Stages of a Consultation

Open

All of the consultation information is made available on our website so people can decide whether they want to provide feedback. Key stakeholders Council identifies may be emailed to advise them that the consultation is open, and residents might receive notice in the post-box or on the Council’s website for local consultations.

This step can take between two to eight weeks.

Analysis

Consultation has closed and all feedback is now being analysed for key themes. A report is written that will be given to the elected members to help them make their decision.

The length of time to prepare the report depends on the type of consultation and the volume of feedback received.

Report

The Council staff report makes a recommendation to the deciding body. The deciding body can be the full Council or a Committee of the Council.

Hearing

In some cases, a hearing may be held if Council considers it necessary for consultation.

As a submitter, you will be asked if you would like to attend a hearing. This means you may present a summary of your submission to a hearings panel who may ask you questions about your submission.

Following hearing, the panel will consider what they have heard from submitters and staff before making a recommendation to the full Council, who will make the final decision.

Decision

A report is presented to the full Council for a final decision.

The Council may accept the recommendations, or amendments to the recommendations might be made. A decision is called a 'resolution' which staff must then action. There can be several resolutions attached to any one decision.

The decision will be available on the Council’s website, or in some cases the submitters will be contacted with the final decision.