Peter. An interesting topic and something that i myself am very interested in exploring. Your no nonsense approach is very refreshing. Its great to see that you are aimed at getting down to the basics of what community consultation is about and focusing on providing workable solutions. I have written a blog in which I pose similar questions open for discussion. You might be interested in reading it and some of the other related posts.

http://blog.roughtheory.org/2007/05/25/community-participation-beyond-taste-what-is-feasible-in-the-21st-century/

Thanks for the good read.

Kate. (RMIT university, Planning)