Summary of the results of the recent resident’s survey

Thank you to the 38 households who completed the survey. The results are very helpful to the committee of the residents’ association in knowing what people want and their views on certain aspects of life here at Longfords Mill. All the ideas and suggestions will receive consideration, albeit difficult to implement them all due to planning and budgetary constraints.

Question 1 – Parking

100% of those who replied felt there was adequate parking for their own and their visitors’ needs, however concerns were raised about inconsiderate parking; abuse of the use of visitor parking; poor signage of parking spaces; parking on the bridge to Weavers/Old Warehouse/Brook Cottages; and new residents not having clear instructions on where to park. It was evident that the main areas of concern for parking are The Old Warehouse, The Yarn Store and outside Hilda Allway/Loom cottage.

Question 2 – Strength of feeling about parking

Question 3 & 4 – Social Events

Only 14 respondents had previously participated in social events and only 10 would like to see more activities organised (plus two who said they didn’t mind). However 10 people (32%) said they would be willing to help organise such events.

Suggestions for future activities were primarily related to outdoor events such as Bonfire night, Christmas, Summer/Street party, BBQ, Treasure Hunt. Other suggestions (one mention each) were – use of the community room or walks. It was also mentioned that social events should be for all ages and without other exclusions.

Question 5 – Community Days

17 people (50%) agreed that community days were a useful way to undertake small scale projects and were willing to help. 7 people (21%) also thought it was a good idea, but were unwilling/unable to help. 10 people (29%) did not want to see this type of activity and would prefer to pay additional estate charge if necessary. 4 people skipped the question. Question 6 – Rubbish / Recycling

19 people responded to questions on this topic and 19 skipped the question. The most common irritation was fellow residents not taking care to ensure they use animal proof bins and the use of black bags alone. Others were: bin stores being a general dumping or storage area; new residents not being given clear instructions on the use of these areas; and consideration to lights being switched off at night in these areas.

Question 7 – Bicycle Storage

13 people (out of the 28 who answered the question) thought bike storage was a good idea. 10 people said definitely No, and the remaining 5 implied they were indifferent or already had access to storage. The majority of those saying Yes lived in the leasehold apartments. This is one item that will most likely be referred to Builders Ede for consideration in their future plans for the community. Planning and budgetary constraints prevent the majority of the suggestions made being implemented.

Question 8 – Additional Projects

40% said they would like to see additional projects around Longfords. However this means that 60% either said No (34%) or did not feel the need to answer this question (26%).

29% (i.e. 11 people) said they would be willing to pay extra estate charge for this purpose. However 26% said No (some felt much was still down to Builders Ede), and 46% did not respond. There is no consensus of opinion on additional projects.

Some of the additional projects requested such as issues related to the road in front of the Dye Houses; the wall behind Weavers/Old Warehouse and the wild flowers on the dam bank, are already being pursued by the committee. Others mentioned will be looked into but as most people do not want their estate charge to increase, projects are restricted.

Question 9 – Resident Responses

Question 10 – Communications

As for their preferred form of communication with LMRA, 32 respondents mentioned each method the following number of times: 23 - Personal email 21 - Newsletter 15 - Face to Face 13 - Website 13 – AGM

In addition to the above, a number of individual responses offered ideas for how the committee might best represent the community. As these comprised a series of one off suggestions, we will take these on board but not report them here.