The Poor Quality of the Local Press

The controversy surrounding local planning applications are often blown out of proportion by the local press. Now, often, mere vehicles for advertising local reporting can give special pleading and undue space in its columns. The Adroit-e Research way of dealing with this is to ensure that if we are to rely on collecting a representative sample, it reflects accurately the local population. We ensure, too, that the right to give views is ensured but that the right to contribute to the same view many times, for instance through multiply completions of an online poll, is prevented. This way, the evidence from the local community can be relied on as accurate. Too often, the provision of an online poll of a local press where people contribute their views many times cannot be regarded as accurate.

For further information, please visit the Adroit-e Research Ltd website at www.adroit-e.co.uk or phone us at 01582 463479.

Don't let the Localism Bill become a Nimby's Charter

National House Federation Chief Executive David Orr said in May 'Don't let the Localism Bill become a Nimby's Charter'

Commenting on the forthcoming legislation, Federation chief executive David Orr said: "It’s right that local communities should have a say on whether new homes and developments are built in their area – and we support the Government’s localism agenda."

"However, with waiting lists for social homes at record levels, we must ensure that this approach will still deliver the new homes the country desperately needs and does not become a Nimby’s charter."

Adroit-e is convinced that for any particular Planning Application the quality of evidence must prevail.

Discussions with experts  have concentrated on different funding mechanisms which can and have been brought into play to ensure that an appropriately qualified, independent research agency can work with local people.

I have also been in discussion about the advantages and dangers of collecting data digitally. If collected inappropriately, and we have experience of pressure groups running Polls from their websites, then arrant nonsense often prevails. In the hands of Numpties one person can complete a survey many times. So while the respondents may apparently show a number in the hundreds, only a few people have been filling in the survey forms, hopelessly skewing the results. No Planning committee will listen to the results of X Factor style Block voting.

We eschew such practices and adopt many highly original and reliable approaches. We do not guarantee that they will produce the answers a client wants, but they are properly representative and wholly believable.

The Localism and Centralism Bill

There are 2 elements of the Localism and Centralism Bill that will require INDEPENDENT agencies are engaged to provide evidence to ensure that the views of local residents are presented in a legal, honest and truthful way.

• Return decision-making powers on housing and planning to local councils.

• Give residents the power to instigate local referendums on any local issue and the power to veto excessive council tax increases.

Recently, Adroit-e has had experience of having to intervene when highly skewed results were presented as ‘the views of residents’ – they were in fact wholly unreliable.

Our approaches are digitally based, but involve a human interface. Normally we do not encourage online polling as the results are based on self selection which does not always produce robust data – some approaches too allow respondents the opportunity to fill in the questionnaire many times thus producing gross inaccuracies.

Attention to detail is crucial and we can cope with the most complex of briefs.

‘At last someone who understands what I’m on about’ (Chair local residents association 050710).