Overview
Executive summary
- this was a non-statutory engagement activity carried out on behalf of Louth Transport Board (The Board). It was open for six weeks
- it was very widely promoted to identified:
- stakeholders
- news outlets and partners
- social media
- staff
- the public and councillors
- there were 1,323 respondents, of which:
- 982 were residents
- 223 were visitors
- 118 other respondents, for example organisation representatives, residents of nearby villages
- there were 264 individuals (residents or visitors) with a form of disability which is 20% of all respondents. The percentage of Lincolnshire residents who consider themselves as disabled is 27.6%
Introduction
The Active Travel experimental trial in Louth ran for 18 months to explore different ways to encourage people to take more time when visiting the centre of the town. It concluded in September 2023.
Since then, the Louth Transport Board – made up of councillor and officer representatives from Lincolnshire County Council, East Lindsey District Council and Louth Town Council, discussed various options for alternative uses of the area.
At its meeting of 7 November 2023, the Board discussed results from previous surveys carried out by East Lindsey District Council and Louth Town Council. They also considered options for future alternative use of space in the town centre and decided to engage with the public to hear their views and ideas on them.
A survey and a mapping tool were published on Let’s talk Lincolnshire for anyone that lives, works or visits Louth to share their views and ideas on the future of the Louth town centre.
Stakeholders
Primary stakeholders were the public and particularly those who live, work, or visit Louth. Secondary stakeholders included councillors and partner organisations who could help identify and share the opportunity to respond.
As part of the engagement, equality impact assessments on the Board’s proposed options were carried out to identify those who might be positively or negatively impacted by the Board’s proposed options and promote the engagement activity to them.
Methodology
- a survey and an interactive map were open to the public on the homepage of Let’s talk Lincolnshire from 22 January to 1 March 2024
- the survey and the map were available:
- on the Let’s talk Lincolnshire website
- in other formats on request via a dedicated telephone line
- We received 1,323 survey responses in total of which:
- 1,243 surveys submitted directly on Let’s talk Lincolnshire website
- 80 surveys submitted by post
- We received 42 map responses in total of which:
- 27 map responses submitted directly on Let’s talk Lincolnshire website
- 15 map responses submitted by post
Survey
- the survey contained 21 questions. Followed by an 'about you' section where we asked in which capacity people were responding. This included:
- residents
- visitors
- business representatives
- organisation representatives
- councillors
- 'other'
- for individuals who responded as resident or a visitor we asked additional questions including:
- age
- disability
- overall impact of the options
- comments or reasons were sought on the overall impact from those who identified any impacts on themselves or people in their household. We used the results to update the Equality Impact Analysis documents
- for those who responded as an organisation or business representative we asked for the name of their organisation or business they represented
- for those who responded as a councillor we asked which council they represented
- for those who responded as other, we asked to provide more details
Map
The map provided participants with an opportunity to:
- place a pin where they would like to see cycle parking facilities in Louth town centre
- provide any additional comments on the pins and locations they selected
Engagement promotion
Promotion was carried out via various methods:
- leaflet distribution to every household in Louth (about 14,500 households)
- news release on Lincolnshire County Council website
- news release to local media outlets
- social media messages on Facebook, Instagram, X and Nextdoor
- social media paid advertising campaign for the duration of the engagement covering Louth and 30 km radius
- two articles in the town and parish council newsletter
- two email newsletters sent to Let’s talk Lincolnshire registered participants
- direct email to identified stakeholders including 80 organisations providing services in Louth, 13 educational settings in Louth and 27 Lincolnshire wide organisations
- a poster was available in various locations in Louth town centre
- two face-to-face, drop-in pop-up stalls on the Cornmarket on 31 January and 17 February 2024
- poster distribution by the project team to local businesses on 31 January 2024
- county council internal staff comms messages
- Lincolnshire highways newsletter
- County Catch up newsletter