Initial Results Summary
From GrendonVillage
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Section 1. About your household and why you live in Grendon
- 122 questionnaires returned
- 40% of those that responded have lived here 20 years or more
- 42% have lived here 10 years or less
- Love of village and/or country life is the strongest reason for living here
- Over 70% of residents have no intention of leaving the village
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Section 2. Village Services and Facilities
- 87.5% (of those that responded) believe a shop would improve the village
- Nobody believes it would be a bad thing
- 29 respondents would consider investing in a shop and 17 would consider helping to run it
- Post office facilities are most in demand, followed by papers, milk and bread
- Two thirds of respondents who expressed a view, said they would expect to spend between £6 and £40 a month in a village shop
- Residents would prefer a shop to be open throughout the day and at weekends, with less demand for evening opening
- Mobile services (other than milk and papers) are not widely used currently with some residents stating they would use if they knew about them and they were convenient .There very is little support for regular bus services, with less than 3% of those responding stating that they would use a daily bus to Northampton (which was the most popular destination)
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Section 3. Roads and Traffic
- Speeding through the village was seen as the biggest local traffic issue with 84% identifying this as a problem area
- Main Road is the most often identified area for speeding problems
- Electronic “slow down” signs, a 20mph speed limit and prominent village entrances were the favoured means of controlling speed through the village
- With respect to parking, school drop off/pick up was the most frequently cited regular problem with finding spaces for visitors and parking outside the village hall most often quoted as an occasional problem
- Church Way was identified most often as a main problem area for parking, though Main Road between Manor Road and the Village Hall came close too (and these locations were far ahead of the rest of the village)
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Section 4. Housing and Planning
- There was very little support for extensive new development within Grendon
- There was some support for limited low cost owner-occupied housing, smaller family homes (up to 3 beds) and housing for the elderly – with 43%, 39% and 37% of responses in support respectively
- Such housing as is allowed should be provided through conversion or infill and should be of the same style and materials of houses already here
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Section 5 Environment
- Tidying verges and hedges and resurfacing roads and footpaths were cited most often as the means to improve the appearance of the village, with litter and fly-tipping around the village being the most frequently quoted environmental problem
- 43% of respondents would support an annual “spring clean” day
- 59% are in favour of recycling facilities within the village although 39% are not
- Over three quarters of respondents claimed to be at least occasional users of the footpaths around the village
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Section 6. Communication
- Under 10% of respondents felt that it was a struggle to find out about things going on in Grendon
- The Parish News (83%) and word of mouth (69%) are the most common information sources
- Over two thirds showed support for a village newsletter
- While 67% of households state they have Internet access, only 27% had already looked at the village web site (www.grendonvillage.org)
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Section 7 Representation
- Over two thirds of respondents know who their parish councillors are and 61% know the identity of their local MP. Few know who is responsible at borough or county council level
- Most respondents are happy that parish councillors are aware of and concerned about local issues, but are much less inclined to believe officials from higher tiers of government have any significant local interest.
- Less than a third of households stated they felt they were well informed about the activities of Grendon Parish Council
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Section 8 Social and Recreation
- The Half Moon is seen as an important facility with 134 written responses received
- Respondents stated that they would support extra sports and lesiure facilities particularly tennis and badminton
- Just over 40% of respondents felt there was a need for more facilities for teenagers and 9 respondents stated they would be prepared to help in the organisation of a youth club
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Section 9. Where you work and how you get there
- 29% of respondents who specified were retired, with 44% in full time work
- Of those that work or study, 18% do so within Grendon and 61% within 25 miles
- For those that specified a means of transport for getting to work, 85% use a car or van
