News Release : 12 May 2005

RECORD RESPONSE TO SOUTH EAST PLAN CONSULTATION

With over 64,000 responses, the recent public consultation on the draft South East Plan amounts to the most extensive regional planning consultation ever held in the UK, the South East England Regional Assembly revealed today. The consultation exercise will inform decisions on growth and development in the South East for the next 20 years.

The Regional Assembly consulted the public, local authorities, interest groups and other stakeholders on its draft Plan from January to April 2005. Statistics from the consultation released today show:

• 61,746 completed ‘Your Shout!’ questionnaires were returned. This was a response rate of 1.64% measured against the 3.76 million questionnaires distributed to households in the region, to councils, voluntary groups, libraries and local partnerships. This response rate exceeds the industry standard for direct mail.
• 2,646 written responses were received from local authorities, interest groups, stakeholders and the public.
• In addition, 10,000 residents were interviewed by independent opinion pollsters to assess people’s views on priorities for the Plan.

The Assembly’s media campaign involved local radio and newspaper advertising throughout the South East. Only four weeks into the 12-week consultation, there was a 56% level of awareness of the Plan amongst the general public. Other dimensions of the consultation reported today include:

• Over 11,000 executive summaries of the draft South East Plan were distributed and nearly 3,000 more were downloaded from the Assembly’s website.
• More than 5,000 draft Plans were sent out and another 1,100 copies of the core document were downloaded from the website.
• Over 100 public meetings were held across the region as well as 10 workshops to target hard to reach groups.

Cllr Nick Skellett, Chair of the Regional Assembly, said: ”We are delighted with the level of response to our consultation on the draft South East Plan. This was the most ambitious attempt to engage the public in regional planning ever made. Our efforts to reach as many people as possible have been generally successful. It is rewarding to see how many showed interest and took the opportunity to give their feedback. The Assembly members will now consider the views expressed and advise the Government on the most sustainable way forward for the region.”

Reports to the Assembly’s Regional Planning Committee on Monday 13 June will provide feedback on consultation comments received. The full Assembly is set to agree the regional and sub-regional policies on Wednesday 13 July in Winchester. Councils will be consulting on local detail elements of the draft Plan in the second half of 2005.

Contact

Lesley van Dijk, PR Executive - 01483 555223

Heather Bolton, Head of Communications - 01483 555220

Notes to editors:

1. Further details of consultation responses will be added to the Assembly's South East Plan website when analysis of comments is complete.
2. Comparable response rates range from 0.99% to 2.47%. Commercial companies delivering information door-to-door often expect response rates of around 0.5%.
3. Consultation period was from 24 January to 15 April 2005.
   
4. The Regional Assembly is the “voluntary regional chamber” for the South East. It was established in January 1999 to give a representative voice to the South East region which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, and Surrey.
5. The Assembly is made up of 112 members including elected councillors nominated by the region’s local authorities and 37 representatives from other sectors of the community (including business, trades unions, education, housing, health, sports, culture, tourism, faith groups, environmental, community and voluntary organisations).
6. The Assembly has three areas of core business:
1. It is the representative voice of the South East, engaging and representing its member organisations and, through them, the wider public.
2. The Assembly has a specific role under the Regional Development Agencies' Act 1998 to ensure the accountability of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to the region.
3. The Assembly has been the Regional Planning Body for the South East since April 2001. It has responsibility for proposing strategic planning and transport policies to Government.

Last updated: 21 August 2007

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