Phase 1 Consultation

Complete 30/06/08

 

Process

The project so far has involved a series of technical submissions on the eco-town since October 2007, for consideration by Communities and Local Government (CLG), alongside public consultation, both locally through exhibitions and also via the website and through one to one meetings. 

Stage 1 - covered the initial consultation to 30 June 2008 for preliminary views on the eco-towns vision and potential locations. The remainder of the process is as follows:

Stage 2 - further consultation from September 2008 on more detailed assessments of the 13 potential locations and a draft eco-towns Planning Policy Statement.

Stage 3 - publication in early 2009 of the final Planning Policy Statement and a final list of locations with the potential to be an eco-town.

Stage 4 - individual schemes will then need to go through the normal planning process and the decision will be made on the merits of worked-up proposals.

* schedule published in CLG's eco-town progress report July 2008

As part of our Phase 1 consultation, we held a series of all-day public exhibitions for people to find out more and to meet the project team.  There will be further consultation later in the process.

Results

A report on the feedback from consultation was compiled by Arup and verified by data from the Electoral Reform Services.
We had around 2000 people attend both the invitation and open consultation events indicating that the events were well publicised, however of those who responded to the consultation, almost three quarters live close (under 10 miles) to the proposed eco-town site, in postcodes LE2, LE7, and LE8.

Our in depth technical analysis reports have confirmed that the delivery of affordable housing and support for the economy are key strategic priorities across the city region. It is interesting to note the low level of concern of these issues in the feedback from the local area. Evidence would therefore suggest that the first phase of consultation failed to engage with a representative sample of the wider Leicestershire population.
However the feedback we did receive, in many cases, we found to be valuable input and this has been fed into the refinement of the spatial plans.

Consultation Phase 1 Responses
(152Kb)

Consultation Phase 1 Executive Summary
(pdf 148Kb)

Consultation Phase 1 Report
(pdf 4.45Mb)

 

Phase 1 Consultation – local authority and elected member meetings

Following the Government’s eco-town timetable, we submitted our proposals to deliver an Eco-town for Leicestershire in October 2007.  Since submission we have had continued discussions around our ideas with a range of local and regional representatives and organisations, in some instances on several occasions.

We have met with and briefed more than once the following local MPs.  For each, we have outlined details of our bid, provided materials and answered questions.  They also conveyed their constituents concerns which have become an important consideration in producing layouts for the town and accompanying research work.

• Alan Duncan MP – Rutland and Melton
• Edward Garnier MP – Harborough
• Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP – Leicester West
• Sir Peter Soulsby MP – Leicester South
• David Taylor MP – Leicestershire North West
• Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP – Leicester East

We also wrote to the following Government Ministers

• Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP, Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government
• Rt Hon Caroline Flint MP, Minister for Housing and Planning
• Ian Wright MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government

We also wrote to and briefed opposition spokespeople on Housing, Grant Shapps MP and Lembit Opik MP.

We did not meet any government ministers during this phase of the process but attended a number of third-party events where Ministers were speakers.

We have met with and briefed the following local authorities and regional bodies, discussing with them a range of innovative new ideas on the themes of our proposals. 

Harborough District Council
Leicester City Council
Leicestershire County Council
Oadby and Wigston Borough Council
East Midlands Regional Assembly
East Midlands Development Agency

Phase 1 Consultation – public meetings

 We took part in a number of local authority organised public meetings and took the opportunity to explain about our proposals and field questions.  In June we also took part in the BBC Radio Leicester ‘Big Debate’ alongside local representatives and subject experts.

Phase 1 Consultation – website

Our website received hundreds of email enquiries and we responded to all constructive questions and suggestions with details of our proposals or how comments would be considered as part of the masterplanning.  The website enabled those that could not attend the exhibition days to have access to the full proposals that were submitted to government and to feed back comments on the various elements of the eco-town.

We released a series of separate consultation papers that gave details of the various initiatives that could be taken forward in areas such as the environment, transport and community.  These added a further layer of detail upon which individuals and groups could comment and feed back ideas.

Overall, the intention of Phase 1 to successfully consult on preliminary ideas through a variety of activities (online and offline materials, public meetings, debates, advertisements, local press interviews and one to one meetings) was met and Phase 2 will commence later in 2008 as more detailed proposals become available.