Residents in the Stroud district are satisfied with where they live (From Gazette Series)

Residents in the Stroud district are satisfied with where they live

10:40am Wednesday 1st July 2009

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PEOPLE living in the Stroud district are happy and satisfied with where they live, a national survey has revealed.

Results from the Government’s first ‘Place Survey’ found that 88 per cent of the district’s residents are satisfied with where they live, above the national average of 80 per cent.

There were further highlights including 69 per cent of residents saying they felt they belonged to their neighbourhood, 10 per cent higher than the national average, and 88 per cent of people saying they believed people from different backgrounds got on well together – the second highest rating in the country.

Chas Fellows, leader of Stroud District Council, said that they are still analysing the results but he believes they are very positive.

"Satisfaction with the area we live in, covering how healthy, safe and well we feel, is a good barometer for quality of life and the results for this district are very good."

The ‘Place Survey’ has replaced previous Government surveys which focussed specifically on satisfaction with council services. The new format looks at how happy, healthy and safe people feel, although many of the questions relate to organisations such as the district council, county council, police and NHS.

Although only just over half of the district’s residents said they were satisfied with their district council, it was better than the national average of 45 per cent.

The low points of the survey, which was carried out between September and December 2008, were centred around dealing with anti-social behaviour, bus services and litter.

Just 23 per cent of those surveyed agreed that the council and police understand their concerns about anti-social behaviour and only 20 per cent through police and the council were dealing with the issue.

Stroud district was also lagging behind the national average on the percentage of people satisfied with local bus services and transport information.

Cllr Fellows said: "Whilst the overall results are good for this district, we still have work to do. For instance, whilst anti-social behaviour is not perceived to be a major problem in the district – which is good news - the results for how crime and anti-social behaviour are dealt with by the local council and the police show a very low level of satisfaction. We’ll be looking at this in detail and at all areas of our work so that we can continue to improve on the services we provide and how efficiently we provide them."

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