News

Poole’s reputation as an ‘excellent communicator’ received a boost at the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) Conference this weekend.

Poole’s Communications Team won an ‘Excellence in Communications Award’ for their work to present the Council’s budget choices in 2001/2002 with LEGO. Thirty LEGO towers were used to represent the Council’s budget of £107.5million, showing how it broke down into the main public services and how much they cost to deliver.

Last November, the structure was set up in Poole’s Dolphin Shopping Centre for three days where local residents took the opportunity to tell the Council how they would spend their own Council Tax. Lego currency (worth £750 – average Council Tax Band D) was given to everyone who took part. Many faced difficult decisions with not enough ‘money’ (lego bricks) to go round!

Pokemon or trump style cards also gave people detailed information about each service. Colour coded bricks for four different age groups allowed the Council to see which services were more important to different groups. Local Councillors and Officers also listened to people’s views on all aspects of Council services.

Cllr Graham Wilson, Executive Spokesperson for Community Information, said: "Poole people played a huge part in making last year’s budget consultation a success. We have a growing reputation in Poole, for consulting with local people and their views help us to shape the delivery and provision of all our local services. The beauty of this campaign was that it also gave local people the chance to see how difficult budget decisions really are."

Catherine Corbin, Marketing Manager, Borough of Poole, said: "Local people are interested in the Council and it’s important for us to create the opportunities for them to get involved and express their views. Using creative concepts and sometimes high risk campaigns clearly works and we are delighted to have received this award."

Consultation for next year’s budget April 2002 to March 2003 will take place in November. More information on how to get involved will be in the next edition of Poole News – hitting doorsteps 1 November.

The IPR Conference was held in Birmingham on 8 September. Shortlisted candidates for the PR on a shoestring category, sponsored by the Institute of Public Relations were Falkirk Council, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, South Northamptonshire District Council & the Borough of Poole.