ROBERTS PARK: ROUND 3 CONSULTATION PERIOD MISLEADING?

On 26 September, Tamsin Chambers, a researcher from HTLA, the company charged with designing the plans to restore Roberts Park with Lottery money sent us their final plans on the proposed buildings, landscape, planting and the bandstand. This was the "September - October" consultation period for locals to see the plans and give feedback. The plans had been posted in the Half Moon Pavilion on 14 September, though the questionnaire and plans did not reach this site until 25 September. The information and questionnaires were dutifully posted the following day.

However, the consultation period came to an end rather abruptly on 10 October. Tamsin wrote: The public consultation for this part of the Roberts Park HLF bid is now over, so we’re not looking to receive any more completed questionnaires.  Would you be able to leave information and displays about the Park restoration on your website for now, but remove the questionnaires?  We’ve had a couple of replies via the website and I’m sure this has been a really effective way of contacting people.

This was queried with Tamsin as the time frame 25 September to 10 October couldn't accurately be called a consultation period for September to October. Tamsin responded:

I do understand your concern.  The final round of consultation has had to be shorter than the previous two and lasted just over three weeks (it was launched in the Half Moon Pavilion on 14th September).  As the Council needs to send the bid to the HLF next week, I had to have all the questionnaires in so that I could analyse them and then write the Audience Development Plan – a large part of the bid.  As the questionnaires were, basically, to find out whether people were happy with the final proposals, we felt that a slightly shorter consultation period would be acceptable. In an ideal world it would have been great to make them available for longer, but we have had to work to the constraints of a tight timetable.  I hope this helps to clarify things.

So, if you had an opinion about the plans and thought you still had chance to give it - you can't. It might have been helpful if HTLA had set a deadline. See below: information sent to us for the September - October consultation. The links to the questionnaires have been removed, as requested, though you can still see the plans.

Read HTLA's reponse, given on 4 February 2008 >> | Roberts Park Restoration Index