Fears over feedback forms for park plan

OPPONENTS of the controversial Kent Science Park developments fear feedback from the public may be inaccurate because of a discrepancy between consultation forms.

The park created feedback forms both on paper and on its website, asking people in the area for their thoughts on its planned expansion, which includes 5,000 new homes in the countryside south of Sitting-bourne.

Both forms involve ticking boxes numbered one to 10, to show how important or unimportant the respondant feels certain issues are.

However, on the paper forms, which were available until Friday, number one stands for "least important" and number 10 stands for "most important". On the electronic version, at www.kentsciencepark.co.uk/thefuture, the numbers are the other way round.

A spokesman for Kent Science Park, said: "We are aware of this and recognise the difference in scoring between the online version and printed version of the feedback form, but there is no inconsistency of ranking within each individual questionnaire.

"When it comes to analysing all responses to questions six and seven, relating to the public's perception of major issues facing Sittingbourne, we will ensure there is a consistency of scoring and therefore accuracy."

More than 100 people have responded to the park's public consultation, which closed on Sunday.

Andrew Bull of LaSalle Investment Management that manages the park said: "The plans have attracted considerable interest from members of the public and business, either direct responses to the newsletter, during the public exhibitions or via the website.

"Comments received during the consultation process will now be taken into consideration as part of the master planning process"

A public meeting is due to be arranged, giving people a chance to find out more about the park's master plan.

This article is used with the kind permission of The Gazette & Times