Residents reveal opinions in Residents' Survey

The results of Stratford-on-Avon District Council's two-yearly Residents' Survey has shown an increase in satisfaction with the District Council and the services it provides.

The survey looked at people's views, perceptions and experiences of their area and asked about the quality of services the District Council provides including local decision making, Council information and contacting the Council and Community Safety.  A total of 1,930 questionnaires were returned.

Nine out of ten people in Stratford District were satisfied with their local area as a place to live and 76% of people were satisfied with the way the District Council runs things, an increase of 15 percentage points on 2012.  Half of those surveyed believed that the District Council provides value for money, another 15 point increase from two years ago.

Residents being able to influence development and decisions in their local area remains the same as has the figure for keeping resident's informed, for people making contact with the Council and feeling safe outside during the daytime.

Satisfaction rates for public toilets has gone up in the last two years from 33% to 43%, housing services has seen an increase from 26% to 29% and there's also been a small increase for car parking.

Areas of concern with the largest decreases in satisfaction includes Council complaints handling (down 10 percentage points), keeping public land clear of litter and refuse, parks and open spaces and perceptions of rubbish/litter lying around as a problem.

The level of traffic congestion and affordable housing remain the most important aspects that need most improvement.  As in previous surveys residents also felt activities for teenagers, road/pavement repairs and public transport needed improving.

Cllr Jennie Ellard, Customer Access Portfolio says: ““I am grateful to all the residents who took part in the survey and it's good to see that satisfaction rates with the Council continue to improve, especially on value for money.  These results are very interesting as they will help us shape our services in the future and target our resources. Although on the whole the results are pleasing there are always things we can do to make the District and our services even better."

The full survey results are available here.

• The survey was carried out during October, November and December 2014; the results are based on 1,930 completed replies to the survey, a response rate of 35.4%.
• The Residents Survey has replaced the Place Survey the once statutory survey for the Government which has now been scrapped. 
• The Council will carry out this survey every two years.
• The survey was conducted via postal self-completion questionnaires which included a reminder mailing.

• Weighting to reflect the profile of the Districts' population has been applied to all survey results.
• The survey aims to gauge public opinion on a range of services delivered by Stratford-on-Avon District Council.