In last week’s full council, our Conservative team highlighted a number of recent council consultations that had fallen short of public expectations and called for a cross party committee to make recommendations on setting some clear standards to improve in future.

One example raised was the recent consultation on downgrading Monmouth Library and moving it out of its home in the Rolls Hall to the Shire Hall. This consultation was launched on a Monday morning without any notice and was due to last less than two weeks. There were no online options, so the only way that residents could share views on the proposal was to visit the library and fill in a five-page survey. This consultation risked excluding a lot of residents, who could have otherwise expressed their views.

A recent consultation on a draft local transport plan excluded key partners like the Monmouthshire chambers of trade, yet proposed things like a parking levy for employees, which would act asa deterrent to shopping locally.

Another example was the council’s recent consultation on 20mph zones. Almost 18 months on from the rollout of the Welsh Government’s default 20mph limit, the council sought public feedback on whether there are any roads that should revert to 30mph. The council collated feedback, totalling some 1,500 responses. 93% of respondents called for some changes to the speed limits. In total, respondents had requested the council re-examine 143 roads. Following a review of responses, the council announced they had considered changing speed limits on four roads, but had decided against it.

It seems extraordinary that the council did not explain the process, which led to 139 roads not being examined, despite calls from the public. Residents who took part in the consultation want to see evidence that their views were taken into account. That doesn’t mean that the council necessarily agreed with them, but they do need to see evidence that their views were considered.

Unfortunately, the motion was voted down by Labour councillors who spent most of their contributions defending the default 20mph limit, even though the wording of the motion was specifically about improving consultations and sharing evidence from the 20mph engagement exercise.

It’s a shame because we very much saw this as an opportunity for a cross-party group of councillors to consider how future consultations could be run and how they can involve the council’s key partners and a wider range of residents.