Resident Surveys

It is part of our vision to be driven by what matters to our residents. Therefore, it is important for us to listen to the views of residents and consider these views in shaping the future of the district.

As such, our Community Plan, a key document that sets out our values, purpose and objectives over the next four years is shaped by the feedback of residents. Our current Community Plan (2020-23) was informed by the results of the 2018 Resident Survey. This survey received 11,224 responses, in addition to feedback from parish councils, local businesses and other partners. The survey showed that the majority of residents of the district were happy with where they live as well as highlighting area that needed attention, and these areas were then reflected in the Community Plan objectives.

Our current Community Plan is ending soon. Therefore, we once again 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 our first resident survey conducted online and 4,577 residents took part over May and June 2022. Paper copies were available on request too and the survey was promoted via social media, the Council’s E-newsletter, leaflets and messages on bus stops. A representative survey was also carried out to allow us 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.

There have been some changes in the views of residents since 2018 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. 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. 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 agenda.

You can review the results in more detail here: Results of the 2022 Resident Survey (PDF File, 996kb)

Next steps

In the spring of 2023 members will look to use the findings to build the new Community Plan.