I would like to reassure residents who felt the council has been unrepresentative that there has been thorough and extensive consultation on the Preston Park Station area parking scheme (The Argus, December 10).

Their delegation to the council meeting was joined by another which was in favour of the scheme. Our consultation included leaflets with questionnaires and plans (indicating proposed hours and days of operation) to every household.

We began with a letter sent to 1,410 properties in the Preston Park Station area covering 19 roads. It explained the council had received a number of reports of parking problems in the area and asked residents if they would like a parking scheme to be investigated and designed for their roads.

This initial mailout achieved a 44.5% response rate and from that an area was identified to include those who were in favour of further consultation with detailed information about how, where and when a scheme would operate.

There were 914 questionnaires sent to addresses in roads considered to form the Preston Park Station area. There were 357 completed questionnaires returned, giving a response rate of 39% – the average response rate on parking surveys (at this stage) across the city.

A public exhibition was held at a nearby church and was then available to view at Hove Town Hall. Residents could also give comments and view background documents on our website. There was a further opportunity to comment on the plans when the final draft Traffic Regulation Order was advertised and all comments were included in the report to the environment cabinet member’s meeting in July.

We urge all residents to give the scheme a few months to see how it settles down and how well it operates.

Councillor Geoffrey Theobald cabinet member for environment
Brighton and Hove City Council