After refusing to reveal to OnTheWight the number of responses from members of the public to proposed changes to parking charges, the Isle of Wight council has today published the figures.
The full report is below and reveals the size of public objection to the proposed parking changes.
Nearly 10,000 signatures
Nearly 10,000 signatures were collected across nine petitions, on paper and online, opposing the proposed changes (Detailed below)
By far the largest number of signatures was collected for the Appley/Puckpool petition, which was 3,097.
Moa Place, Carisbrooke and Wootton all gained around another 1,500 signatures each.
Medina Campus had two petitions, split 544 and 202, giving a total of 746.
Council judges 543 letter as ‘valid objections’
In addition to this the public wrote in letters of objection. The council decided to declare 543 of these as ‘valid objections’. Council officers reviewed these and put them in to eight themes.
The breakdown of these themes are detailed further down this page.
‘Large number’ of public letters ‘not valid objections’
In the council’s words:
In addition to the objections and petitions there were a large number of observations which were not valid objections to the order but were comments the public wished to make to the council and for it to take account of in considering the parking order.
No answers for those who asked questions
OnTheWight has been contacted by some of those who sent letters also asking questions of the council – questions that weren’t answered.
This report reveals that the council decided not to answer these questions as ‘this was a consultation process’. In their own words:
A number of respondents posed questions regarding parking issues and requested a reply to their objections.
As this was a consultation process to request views and comments on the proposals to inform members’ decision on the order, it has not been possible to reply to each request for individual comment.
Report on public objections to parking
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We’ve updated sections of this report to improve its readability.
Image: christine592 under CC BY 2.0
