We asked, you said, we did

We Asked

We asked for your comments on our proposed changes to the Council’s Local Validation Checklist.

You Said

We received comments from 5 individuals during the course of the 6 week consultation period. The issues raised can be summarised as follows:

• The importance of detailed assessment of Conservation matters.
• Enforcement of tree protection measures.
• Adequacy of information provided in relation to Biodiversity Net Gain.
• Clarification over the stipulation that plans submitted with planning applications should not include a statement saying ‘Do Not Scale’.
• Concerns over the requirement to submit information relating to trees on and adjacent to a site where development is being carried out.
• Requests for more detailed traffic tracking information.
• Query with regard Design and Access Statements.

We Did

A direct response was sent to each individual addressing the separate issues raised and seeking to provide further explanation as to the why certain information is required when submitting a planning application.

Each response was considered carefully to assess whether any further changes should be made to the checklist, however the team is satisfied that the requirements of the checklist are proportionate, reasonable, and necessary in the determination of planning applications. Therefore, no further amends have been made to the checklist.

The Checklist has been approved by the Director of Regeneration and Place and is published on the website here.

We Asked

Selective Licensing is a scheme to improve private rented homes within specific designated neighbourhoods by requiring landlords to obtain a licence and comply with certain agreed conditions. This scheme aims to improve homes in the Selective Licensing areas by ensuring private landlords meet satisfactory standards of tenancy and property management.

The proposed areas for 2024-2029 are:

• Birkenhead West
• Seacombe St Pauls
• Bidston & St James West
• Egremont North

We asked for your views on:

• Your level of agreement to the implementation of the scheme.
• Your level of agreement to the level of the selective licensing fee.
• Your level of agreement to the proposed reductions to the selective licensing fee.
• For landlords, the level of agreement to some of the selective licensing conditions.

You Said

498 people responded to the Residents and Businesses survey and 46 people responded to the Landlords survey. The feedback was analysed and presented to the Economy Regeneration & Housing Committee on 6 December 2023. The report can be viewed in the documents section here.

We Did

During the Economy Regeneration & Housing Committee Meeting (external link) on 6 December 2023, the proposals to implement Selective Licensing were approved.

We Asked

Wirral Council is legally required to complete a review of all polling districts and polling places every five years. The review will not consider ward or parliamentary constituency boundaries.

We asked for your views and suggestions on:

• How convenient the location of your local polling place is in relation to where you live.
• How accessible your local polling place is, for example if you are blind or use a wheelchair.
• If you think that this is the best location for your polling place. Please suggest alternative premises that could be used if applicable.
• The (Acting) Returning Officer’s comments for future electoral arrangements.

You Said

39 people responded to the survey. The feedback was compiled and presented to the The Regulatory and General Purposes Committee on 23rd November 2023. The report can be viewed in the documents section here.

We Did

During the Regulatory and General Purposes Committee (external link) on 23 November 2023, it was agreed that, in light of the consultation, it was not necessary to change any of the current polling places as a result of the review.

We Asked

People across Merseyside were asked to help shape a new strategy with the aim of reducing serious violence across our region.

We asked about:

• What are your views on the problem of violence?
• What causes violence in our communities?
• How does violence affect you and your community?
• What can we do to reduce violence?

You Said

169 people responded to the Your Safety Matters survey. The report can be viewed in the documents section here.

We Did

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner are developing a Serious Violence Response Strategy (a document which sets out a plan of where efforts will be focused). This strategy will describe how serious violence in Merseyside will be reduced. Your views will help shape this strategy, which will be published on Council, Police, Fire Service, NHS and Probation Service websites across Merseyside in January 2024.

We Asked

Wirral Council is looking to develop a parking strategy to see what is working, what isn’t and what needs to be changed to provide better facilities now and for the future.

The first phase of engagement, which can be found here, was designed to discover opinions regarding parking. The first phase of engagement was responded to by 1,188 people and its findings discussed at Environment, Climate Change and Transport Committee in June 2023.

Following the first phase of consultation, a second phase was launched to discover residents and stakeholders opinions regarding proposed parking policies, which had been designed with the feedback from phase 1.

You Said

2,171 people responded to the phase 2 survey. Of the 22 proposals, 11 were generally supported and 11 generally opposed.

The following proposal received strong support, "The council should use enforcement powers to restrict parking outside schools during pick up and drop off times."

The following proposal was strongly opposed, "Parking should be booked and paid for by a smartphone app rather than by a pay and display machine."

The survey identified some concerns about the introduction of the scheme, which included:

• Impact on businesses.
• Public transport is currently not a viable alternative to private vehicle use.
• Not enough enforcement of current parking rules.

The full report from Phase 2 can be found in the documents section here.

We Did

During the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee(External link) on 5 December 2023, the parking strategy was approved.

We Asked

As part of the production of Wirral's Air Quality Strategy we asked for resident's views on air quality and which priorities are most important. They were asked to comment on which of the five priorities in the strategy were of most importance, as well as the importance of the benefits of good air quality.

You Said

150 people responded to the online survey.

• 82% of participants felt that having good air quality in Wirral was important.
• Of the five priorities within the strategy, the priority ranked as being most important was to “Reduce domestic, commercial, and industrial emissions” with an average ranking on 3.42 out of 5.
• Improving the health of children and young people was identified as being the most important benefit of improving air quality.
• Improving public transport was thought to be the most important action in improving air quality.

For more information about the consultation and to view the Wirral Air Quality Strategy, click here.

We Did

The feedback and comments from the survey were used to inform the development of the strategy. The strategy was presented and approved at the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee on 5 December 2023.

We Asked

Wirral Council is looking to introduce more 20mph speed limits to improve air quality and reduce traffic speeds so that people can feel safer on the road.

As part of phase 1 of the 20mph speed limit scheme, 15 areas were consulted upon and approved for implementation at the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport committee in January 2023.

A further 15 20mph areas were proposed as part of phase 2, and residents were invited to share their views.

You Said

2,226 people responded to the survey, 92.7% objected to the introduction of the scheme and 7.3% supported it.

The survey identified some concerns about the introduction of the scheme, which included that:

• It would not make the roads safer.
• It would not decrease air pollution.
• It would increase journey times & congestion.
• It was not appropriate for main roads.

Supporters believed that the scheme would:

• Make the roads safer.
• Change driver attitude for the better
• Become and accepted aspect of road safety, like seatbelts.

We Did

The statutory consultation phase is not a referendum or public vote but allows the public to inform the council of any issues that officers might not be aware of that might change the scheme.

During the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee(External link) on 5 December 2023, officers were able to provide detailed responses to resident's concerns, and it was recommended and agreed to introduce all of Phase 2 of the 20mph speed limit programme on those roads or parts of roads shown on the list. The concerns raised and officer's responses can be view in the Documents section of the 20mph Speed Limit scheme - Phase 2 consultation page.

We Asked

We asked Wirral Residents to provide feedback on the proposals to to apply for moving traffic enforcement powers at the suggested School Streets location of Green Lane and Greenleas Close in Wallasey. If the application was to go ahead, these powers would allow the council to strengthen the work it is currently doing to enforce against unlawful and dangerous driving behaviour.

You Said

87 people responded to the online survey. 66% agreed with moving traffic enforcement of the School Streets scheme along Green Lane and Greenleas Close. For more information about the consultation and to view the Moving Traffic Enforcement, click here.

We Did

Following the results of the consultation the Council submitted application for moving traffic enforcement to the Government. Agreement was received from the Government Parliamentary, Business and Legislation (PBL) Committee to lay the “The Civil Enforcement of Moving Traffic Contraventions Designations Order 2023” on 27 June 2023. This came in to force in July 2023 for the Greenleas Primary School Streets site to improve road safety in that area.

We Asked

We asked Wirral Residents to tell us what they think of the draft strategy. They were asked to comment on a set of themes identified by Wirral Carers and a set of six priorities.

You Said

38 people responded to the online survey.

• Ninety-two percent of respondents agreed with the Wirral Carers identified themes.

• Ninety percent of respondents agreed with the six priorities.

• Out of the six priorities, respondents identified Carers Health and Social Care Support as the most important and Short Breaks for Carers being the least important.

• Sixty-six percent of respondents thought the Wirral Carers Strategy will help improve support for unpaid Carers.

For more information about the consultation and to view the Wirral Adult Carers Strategy, click here.

We Did

The feedback and comments from the survey were used to inform the development of the strategy. New suggestions were also incorporated into it.

We asked:

The i-Tree eco study invited Wirral residents to share their thoughts and experiences about trees in their communities.

In the survey, residents were asked about the number of trees in their area, the health of these trees, the type of trees they like to see and where they like to see them. They were also asked what they already do, or would like to do, when it comes to looking after trees in Wirral.

You said:

The questionnaire yielded 304 responses.

• Eighty-five percent of respondents said that they were able to see three or more trees looking out from their home.
• Fifty-eight percent of participants said that they were able to visit their local trees and woodlands as often as they would like.
• Ninety-four percent of respondents said that they did not find it difficult to travel to their local trees and woods. The main barrier to access to trees and woods was a lack of time.
• Over ninety percent of people felt that there were too few trees in Wirral.
• People generally thought that managing trees to reduce their potentially negative impacts (such as subsidence, leaf drop or pollen) was less important than managing them to increase their positive impacts such as creating a nice place to live and contributing to clean air.
• Most respondents indicated that they wanted to get more involved with decision making around local trees and around one in two said that they knew who to contact if a tree in their neighbourhood was causing annoyance.
• Many participants said that they had - or would be willing to - plant trees in their own garden.
• Respondents indicated that they consider trees and woods to be important in many ways.
• Survey respondents felt trees make the most positive contribution in urban woodlands and public parks/recreational areas.
• Many survey respondents said they would like to see more oak trees in their local area or neighbourhood. After oak trees, rowan, cherry, birch, and fruit trees were the species that people would like to see more of in their local area.
• Most survey respondents would like any trees planted in their local area to be mostly native.
• Most survey respondents thought that the trees in their street were healthy.

For more information about the consultation and to view the Wirral iTree Technical Report click here.

We did:

The findings of this consultation will inform tree management going forwards. A review of the Tree, Hedgerow and Woodland Strategy is now taking place and the recommendations from the i-Tree Eco study and this consultation will feed into the revised strategy.

Summary of the Tree, Hedgerow and Woodland strategy:

• In the ten-year span of this strategy over 210,000 trees will be planted, at least 21,000 per year.
• We will adopt the principle of 'the right tree for the right place' to ensure the most resilient tree population possible.
• We will establish a clear picture of Wirral’s tree stock and its benefits.
• We will work constructively with individuals and groups to deliver this vision.

Please click here to review the Tree, Hedgerow and Woodland strategy.