Between the end of September and mid December 2008, people across the country were asked to have their say about their local area in a programme of major surveys called the Place Survey.
Most of the questions in the survey were set by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Audit Commission, who also gave strict guidance on how the surveys should be carried out.
The surveys were carried out across the whole country over the same period, but organised locally. The surveys in Nottinghamshire and Nottingham City were conducted by a specialist market research company Ipsos MORI, on behalf of a partnership made up of the County Council, each of Nottinghamshire’s borough and district councils, and Nottingham City.
25,000 surveys were sent out to randomly selected households across Nottinghamshire (10,000 in Nottingham City) giving residents the opportunity to have their say on a series of important themes, including:
- The local area
- Community safety
- Local public services
- Information you receive from local public bodies
- Local decision making
- Helping out and getting involved
- Respect and consideration
- Community safety.
A response rate of 43% was received.
Results
On 23 June 2009 the Department for Communities and Local Government announced the results of the 2008 Place Survey. This follows a review which considered the data according to official statistics principles.
What do you like about living in Nottinghamshire?
Comparing the results with the 2007 Best Value survey data, the best like-for-like-data available, shows:
- 79% of Nottinghamshire residents are satisfied with their local area as a place to live - up from 74%
- 77% of people say Nottinghamshire is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together - up from 72%
- 72% of people are satisfied with their libraries - 3% higher than the national average and the highest figure in the East Midlands
- 61% of local residents are satisfied with their local bus services - 6% higher than the national average and the highest satisfaction rating for any County area in England
- 53% of local residents are satisfied with their sports and leisure facilities - 7% higher than the national average.
The results also reflect some national trends including a general fall in satisfaction with councils and how much value for money they offer. For Nottinghamshire, the results show:
- 40% of local residents are satisfied with the County Council - a drop of 7% on the 2007 results
- 29% of local residents feel that the County Council gives them value for money – 4% points lower than the national average of 33%.
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