The Place Survey 2008
North East Derbyshire is a safe, happy and healthy place to live – that’s the verdict of hundreds of residents who took part in the most in-depth survey ever carried out about the area.
In September 2008, 1454 households in our district took part in the nationwide Place Survey, which sought their views on a range of issues in their area – from community safety and the quality of public services, to how involved people feel in local decision-making.
Use our interactive guide to find out what you said about living in North East Derbyshire!
So, what did we find out?
Results show that North East Derbyshire District Council rated better than the national average for all councils in the country on a range of issues. Here's a summary of the findings:
About our local area
84% of people were satisfied with our local area as a place to live
66% felt they belong to their immediate neighbourhood
Our local public services
38% agreed or strongly agreed that we provide value for money
48% were, taking everything into account, satisfied with the way we run things
Local decision-making
33% felt they could influence decisions in our local area
Helping out
23% had participated in formal volunteering at least once a month in the last twelve monthsGetting involved
In the last 12 months, 13% of people had been involved in local decision-making (for example, being a member of a committee or groups relating to local services, education or standing as a local councillor)
Respect and consideration
27% of people felt that there were problems with people in their local area not treating one another with respect and consideration
76% felt that they were treated with respect and consideration by local services
80% felt that people from different backgrounds got on well together in their local area
Community Safety
22% felt that drunk or rowdy behaviour was a problem in their area; for drug use or drug dealing the figure is 31%.
24% felt that police and other local public services sought local people’s views on community safety issues; and 28% felt that these bodies were successfully dealing with these problems.
How do we measure up?
Of course, this is just an overview, to delve deeper into the results and find out how North East Derbyshire compares to the East Midlands and England as a whole, please choose one of the following links:
About our local area
Overall, 84% of the population in North East Derbyshire were either satisfied or fairly satisfied with their local area as a place to live. This is higher than the figures for England and the East Midlands where the average is 80%.
In our area 66% felt very or fairly strongly that they belonged to their immediate neighbourhood, with this sense of belonging being lower in England (59%) and the East Midlands (60%).
Your local public services
The Place Survey asked a very broad question about satisfaction with the local council (“And now taking everything into account, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you the way North East Derbyshire District Council runs things?”). Overall, 48% in our area were either satisfied or fairly satisfied. Satisfaction levels were lower the East Midlands region (44%) and in England overall (45%).
Overall, over a third of the population in our area (38%) strongly agreed, or tended to agree, that we provide value for money. In the east Midlands the result was slightly lower at 34% and lower still at 33% in England.
Levels of satisfaction varied between services. For most services relating to the environment (refuse collection, doorstep recycling and local tips and waste recycling centres) satisfaction levels were 70% or more nationally. North East Derbyshire did not perform to the national average on refuse collection or local tips, but surpassed it for cleanliness of public land, leisure facilities, libraries and doorstep recycling. Figures in brackets are results for the East Midlands (EM) and England (E):
Keeping public land clear of litter and refuse - 59%, (57% EM), (57% E)
Refuse collection - 73%, (77% EM), (78% E)
Doorstep recycling - 72%, (71% EM), (70% E)
Local tips/household waste recycling centres - 66%, (71% EM), (71% E)
Local transport information - 46%, (48% EM), (48% E)
Local bus services - 50%, (56% EM), (55% E)
Sport/leisure facilities - 53%, (45% EM), (46% E)
Libraries - 71%, (68% EM), (69% E)
Museums/galleries - 25%, (38% EM), (41% E)
Theatres/concert halls - 35%, (42% EM), (43% E)
Park and open spaces - 67%, (66% EM), (69% E)
Local decision-making
A third of the population of North East Derbyshire (33%) felt that they could influence decisions affecting their local area. This proportion was higher than for England (29%) and the East Midlands (28%). A smaller proportion (21%) felt that they would like to be more involved in local decision-making compared to 25% in the East Midlands and 27% in England.
Helping out
The Place Survey asked about unpaid help that people gave, such as helping at a youth or day centre, helping to run an event or campaigning. This was outside of anything that was a requirement of a job, and also excluded donating money. Overall, 23% of our local population said that they had helped out at least once a month in the previous 12 months, the same as in England and the East Midlands.
Getting involved
The survey asked about participation in decisions that affect the local community, for example by serving as a local councillor or being part of some decision-making body relating to local services. Overall, 13% were engaged in some sort of civic participation in the North East district and East Midlands alike, whereas in England the figure was marginally higher at 14%.
Respect and consideration
The Place Survey provided information that shed light on community cohesion. Just over three-quarters of the population (76%), nationally, felt that in their local area people from different backgrounds got on well together (this figure was 80% in North East Derbyshire - higher than the East Midlands result of 77%). Just under a third (31%) felt that there was a problem with people not treating one another with respect and consideration both in England and in the East Midlands, in our district the result was slightly lower at 27%.
Nationally 30% felt that parents in their local area took responsibility for the behaviour of their children. This figure was 35% in the North East Derbyshire District Council area but as low as 29% in the East Midlands. Our area appears to not only to benefit from better community cohesion than the national or regional situation but also than neighbouring councils.
Two further questions explored respect and consideration within the context of service provision – one exploring whether older people received the support they need to live independently at home, and one regarding fair treatment by local services. Over a third of the population (38%) In the North East area felt that older people received the support that they needed to live independently at home, whereas across England only 30% felt this was the case and only 31% in the East Midlands. Three-quarters (76%) of people felt that they received fair treatment by local services in our District, this was higher than the national outturn of 72% and regional result of 73%.
Community safety
The Place Survey collected detailed information on peoples’ perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour in their local area and the extent to which they felt that the police and other local services were dealing with these problems.
Only 15% in North East Derbyshire felt that anti-social behaviour was a problem in their local area, with a higher proportion nationally (20%) and regionally (18%).
Respondents were also asked about two specific forms of anti-social behaviour - again these seemed to be less of a problem in North East Derbyshire – drunk or rowdy behaviour (22%), and drug use or drug dealing (31%) compared to national figures of 29 and 31 per cent and regional figures of 27 and 30 per cent respectively.
The survey also asked whether police and other local services sought peoples’ views about community safety issues in the local area and about how successful they were in dealing with these problems. The proportions for both questions were the same, around a quarter (24% and 28%). Nationally the same questions drew results of 25% and 26%, regionally 23% and 24%. Looking at the local breakdown, the police and other local services were perceived to be most successful in dealing with these problems in North East Derbyshire.
About yourself
The final section of the survey asked a number of questions regarding the characteristics of the respondents (e.g. age, sex, and ethnicity) and the household (e.g. number of adults and children). This information was used to help ensure that survey respondents were representative of the local population.
This section also asked about general health. 76% of the population, nationally, described their health as, in general, being good or very good, both in our District and regionally the result was marginally lower at 24%
What will we do with all this information?
The results from this survey will be used to measure how well we, and other public services in North East Derbyshire, are performing.
It will help us to see what we are doing right and, more importantly, where we need to do more to make your District a great place for you to live and work.
Want to see the bigger picture?
You can see the results in detail for authorities throughout England on the Communities and Local Government website.
So what do YOU think?
We've been out and about with our video camera asking you you to tell us what you think of North East Derbyshire.
We asked you: 'what is the best thing about North East Derbyshire?' and 'what would make North East Derbyshire better?'
You can find out what you told us in our Video Vox Pops on the YOURspace online magazine, you can also find out how to send us your own comments, on film!
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