Most meetings were held in St Swithun’s church, by kind permission of the church authorities, although the preparations for the exhibition were made in Woodley Village Hall
Consultation Process
Phase 1: Getting to know the area:
2004/5
Initial step October 2005: A leaflet was distributed to every household in the area. It was drawn up jointly by Phoebe Merrick and Rod Simpson and the distribution was arranged by REPC. Residents were invited to attend an inaugural meeting in St Swithun’s Church on 12th November and to come to a guided walk on 27th November. Fourteen people attended the inaugural meeting, but only six came on the walk.
Preparation of Questionnaire: July/August: The questionnaire was discussed at the inaugural meeting and finalised a week later. Copies of the questionnaire were delivered to every household in the area in January 2006 with a request to return them by 15th February. Replies could be handed in at the local garage, a nearby public house, or the offices of the Romsey Advertiser. Some questionnaires were returned direct to the Look at Romsey convenor.
Processing the answers Spring 2006: Every answer to each question was typed into an Access database. 37 replies were received, which is 30.8% of all households.
Preparation for Exhibition:
Two meetings were held at which the replies were analysed, and materials were prepared for public exhibition. The whole area was leafleted once again inviting people to the exhibition. The dates had also been announced in the Questionnaire
Exhibition The exhibition was held on Friday 10 March in the evening and all day on Saturday 11th March. It was attended by 49 people
Phase 2: Preparing the Statement:
Following the exhibition, two meetings were held to discuss the content of the Design Statement. A draft of the text was produced as the basis for discussion. After revision at the first meeting, it was sent to TVBC for comment. The comments were discussed and a version prepared that contained photographs for further discussion.
Public consultation June and July 2006: The draft statements were printed and a working party assembled to collate and staple them. Because of the high level of response, and the small number of households, it was decided to deliver a copy of the Draft Design Statement to every household, as well as sending copies to local councillors and other officials. Once again the distribution was arranged by REPC. In all 6 people helped with distribution.
Comments: Comments were received from two people, primarily dealing with transport matters.
Final meeting:This was held on Wednesday 26th July, and was attended by ten people. The Statement was reviewed and two small amendments were agreed on, one a drafting matter and the other drawing attention to the presence of water voles in the area. The treatment of non-design issues was discussed and text to be added to the final map was agreed.
Phoebe Merrick, Convenor
