COMPLAINTS that Wiltshire Council did not listen to fierce public opinion against the closure of Eveleigh Recycling Centre has led councillors to look into the way the council consult with the public on key decisions.

During the consultation on whether to shut the recycling centre in Pewsey, 1,300 residents got in touch, with 94 per cent calling for it to remain open. However the decision was made to close the centre, leading to complaints from the public including the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), that decisions were made regardless of public opinion.

However it turns out only 14 per cent of public consultations for opinions about issues such as parking or education are legally binding.

The other 86 per cent of ‘consultations’ were opinion polls, often leaving the public feeling views were not listened to because there is no legal duty.

Cllr John Walsh said: “Filling out consultations, I have been left with this feeling Wiltshire Council was trying to fix it so the public were not properly involved.”

Cllr Pip Ridout added: “We need to make sure the public understand that a consultation has a legally binding meaning. We need to use the term engagement with the public when we are asking for their opinion about something and not consulting.”

If a legal public consultation is held, decision makers have to prove they have considered it fully. Plans were put in place to improve the way the council respond to locals expressing their opinion.

The committee recommended that in the future consultations and opinion polls were explained to Wiltshire people more clearly.

The recommendation asked “For all decision-making papers to clearly set out how respondents’ views have actively influenced the final decision made.”

Cabinet member Allison Bucknell thanked the investigation and said the council would take all the recommendations on board.

She added: “Our communities team are trying to work out better ways of engaging with people and we will be using these teams when we do larger consultations and informing members earlier in the process.”