When is a consultation not a consultation? When the views of residents are ignored, says Westminster Conservatives' Leader, Cllr Paul Swaddle OBE.
Time and again, Labour-run Westminster City Council and the Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, have claimed to consult residents, only to push ahead with their plans regardless of what local people tell them.
I’m sure you will know examples in your area, but here are just a few across the council:
- In Little Venice, the consultation on Warwick Avenue improvements dismissed local concerns about value for money and the need for a full package of works.
- In Marylebone and Hyde Park, residents and local schools raised serious concerns about the George Street cycleway, but the so-called consultation led to almost no meaningful changes.
- In Abbey Road, a consultation was held on the design of the C51 cycleway, with huge opposition from residents and a risk of 90 resident parking places being removed.
- And worst of all, on Oxford Street, a mass public consultation on the future of the street and pedestrianisation saw overwhelming opposition to Labour’s plans from residents, but these have been swept aside.
This cannot go on. Consultations must be more than a tick-box exercise.
As Leader of the Conservative Group on Westminster council, I’m making a clear pledge: we will listen to local people. If a consultation isn’t genuinely open to influence, it shouldn’t happen at all.
I’d love to hear your views – and any local examples you’ve seen where the’ voices of local people were sidelined. Please share your experiences with me.
