Village Appraisal 2000
Summary of Results with Comments
In this summary, we present the highlights of the Village Appraisal results.
[Comment: The Parish Council's comments on the results are shown like this.] They include actions that either it will take or persuade others to take.
In several topics we highlight one or more areas of concern. This doesn't mean that the entire topic is unsatisfactory; it merely shows where action may be required.
The full results can be found on our downloads page.
Response
33% of the main questionnaires were returned, giving the views of 1146 adults living in 643 households. Comparing the age profile of the responders with that of the 1991 census, the over 45s were about twice as likely to respond as the under 45s.
[Comment: Comparing each area's response with the number of people on its electoral roll, there were minor differences in response rate from area to area, but nothing significant.]
In addition, there were responses from 89 young people aged 11-17.
80 people volunteered to help the community in one or more ways. [Comment: These are being harnessed.]
Household Section
Half of the responding households consisted of two people and a quarter were singly occupied. Of the latter, 80% were aged over 60.
Personal Section The most common reasons for living in Pulborough are the rural setting, work, road/rail connections and the availability of housing. Only 9% of respondents were born in Pulborough.
A quarter of those in work or full time education find it in Pulborough. Half find it in West Sussex and the remainder travel outside the county.
Unemployment was reported by 9 people, slightly more than that are seeking work. Child care issues and transport were the largest barriers to employment, closely followed by experience and training. There is a demand for more nursery schools, playgroups and child minders in Pulborough.
[Comment: The Sussex Rural Community Council (SRCC) is eager to gather interested parties together and discuss ways in which the local provision can be increased. It has already undertaken similar County funded exercises in other West Sussex villages.]
Transport
Half of the responding households had one car, a third had two and an eighth had none.
291 bicycles were reported.
Of those in work or full time education, three quarters get there by car, an eighth travel by train and a sixteenth walk. Only 10 people reported daily travelling to work/education by bus. [Comment: We are pressing for a regular evening bus to Horsham. This would enable Pulborough residents without cars, particularly young people, to visit the swimming pool, sports centre, cinema etc.]
95 respondents use the bus for shopping and 52 for leisure.
The majority of respondents thought the bus routes, timetables, and reliability were good or reasonable. Cost was not so favourably viewed and access for those with disabilities was thought poor.
Problems parking at home were reported by 42% of those living South of Lower Street and West of Swan Corner.
Parking in the centre of Pulborough was also an issue with 60% of respondents reporting problems in Lower Street or the car park.
[Comment: To increase available parking in the centre of Pulborough, we recommend that most single yellow line parking restrictions in the shopping area of Lower Street be replaced by 1 or 2 hour time limited parking. The resulting congestion should reduce speeds, increase pedestrian safety and persuade some regular through traffic to go elsewhere.]
[Comment: We have pressed for a refuge and pavement improvements between Stane Street Close and Sainsbury's. These are under construction at the time of writing.]
Housing
58% of respondents said that Pulborough couldn't support any more housing.
Despite this, the need for homes for young people and small family homes was recognised, closely followed by warden-assisted homes. Executive homes were the least favoured.
Conversion of redundant buildings was the preferred implementation, followed by 'small groups of less than ten' and single dwellings. Large developments were not wanted.
Three quarters of respondents considered the Spiro Gills and the Concrete Works brown field sites to be suitable places for new developments. Next favoured was the 'Land at Oddstones'.
[Comment: This result pretty well coincides with the Draft Development Plan recently published by Horsham District Council.]
[Comment: We regret the imposed need for the large amount of new housing. We are also extremely concerned that Pulborough's present infrastructure will be unable to cope. Nevertheless, we support the Draft Development Plan as being the best that can be produced under the circumstances. We will be paying close attention to the future details to ensure that services expand with the population.]
Health
17% of respondents use the doctor often and a further 71% use him/her occasionally. The 'often' users rise to 25% from the age 65 and 33% from the age 75.
Satisfaction with health related services was mainly good, with fewer than 5% of users having a poor opinion in most categories. 2 out of 13 people were unhappy with Home Care. 6 out of 45 were unhappy with Physiotherapy. 7 out of 55 were unhappy with Chiropody. 5 out of 43 were unhappy with the Health Visitor. Respondents would use the voluntary car service for around 60 regular return journeys per month. The majority of these are for the over 65s.
38 people said they would drive for the voluntary car service, but only 17 of these gave their names and addresses.
Around 8% of respondents have mobility problems caused by physical disability. Unsurprisingly, the huge majority are aged 60+.
15 people reported mobility problems due to visual impairment. The majority who expressed an opinion, thought the local facilities for people with disabilities were poor.
491 respondents were willing to be 'good neighbours'. Sadly, only 27 gave their names and addresses.
Shopping
75% of respondents use local shops at least weekly. One individual reported using a take-away daily.
The main reasons were last minute items, liking to support local shops and saving time or travel costs. 7% use local shops because they have no transport to go elsewhere.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are mainly bought locally as are newspapers and magazines. The local butchers are also well supported. Groceries are mainly bought elsewhere.
Leisure & Education
424 wanted a computer learning centre in Pulborough. 378 wanted adult education evening classes in Pulborough. [Comment: The local education authorities are being pressed to provide more local courses.]
323 wanted after school clubs in Pulborough. Interestingly, the young people who responded weren't quite so keen..
There was also a significant demand for more nursery schools, playgroups and child minders. Please see the comments on the SRCC initiative above
Badminton, yoga and dancing each had over a hundred would be participants. Other than one possible badminton organiser, there were no volunteer leaders. [Comment: Without volunteer leaders, additional recreational activities are unlikely to be organised.]
Rambling, art and computer clubs each attracted over a hundred would be participants. They also each attracted one or two leaders. [Comment: A rambling club and a computer club are being formed in Autumn 2000]
Of other recreational activities, only swimming (66) and gym (18) achieved double figures. It is unlikely that either a swimming pool or an indoor sports centre will be built in Pulborough. [Comment: As mentioned above, we are pressing for a regular evening bus to Horsham where these are available.]
Other than 'not interested', the biggest reasons given for not participating in activities were poor publicity and unsuitable opening hours.
Of those expressing an opinion, social facilities are poor for all age groups in Pulborough. Those for children and people up to the age of 25 are thought particularly bad.
With the exception of Social Centre (Village Hall) activities where over half of the interested respondents claimed to know what was on offer, people are unaware of what is going on in the village.
People mainly get their information from the local newspapers, notice boards and the library. [Comment: Publicity has been a recurring theme throughout the entire Appraisal exercise. Most local organisations, including your Parish Council, would benefit from increased public awareness.]
Crime Prevention
53% of respondents thought that police coverage was poor.
80% of respondents thought that we needed a greater police presence in Pulborough.
50% of respondents thought that there should be more consultation between the police and the public.
The need for Neighbourhood Watch and drug/drink education/prevention also scored highly. [Comment: In most of Pulborough, Neighbourhood Watch is already well established. Some areas need leaders and these are being sought.]
Only 9% of respondents were not worried about crime. People were most concerned about vandalism, burglary, anti-social behaviour and car crime.
Where people had been victims of crime, vandalism, burglary and anti-social behaviour had the highest scores.
People were most fearful in the recreation ground, by the school, at the station and in the twittens - all in the evening or after dark. [Comment: Our new Community Police officer is already well briefed on the trouble spots]
[Comment: Poor policing in rural areas is universal and not restricted to Pulborough. We continually press for improvements.]
Environment
People would like to see more cycle paths, more streetlights, more footpaths/pavements and more pelican crossings.
4% of respondents thought that refuse collection was poor. 18% of respondents thought that street lighting was poor. 36% of respondents thought that public toilets were poor. 36% of respondents thought that street cleaning was poor. 23% of respondents thought that the roads were poor. 31% of respondents thought that the pavements were poor. 30% of respondents thought that the verges were poor.
People would like to see more litter bins, more dog waste bins, more litter wardens and more road sweeping. [Comment: More litterbins have already been installed and the entire street cleaning operation is currently being re-evaluated.] More flowers were thought to be good ideas. [Comment: Thanks to the Millennium Committee, there have been several spring-cleaning days in Pulborough this year. It also organised the floral displays. We are exploring ways of continuing the program beyond 2000.]
66% of respondents thought that Pulborough's environment would be improved by traffic reduction. More local employment, recycling and improved local transport were also favoured.
Over a hundred respondents wanted to help with maintaining footpaths and conserving wildlife habitats etc. Over half of them gave their names and addresses. [Comment: A new Pulborough Conservation Group has been formed. At the time of writing, the work programme is being formulated. Watch out for publicity.]
85% of respondents thought that open spaces such as the Glebe Field were important.
More seating, a village fete and more Christmas lights were thought desirable. [Comment: Four new bench seats are on order and will be installed shortly. More Christmas lights are already in the budget.]
76% of respondents knew where the local footpaths were and 63% had no problem using them. 30% thought signposting was poor.
The favourite features of Pulborough are the rural surroundings and views of the wild brooks and the downs.
The worst features are Spiro Gills and traffic.
Parish Council 50% of respondents were satisfied with Parish Council spending. 20% were dissatisfied. [Comment: The Village Appraisal should help us to provide a better service.]
[Comment: Poor publicity is the major reason for lack of attendance at the Annual Parish Meeting. A flyer to every household and guest speakers from Sainsbury's were responsible for the standing room only attendance this year. We much prefer that to the usual one or two.]
Young People
The 14 and 15 year olds were the most likely to respond.
Major spare time activities are being with friends, watching a TV/computer/cinema screen and the Youth Club.
'Lift from parents' was the most favoured mode of transport, closely followed by the train.
They visit all of the surrounding villages and towns, most commonly Horsham and Crawley. They mainly go there to swim, shop and visit the cinema.
If they are unable to do an activity, the emest reasons were availability, transport and cost.
Over half of the respondents are worried about 'having nothing to do' and many are also worried by groups of people hanging around, dogs, homework, being pestered, theft, violence, street lights, traffic and being hassled by adults. Only a few were concerned about unemployment.
The areas where some feel unsafe coincide with the adult responses: The recreation ground, Pocket Park, Potts Lane and the Twittens are all feared after dark.
The majority want a wider choice of activities, more places to meet, better transport and more access to sports facilities. [Comment: A shelter where young people can meet is being planned at the moment. It should be installed on the recreation ground by the end of the year. This is largely funded by the young people themselves and external sources.]
[Comment: As mentioned above, we are pressing for a regular evening bus to Horsham where more facilities are available.]
Expansion of the youth club's opening hours and activities and more say in the local community were also desired.
More after school activities were wanted by 21% of the respondents. Interestingly, they were wanted by 28% of the adult respondents.