LDP portal/document
-
Posts
-
Is it just me or does anyone else find this online document extremely confusing?
Like where to actually complain/object? There are several places it seems that you can put your comments in. There is so much jargon that it is very difficult to understand with the website and whole set up confusing to say the least.
Is it like this so people complain in the wrong place, so it can’t be used, for the process? There are so many questions that you really have to be into these documents to understand it properly.
Then you put comments in and have to wait for days to see whether they have been accepted or not?
Also if you have no access to a computer how can you complain? There seems no availability if you just want to use pen and paper….hence this will put a lot of people off giving their thoughts to it. Again is this deliberate?
Looking at the detail there does not seem to be any concrete ideas or information of what exactly the council intends to do. Just some half thought through ideas!
Where will the new roads be? Schools? Health services? Extra hospital, police and fire services funding.
It’s very poorly thought out and seems to have been chucked together. Again perhaps that’s the idea so it can be twisted to suit at a later date.
Do we have a choice and will our voices be heard? It seems like a token gesture to me with all the agreements with housebuilders and landowners lined up! All for financial gain not the good of the town in the long run.
This has taken over 4 years to get to this point after the first ‘Plan’ was thrown back by Welsh Government – plenty of time to have a proper consultation. They have only held three public sessions but in fairness, some Council Members have held their own meetings.
Very poor public relations with non-existent community engagement of any value.The website is abyssmal, it looks as if it was thrown together by an amateur, not a professional web designer. This is regardless of the content.
The content is confusing (probably intentional) and no one could imagine the vast majority of the electorate understanding it.
I suggest that Councillors start again, but this time without the help of Any council employees, no matter what their level in the heirarchy.
The only way to learn how to use the portal is to join Clr Paul Rogers mob and raise hundreds of objections based on farce against the traveller site rather than just being honest that they don’t want gypsies living next door to them. Instead someone in planning has to sift through utter bollocks about the traveller siting not being suitable because of a protected pinemartin nesting site, situated not 100 yards from the proposed area.
The sluice gate vitality might be dwindled by the mitigating factor of increased human activity on topsoil erosion thus calling into question Defra minimum standards on ground acidity levels for the planting seasons.
You can literally watch an hour of countryfile & make something up and that’s a planning objection in a rural setting.
So yea if you want to learn how to use what is the most confusing system ever – I did log in to see what the fuss was all about. You should tell Clr Rogers you’ve found new objections about the traveller site, maybe some wayward badgers & he will show you how to use it in surgery.
[quote quote=149806]They have only held three public sessions but in fairness, some Council Members have held their own meetings.
Very poor public relations with non-existent community engagement of any value.[/quote]
The last “draft” that came out for comment said something along the lines of “after extensive consultation…” but as far as I was aware there was no consultation. Nothing was advertised on the WCBC about it and I’m subscribed to the email alerts about it – including the one that was sent out with the amusing typo in ‘public’ in the subject line.[quote quote=149813]The website is abyssmal, it looks as if it was thrown together by an amateur, not a professional web designer. This is regardless of the content.[/quote]
It’s very time consuming and expensive to put together a proper website that collects comments then puts them in the bin.My guess is any genuine objection / concern to planning issues and the system doesn’t seem fit for purpose to fill out – raise it directly with your councillor and get them to help you draft up the issue. Surely that’s what they have been elected to for, to help the public.
Matt – do you really think ‘Your Local Councillor’ will actually help with an objection if they are part of the ruling triumvirate.
Have you ever have seen anything that is ‘consulted’ on by the Council actually change as a result of the public raising concerns or objections.
The reality is that by the time anything goes out for consultation it is actually a foregone conclusion it will go through with minimal change as it will have been pre-approved by the Leadership.[quote quote=149833]Matt – do you really think ‘Your Local Councillor’ will actually help with an objection if they are part of the ruling triumvirate.
Have you ever have seen anything that is ‘consulted’ on by the Council actually change as a result of the public raising concerns or objections.
The reality is that by the time anything goes out for consultation it is actually a foregone conclusion it will go through with minimal change as it will have been pre-approved by the Leadership.[/quote]I’m talking about giving average Joe public a fighting chance to respond to a consultation if they do not know how to do so online. I suggest they attempt to use the recommended channels before taking things further.
I personally am fully aware of the more dire and deeper unfair situation and keep in contact with the actual specific councillors who do care about issues and are likely to provide me with feedback about what is going on within council to help fight against issues around the county and are likely to lobby and advocate for the people as my local councillor is completely out of the question of helping. Likewise, I take my own fight to the council externally, both as an individual sending correspondence and FOIs to the council, calling them out in public criticism and taking part in the relevant local campaign groups when things get issue specific.
But to actually expect other people to be operating on that level, when sub 30% will even turn out to vote in local elections for their councillors means we have to send them down the right pathway to getting their opinions heard on a consultation or getting a dialogue going with their local councillors before they can decide they want to take things further, rather than alienating them entirely from the local political arena.
Unless we build up a comprehensive set of arguments and keep pushing and fighting the council leadership status quo, we may as well just all roll over and die or move away from the area.
It’s all about Public Awareness, Engagement and Scrutiny OVER AND OVER until we can actually get to where we need to be as a town and county.
Being an armchair cynic and stating that what’s going to happen as a foregone conclusion is not enough. You know that as matter of fact because of the excellent arguments you do bring to scrutiny and I’d just like to see more people get involved is all. Especially those who have never raised an issue before as they are less likely to be dismissed as “political activists”.
Yeah it’s horribly user unfriendly – took me ages to work out how to put in a comment. Most people either won’t be able to or will give up then the Council will declare triumphantly that there were few objections to their plan. Comments sent by email, letter or other means are not valid.
Additional documents have been added and the deadline extended to July 16th.
I have tried to see what additional docs have been added but I have looked st the docs list and can’t fathom out which ones have just been put on. Can anyone point me to which ones??
Another well run operation…..NOT!
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
