Residents survey results help set council priorities
East Hampshire is a good place to live, people believe neighbours get on well in the area, that they are well informed about the district council and that council staff are helpful. On the downside there are concerns about public transport, activities for young people and house prices.
These are some of the results of the Residents Survey which gathered the views of around 1,100 residents from across the district at the end of last year.
A local shop is seen as most important for a sense of community and this supports the council’s current campaign to keep local shops open despite post office closures.
As well as general attitudes to living in the area the survey asked about what the council’s priorities should be and about satisfaction with the council.
Residents’ priorities
Asked to choose from a list of 16 possible priorities, residents' top five priorities were:
- Protect the countryside
- Work with police to reduce crime
- Involve residents in decision making
- Ensure that residents are treated fairly
- Maintain the freeze on EHDC’s share of Council tax increases
There were some differences between younger and older residents. Under 46 year olds for example gave higher priority to tackling climate change.
Leader of the Council Ferris Cowper said: “The surveys provides valuable information and help us to make sure that the Council is investing its energy in the things that matter most to people.”
Council Services
East Hampshire’s results for council services compare well with other areas but some results have slipped back compared to previous surveys.
Refuse, recycling and litter collection are of particular concern as improvements have been made. Glass recycling has been introduced and more litter is being collected along with initiatives to remove chewing gum from pavements and to encourage smokers not to drop cigarette butts.
Is it that people are dropping more litter? has the smoking ban resulted in more cigarette buts in the street or are people’s expectations higher?
Other results of some concern are that fewer people believe the council provides good value for money than in 2005 , even though the district council has frozen its share of the council tax for the past three years – and with improvements rather than reductions in services.
The council is looking into these and other issues to find out what might lie behind the results - if you have any ideas or suggestions that may help us to achieve improvements please send them to Steve Bradley – Communications Manager – East Hampshire District Council email: steve.bradley@easthants.gov.uk.
If you would like to see the full results they are available as a pdf attachment at the bottom of this page.
EHDC 2007 Residents Survey Results.pdf
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