1 July 2009, 09/132
Residents give West Lancs the seal of
approval
Residents have given West Lancashire the seal
of approval with four out of five people saying they are satisfied
with their local area as a place to live.
People’s views about the area they live in are
revealed in the results of the Place Survey, which was carried out
by West Lancashire Borough Council in late 2008. Questionnaires
were posted to more than 3,000 households and almost 1,400
residents took part.
The Leader of the Council, Cllr Ian Grant,
said: “The Place Survey results are important because they show how
local people feel about the place where they live, and how
satisfied they are with some important public services. Some of the
results are very encouraging and are above the national averages
while others give pointers to areas where we, and other public
agencies, need to try to do better.
“I’m really pleased that the work the Council
has done on making sure people get value for money is now being
recognised. It is a priority for us to ensure we provide the best
possible services at the lowest possible cost and we will be
focusing our efforts on this over the coming year.
“The results help us understand what matters
to local people and we will study the figures closely to see how
the Council can make improvements that will really make a
difference to people’s lives.”
Some of the key survey results are:
Feelings about West Lancsas a
place to live:
- 82.5% - four out of five people – are
satisfied with the local area as a place to live. This is higher
than the national average for England which is 79.7%
- A higher proportion – 83.6% -
agree that people of different backgrounds get on well together in
West Lancs. The national average is 76.4%
- The proportion of people aged 65+ that
are satisfied with their home and neighbourhood is even
higher – 86.2% compared with the national average of
83.9%
- Two-thirds of people ( 67.3%) feel they
belong to their immediate neighbourhood compared to the national
average of 58.7%
Council services
- 51.4% are satisfied with the way West
Lancs Borough Council runs things, and 39.2% thinks it gives value
for money. Both these figures are well above the national
averages of 45.4% and 33.2% respectively. West Lancs is in the top
20% of authorities in the country for value for money.
- 59.2% of residents are satisfied that
the Council keeps public land clear of litter and refuse, compared
to the England average of 56.9%
- The majority of people are also
satisfied with refuse and recycling and satisfaction with the
doorstep recycling service is above the national
average
The Council and its partners have made
considerable investments in recent years in leisure services and in
parks and open spaces and many improvements have been made.
However, the Place Survey results show that satisfaction with these
services is below the national average. The Council will continue
to work to make improvements in these areas.
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