Parish survey results are in!

Thank you to those of you who took the time to complete the survey.

A summary of the results can be read below. Additionally, you can download the full survey results by clicking on the links after the summary.

A return of almost 40% to our parish survey is in community development circles considered to be very high. The Parish Council again expresses their gratitude to all who responded. I suspect what you really want to know is what did people say?

Parish Magazine

Respondents by an enormous majority informed that basically, you like the current format, the regularity of distribution, colour covers with the remainder being black and white. 9% of respondents favour an electronic version – a good time to remind that the magazine is also on the parish council website. Many suggestions were forthcoming on content, with lots of you wanting regular articles included on the clubs, societies and organisations in the village. One for the editorial team to ponder! An enormous 80% of respondents use the magazine to find a tradesman. Those of you considering advertising – take note!

Village Hall

96% of respondents know that there is an intention to build a new hall. Question I asked for a response to the statement that the Parish of Meare needs a new village hall. 69% agreed or strongly agreed to that statement with just 7% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing. Many would like to see sports changing facilities in the village, which endorses the support shown for sports, particularly football and cricket. 89 respondents asked for Exercise Classes, with a further 51 asking for Dancing Classes. Of interest, is the fact that 23 people provided their contact details and have offered to help the Village Hall Trustees with building a new hall. You are wanting a commercial kitchen, a small committee room and a bar. This information has been forwarded to the Village Hall Trustees, which will no doubt provide guidance to the decisions they are now making.

Housing Needs

The majority of respondents live in detached houses, built in the 20th century. The majority of people simply love living in the Parish of Meare, with many of you expressing either the need for housing to accommodate young people looking to live independently, or for older people who want to downsize and remain in the parish. Question 21 asked ‘If a need is identified, would you support a small development of housing for people local to the Parish of Meare? 49% of respondents replied – Yes, with a further 38% responding – Maybe. Of interest was the responses to question 7 -Why did you move to the Parish of Meare? To be closer to family and work were the main reasons given, affordability, rural location, proximity to education were also mentioned. One of the top comments of the survey was the respondent who wrote – “We had never heard of Meare when we had to relocate because of redundancy and new jobs – Lady Luck shone on us when we moved, no better community would you want to live in”. The Parish Council will consider how best to process the information provided.

Parish survey results are in!