Sefton Council release results of Cycle Lanes in Southport survey all 111 pages of it

The overwhelming majority of people who filled in the survey are against the Councils plans. A 111 page document has been released today which will go before the Overview & Scrutiny Committee on November 9th.

In summary we will;

• Deliver a leaflet to properties along the route which tells people about the walking
  and cycling route in simple language. The leaflet will tell people how they can tell
  us their views and opinions
• We will offer the leaflet in alternative formats so everyone can understand what it
  means for them
• We will issue a press release so that people who are not online or do not live
  directly along the route will get to know about the walking and cycling route and
  know how to tell us their views and opinions
• We will have a place where people can go on-line and tell us their thoughts, we will also have a telephone number people can call to tell us their thoughts too
• We will engage with business owners and big attractors and find out their thoughts
• We will engage with the Emergency Services on our plans before the statutory
  process
• We will engage with people who are not often represented in our consultations, via user groups and interest groups
• We will write a report which summarises the results and this will be available for all to see on our website once approved

Where to find out more;

When we have started our engagement you will find all the information
here; www.sefton.gov.uk/Southportwalkcycle, you will also be able to email us
on [email protected]. We will use the following twitter accounts –
@SeftonCouncil and @ActiveTravelSefton

The document can be seen here

 

Cllr John Fairclough has made some controversial comments on the results.

The results of the recent Southport Active Travel Cycle Lane consultation will be presented to the November 9th Overview and Scrutiny committee (O&S), fulfilling the promises Sefton Council has continually made to ward councillors.

This decision preceded a formal request which has been made by five ward councillors to call an Extraordinary General Meeting of the council to discuss the same report.

At a meeting of full council in July, Cllr John Fairclough, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Locality Services, guaranteed that an Overview and Scrutiny committee made up of cross-party councillors will be able to take a detailed look into the results of the much publicised consultation.

Ahead of the meeting Cllr Fairclough warned committee members may be very surprised at the picture painted by the feedback of residents and campaigners.

Cllr John Fairclough, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Locality Services said: “As promised we will make the full results of this consultation public and subject it to cross-party scrutiny to ensure complete fairness and transparency.

“Those who take a look at the reports findings will see some unusual outcomes including multiple, and in one case 19, submissions from a single IP address and people responding to every single question with ‘strongly disagree’.

“I can understand there are people who do not agree with our proposals and there has been some high-profile opposition expressed.

“However, I have never known people to be so adamantly against plans to introduce crossing points that would improve road safety for pedestrians.

“My concern is that the genuine views of the people of Southport might have been hijacked in a coordinated response by people who don’t want to see these walking and cycling schemes go ahead and I look forward to hearing the views of the Overview & Scrutiny Panel.”

Common concerns expressed included the loss of street on-street parking for some residents and its possible impact on local businesses, the effect on journey times for Birkdale residents and the people driving to rugby tournaments and school events having to park further away.

Cllr Fairclough added: “As the report says, the Council put a lot of effort into encouraging people to take part in the consultation but it seems to have been mainly people who fit a certain profile who have responded in large numbers so we need to look at how we can try to get broader responses in the future.

“And, given the multiple submissions identified, we are going to need to build in ways of detecting this into future consultations, to ensure the outcomes are truly representative of a community’s views.”

A full report of the consultation’s feedback and comments will be publicly published on November 1st before being presented to an Overview & Scrutiny Committee on November 9th for a comprehensive analysis and consideration.

In order to ensure maximum transparency, Sefton Council’s Overview & Scrutiny committees are responsible for scrutinising a whole range of local authority functions and responsibilities and the impact those works may have on the local community.