions above, the council has sought to invite as many people as possible to share their views on the operation of Streetspace schemes. No Streetspace measures have been implemented before first passing scrutiny for compliance with equality impact assessment requirements.
Where this scrutiny has revealed a need to carry out a full Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) this has been carried out. EIAs are live documents and are reviewed throughout the experimental periods, taking into account any representations received. Irrespective of whether or not an EIA is in place, if the council receives any representation (be it from an individual or from appropriate umbrella organisations representing those with protected characteristics) relating to allegations of inequality then the relevant Streetspace scheme(s) will again be scrutinised by for compliance with equality impact assessment requirements before any decision is taken to make a scheme permanent.
