The problem with polls (and a chance to participate in another 'consultation')

All sorts of polls, whether elections, referenda, petitions or surveys, are to a greater or lesser extent flawed because those who participate can never be in command of all the facts.  The situation is particularly extreme in the case of petitions since they are necessarily promoted by those on just one side of an argument.  They of course have no incentive to present a balanced view, they just want as many signatures as possible.

In recent weeks there have been two polls, the Mori Poll about Devolution to Norfolk and Suffolk and the heavily promoted and supported petition with regard to the Bus Station in Sudbury,  Sadly in both cases, participants appear to have suffered from ignorance of the facts.

In the case of the Mori poll on Devolution, a good proportion of participants questioned confessed to having little or no knowledge of the subject.   This did not however prevent them from taking part!  Similarly,   In the case of the petition with regard to the bus station, I do wonder whether those who signed it really understand the whole picture.

I am not always a great fan of every aspect of Babergh District Council’s activities, particularly in the area of planning, but I think that in recent years Simon Barrett and his colleagues have worked hard to try to arrest the decline of the town centre in Sudbury.  Many market towns are currently suffering from high business rates, a plethora of charity shops, the growth of online shopping etc. etc., and positive action is necessary if we are not to see town centres such as Sudbury’s becoming further run down.

One very positive step has been the very real support that Babergh has provided in helping Gainsborough’s House to fulfil its dream of creating new and exciting additional gallery and other facilities.  As far as the bus station is concerned,  the council should also be congratulated on its far sighted attempts to develop the Hamilton Road area.    A solution to the siting of the bus station cannot be seen in isolation, but as part of this wider scheme. 

Going along to see what is actually being proposed as far as the design of the new bus station is concerned is a good way for all of us to start to separate fact from fiction

Public consultation events will be held in Sudbury Town Hall between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday 14^th October and from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday 15^th October.

There will also be a display exhibition in Sudbury Town Hall from Monday 3 October to Tuesday 25 October. Sudbury Town Hall is open from 9am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday.

Following the consultation, feedback will be incorporated into the planning application for a new Sudbury Bus Station. There will also be the opportunity for the public to give their views on the full planning application later in the year.

The consultation closes on Tuesday 25 October 2016. To view the proposed designs and to complete the consultation survey, visit www.suffolk.gov.uk/sudburybus