THE steering group behind Westbury’s campus development says the current phase of consultation will be worthwhile, despite concerns raised by residents.
At last week’s meeting of Westbury Area Board, the Community Operations Board (COB) responded to criticism over the way the survey is being conducted and the validity of the results it will show.
Key concerns are that the consultation does not give people enough information about a single site option, as well as being open to abuse by respondents as it is possible to submit multiple responses.
At last week’s meeting, it was reported that more information about the single site option is being sought, and that the survey does ask respondents for their postcode to try and tackle the possibility of individuals submitting more than one response.
The campus consultation is currently asking people to choose between three options: council facilities across three sites (the existing pool, library and Leighton Recreation Centre); facilities across two sites (the library and Leighton Recreation Centre); or a new build single site.
The COB says it is confident that the campus consultation will help them gather views of a significant portion of the local population.
Over 400 people have responded to this second phase of consultation so far, with the COB hoping to receive many more before the deadline at the end of November. The first phase of consultation took place earlier this year.
Mike Parker of the Community Operations Board said, “The COB are very busy and active. We are less than half-way through and have received well over 400 responses. We are undoubtedly getting a much more significant response than we had for the last questionnaire.”
The COB have made visits to numerous groups and events in the town. The consultation will be publicised in the ‘Christmas in Westbury’ booklet, and members of the COB will be at the Christmas lights switch on to encourage people to respond.
The consultation is available online or paper copies are available at the library.
Response to concerns
Concerns have been raised that the consultation does not give people enough information about a single site option.
Cllr Russell Hawker reported that he has been seeking to set up meetings with council officers and the cabinet member for the campus programme. He says he is optimistic that the town can get more information and said, “It’s clear the COB is doing the best it can within the perimeters given by Wiltshire Council.”
Mike Parker of the COB admitted that there were concerns about the possibility of people submitting multiple responses. The survey only asks people to respond with their postcode, not full name and address.
But he explained that the first round of consultation had drawn objections from respondents, who felt they were being asked to give too much unnecessary information about themselves when they responded.
He added that the COB will monitor the postcodes given by respondents and will be able to identify if any postcodes come up too many times.
