How We Consult

The Council uses a range of research and consultation methods to find out what residents think. These are just some of the ways we may ask for your views:

Surveys

Many of our surveys are done in the form of online consultations. We use a variety of software to conduct our surveys including iconsult. Paper copies for all online consultations can be requested.

We undertake occasional surveys including postal, face-to-face and telephone. You may be approached, for example in the street by a company carrying out research on our behalf. We sometimes ask an independent market research agency to run these for us and they may be held in someone's home. We require all companies we work with to adhere to the Market Research Society's Code of Conduct when approaching people, so that residents can be sure they are being approached about a genuine market research exercise.

Engagement

Spelthorne Borough Council engages with a variety of groups across the Borough. These include community groups, the volunteer sector, Visit Staines, Borough stakeholders, partner agencies including the Police, Health and Fire services, resident associations, the Spelthorne Business Forum and more. The Spelthorne Business Forum was established some years ago to boost communication between the business community and the Council.  If you are a local business in Spelthorne and you would like to find out more, you can contact Economic Development on 01784 444224.

Publicising our consultation activities

We publicise all our consultation activities via our digital and print platforms. These include:

• borough noticeboards
• bulletin magazine
• local press
• letters
• digital screens in Staines
• website
• social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, NextDoor and LinkedIn
• MyAlerts: Register at www.spelthorne.gov.uk/my-alerts
• E-newsletter: If you would like to receive this, you can register online

If appropriate, events and briefings are held to provide information to stakeholders regarding the specific consultation and to gather face to face and written feedback.