Effective, efficient and worthwhile consultation is at the heart of our commitment to the community. We encourage people to engage with us on relevant issues and seek out new ways to involve them in consultation activities and decision making.

The purpose of consultation is to inform the Council’s decisions by seeking the views of our residents and engaging them in the activities of the Council. The information gathered through consultation assists Members and officers to make decisions that improve services and provide value for money. In addition, there are increasingly important statutory requirements for consultation, for example, to support the development of statutory planning documentation such as the Local Development Framework.

We already have an established track record of consultation using methods such as residents' surveys, focus groups, interviews, exhibitions and workshops and open day events. More recently, we have undertaken a public consultation exercise (Your money, Your voice) that lets residents see how much the Council spends on services and suggests ways to make savings of at least £1.5 million of the Council's budget over the next three years.

Consultation Strategy

The purpose of the Consultation Strategy is to ensure that effective, efficient and worthwhile consultation is at the heart of our commitment to the community. The new strategy states that we will encourage people to engage with us on relevant issues and seek out new ways to involve them in consultation activities and decision making.

Further information on and to download the Consultation Strategy

FEEDBACK - Citizens' Panel

This panel was first set up in 1996, in response to recognising the need to listen to, and learn from, local residents' views. This helps the Council to improve and provide the services that residents want.  Membership of the panel was refreshed in 2000 and 2003, when it was rebranded to FEEDBACK and most recently in 2006. There are just over 1,000 members of this panel, who are sent surveys on a regular basis.

Further Information on the Citizens' Panel

Consultation Activity

A wide range of consultation is conducted on an annual basis.  This consultation ranges from statutory consultation to consultation that supports the Council's Key Priorities.

To gain further information on the consultation projects the Council has undertaken in the last few years please see the links below.  These pages detail the projects which have taken place in the past, and their outcomes; work which is currently being undertaken; and consultation which is planned for the future.  Where consultation has been carried out by the Council's in-house research team, a copy of the final report is also available on the relevant page.

Past Consultation
Current Consultation
Future Consultation

Further Information

Telephone:  Consultation & Communication division on 01372 732000
email: contactus@epsom-ewell.gov.uk