Residents share their views

It is part of the District Council’s vision to be driven by what matters to residents. This is why it is so important for the District Council to listen to the views of residents and consider these views in shaping the future of the district. Therefore, the Council went out to residents to gather their views in the form of the 2022 Resident Survey. The results of which will help shape the next Community Plan, which outlines the future of the district from 2023.

It was the District Council’s first ever resident survey conducted online with 4,577 residents taking part between late May and throughout all of June. Paper copies were available on request too and the survey was promoted via social media, the District Council’s E-newsletter, leaflets as well as messages on bus stops.

Councillor David Lloyd, Leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “We are committed to listening to our residents and shaping our services and priorities based on their needs and experiences. I am very pleased to see so many residents have taken the opportunity to tell us their views and we’ll now be able to share these with Councillors and put the voice of the resident at the centre of the development of the next Community Plan defining a 4-year action-plan for our District.”

A representative survey was also carried out to allow the District Council to recognise any bias in the open survey. A specialist company asked 780 residents to fill out the survey which represented the district in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, geography and council tenancy.

The Committee were pleased to note that several priority areas raised by residents in the survey are already within the Council’s work programme. For example, resident emphasis on the importance of keeping streets and public areas clean and tidy, validates the Cleaner, Safer, Greener project, the importance of tackling anti-social behaviour and reducing crime gives weight to the working group on tackling Anti-Social Behaviour.

There have been some changes in the views of residents since 2018, when the last district-wide survey took place, and the 2022 survey found that more people are getting in touch with the Council. This is likely because of the effects of the global pandemic as the Council has administrated lots of grants and provided various types of support.

In terms of other resident priorities, the regeneration of town centres and high streets is more important than in 2018 as are health services, which may be a result of the events of the past two years. Residents still prioritise clean and green streets, as they did in 2018, but there were also some new themes around better recycling facilities, especially kerbside services, and an appetite for clear, consistent and timely communication from the Council.

Members will now look to use the findings to build the new Community Plan. A summary of the findings will be shared with residents on the District Council website.