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objecting to something...
this is a pretty straightforward question (i hope!)...
there is a new area of development proposed in my local village which 99% of residents object to. the leaders of this development project obviously have to provide consultation and an opportunity for residents to officially log their concerns. as such, rather than everyone typing up their own individual letters, the parish council have pro-actively got together and agreed on a core set of issues which they wish to raise with the leaders of the project. there didn't seem any point in re-inventing the wheel and every individual writing the exact same letter, so a standard template was created which residents could simply print off and sign if they were in agreement (obviously if they don't agree, they can submit their own complaint). this made it easy for people who aren't great at writing letters, or indeed aren't capable of writing letters (elderly, disabled) an opportunity to voice their concerns (and also encourages residents who are perhaps a little concerned, but not enthusiastic enough to type their own letter, to get involved. in other words, providing greater engagement, hence more objections)
anyway, long story short, the leaders of the development project have said they will not accept a standard letter, even if it has been personally signed by each resident. the residents explained that most of the village are in agreement over the issues which they want to raise, and if an individual signs the letter, why should it be deemed invalid? after all, it's not out of the realms of possibility that some people may type the exact same short letter anyway, simply by coincidence. the leaders of the project responded by saying "well, try to make them look unique by wording them slightly differently"
this seems crazy to me. how can they possibly police this? people could use the exact same font and wording purely by chance! are they saying any duplicate letters which look similar won't be counted either?!!
the point is, they're obviously trying to make life as tricky as possible for residents to complain. they know that more people are likely to respond if they simply have to print off a standard complaint and sign it, so they're trying to make it as awkward as possible
...so my question is, where do they stand legally with this??? can the project effectively 'bin' complaints just because a resident has used a standard response?
thank you
there is a new area of development proposed in my local village which 99% of residents object to. the leaders of this development project obviously have to provide consultation and an opportunity for residents to officially log their concerns. as such, rather than everyone typing up their own individual letters, the parish council have pro-actively got together and agreed on a core set of issues which they wish to raise with the leaders of the project. there didn't seem any point in re-inventing the wheel and every individual writing the exact same letter, so a standard template was created which residents could simply print off and sign if they were in agreement (obviously if they don't agree, they can submit their own complaint). this made it easy for people who aren't great at writing letters, or indeed aren't capable of writing letters (elderly, disabled) an opportunity to voice their concerns (and also encourages residents who are perhaps a little concerned, but not enthusiastic enough to type their own letter, to get involved. in other words, providing greater engagement, hence more objections)
anyway, long story short, the leaders of the development project have said they will not accept a standard letter, even if it has been personally signed by each resident. the residents explained that most of the village are in agreement over the issues which they want to raise, and if an individual signs the letter, why should it be deemed invalid? after all, it's not out of the realms of possibility that some people may type the exact same short letter anyway, simply by coincidence. the leaders of the project responded by saying "well, try to make them look unique by wording them slightly differently"
this seems crazy to me. how can they possibly police this? people could use the exact same font and wording purely by chance! are they saying any duplicate letters which look similar won't be counted either?!!
the point is, they're obviously trying to make life as tricky as possible for residents to complain. they know that more people are likely to respond if they simply have to print off a standard complaint and sign it, so they're trying to make it as awkward as possible
...so my question is, where do they stand legally with this??? can the project effectively 'bin' complaints just because a resident has used a standard response?
thank you
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