ROSSINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

QUESTIONNAIRE

VISION

We want Rossington to be a prosperous and successful place to live, work and play

187 local residents responded to the questionnaire with 169 (90%) feeling this did sum up the vision for Rossington with 18 (10%) disagreeing or offering their own vision.

VISIONS OFFERED

• We need to make Rossington a place that we are happy to live in and people want to visit. This would generate spending and contribute to improvement on a continuous basis. • We want Rossington to be a safe, attractive, cleaner and better place to live, work, visit and play. • Rossington, a safe, caring community enabling self and others to thrive and prosper in every area of life. • Rossington should be a safe and healthy place to live, not what it is becoming - an overcrowded and gridlocked mayhem of stagnation and council bureaucracy. • We want Rossington to be a place where residents can prosper and live in peace.

COMMENTS

• I've lived in Rossington since November 1998 and love it here (moving up from down south). Loads of improvements have been made, especially in the last 8 years, all for the better. • Whilst I agree with the above statement, I cannot see it being achievable until more jobs are created that give a decent wage, along with more affordable housing. • Depends which are you live in. King George’s Road could be better. • Rossington must be as big as Armthorpe and yet Armthorpe has many more shops and 2 banks whereas Rossington has very few shops and no banks. As Rossington is expanding I thing he priority should be more facilities. • I would like to see Rossington as a clean and fun place to live with no crime or rubbish around our village. No to waste down Bankwood.

HOUSING

Of the 176 people who responded, 34 (19%) are very satisfied with the availability of housing in Rossington, 69 (39%) are satisfied, 38 (22%) are not very satisfied with 35 (20%) feeling the question is not relevant to them for a variety of reasons such as they own their own house, they haven’t thought about it so cannot comment, they work but don’t live in Rossington.

ACCESSIBILITY

• Parents and children should have a house with enough bedrooms for each child if they have girls and boys it is very wrong for a girl to be in the same room as a boy until they reach the age of 12 children these days need privacy. • My son has been looking for a 2 bedroom flat/semi and the choices seem quite limited. • Having served in the Army for a number of years I am very dissatisfied that I couldn't get a house in the village for 2 years after leaving. • Yes, go back to the old system to get a council house because there's no chance of getting one unless you come from Eastern Europe. • Just because you're unemployed or asylum seeker with kids why should you get preference over hard working families were all struggling. • More a general statement - I think long-standing (7yrs+) tenants should get discount on buying new build houses, and therefore able to give the council homes to new tenants cutting back on lack of council properties. • Would want our children and grandchildren to be able to have a home in Rossington no matter what type. That won't be possible unless it's affordable.

TYPE OF HOUSING NEEDED • Not enough single people housing ie flats. • More housing for bigger families (affordable).

OTHER COMMENTS • YES, the Council house STILL NOT COMPLETED after modernisation outside. • I believe that the developers of the proposed Golf Course and related housing should be making an appropriate financial contribution towards the provision of off-site affordable housing within Rossington ie 25% - 30% provision in accordance with DMBC policy. They should also contribute towards public open space/play provision, education, medical and highway infrastructure improvements within Rossington. These to be secured by means of appropriate Section 106 Agreements. • Everything could always be improved - make the most of.

TYPE OF HOUSING

TYPE OF HOUSING NEEDED

• Council Housing. • Bungalows!!! • More Council bungalows. • None of the above. • We need more bungalows in Rossington. We need more bungalows for rent to older people whether or not they own a house. As people get older they sometimes find it hard to manage financially and houses are too large. Bungalows are more expensive to buy than houses. So more affordable bungalows would be idea. • There isn’t enough social housing. There needs to be council houses built – that cannot be purchased! • We need houses with bigger gardens. • I think this village would benefit from cheap housing. • Could do with more housing association housing and lots more affordable houses. • 2 bedroomed housing. • Not enough social housing. • Needs to be a variety of the above to meet different needs. • I own a house in Rossington and have never looked into the availability. • Any job opportunity in Rossington will be positive.

OTHER COMMENTS

• Prevent development on greenbelt sites. • New developments that are built, a proportion should be rented out to local people only, often they are bought en block by large companies who then leave them stood empty because they expect to get higher national rents rather than realistic local ones. • New houses keep being built but are much too expensive for first time buyers. We need affordable homes for young people and families. Don't know of any job vacancies in the village. • Tenants should be made to maintain the outside areas. • Everything at the moment is too dear for what's on offer. • Wherever possible, larger gardens would be an asset, due to families with children.

EMPLOYMENT

Of the 187 residents who responded to the questionnaire, 77 worked full time, 31 part-time, 37 were retired. Nineteen people were looking for work, 3 were not looking for work, 8 people not able to work and 6 people being self-employed.

TYPE OF EMPLOYMENT NEEDED

• More jobs needed especially for young people like apprenticeships. Industry in area closing causing large job gaps in all ages. • We need all the above jobs.

SUPPORT NEEDED

• Support needed to encourage people to look for work in areas that are outside their usual occupation. Training and upskilling is required. • For Rossington to become prosperous, there is a need for a good mix of local employers to provide better/more opportunities for our young people.

OTHER COMMENTS

• Not enough employment. • Rossington does not have the infrastructure or land to be a major employment parish. We are already a commuter village for the majority of workers and this will not change. The best Rossington can hope for is a better investment in central retail developments and small engineering companies to establish. Mass warehousing is only a short-term fix. • Rates of pay should be good enough to keep a family with top ups! • Don't import workers, round up the teenagers. • It shouldn't matter on what job it is. More jobs should be around the village. • There's not a lot of employment opportunities in Rossington but then again people are sucking the life out of benefits and don't want to work either. • Help Rossington residents with employment in their own village. • We need a variety to suit different people with different needs, skills and levels of education • There doesn't seem to be any new businesses setting up in the village, unless you count takeaway shops! • Greatly improved since opening of new road. Hopeful for link from Bankwood would solve other problems. • Seems there is so little on offer in the village. I have spoken to more than one person at ASDA and others who are from outside of Rossington. Curious as to why that is. • The current trend of 'hairdressers and pizza has to be stopped as we are witnessing the death of our village hub as a place for residents to shop. • Clearly the iPort development will afford significant number of new job opportunities – 5,500 jobs (according to the FARRRS information) “offering a range of employment opportunities”. This should provide a massive boost to employment prospects within Rossington. However, I believe that it is vitally important that measures are in place to ensure that Rossington residents/workers are given priority in job recruitment. This will ensure that local people are given the best opportunities to work locally, not least in the interest of the village residents and also the wider sustainability considerations. • We are self-employed in retail. We need signage to show where the shops are. So many people are unaware they even exist. There are some job opportunities there. • Any employment would be good for Rossington, it doesn’t matter what it is, it would save people travelling out of the village. • I’m out of work thinking of a new career and we all have a say. I don’t know anyone down in Rossington but lived here all my life. It has a name of a working village nut sure what they mean by that. There is a skill in anything you do as long as I am true to myself and don’t spend all my time in the put I’ fine.

ENVIRONMENT

8% of residents in Rossington are extremely satisfied with their environment. 30% are moderately satisfied, 9% slightly satisfied with 18% being satisfied, totalling 57% of residents with varying levels of satisfaction with the environment in Rossington. 20% are moderately dissatisfied, 6% are dissatisfied with 9 % being very dissatisfied.

AREAS OF CONCERN

LITTER

• Very scruffy and lots of litter. • Clean up the main village area streets and more bins. • Litter needs clearing up on a regular basis. • Too much litter. • There is a significant amount of litter, particularly around bus stop areas. We need to generate more pride in our environment by encouraging village people to support and help. We need to educate people more effectively especially in schools. • More needs to be done to stop the amount of litter, especially the take away cartons thrown about and empty drink cans stuffed into hedgerows. The road sweeper has missed my street the last 2 times. I clear my bit and keep the weeds down in the gutter and I'm 69. • I appreciate that refuse collection is a matter for DMBC, however the green boxes used for the collection of recyclables (plastic, bottles, paper etc.) are clearly unsuitable when left out for collection during windy conditions. At such times lightweight materials (paper, card and plastic) blows all over the neighbourhood. The boxes ought to be replaced with blue, flip top bins, similar to the current black and green ones. • More litter bins and dog waste bins.

ROADS AND VERGES

• Remove some of the traffic calmers, they seem to attract stunt riders. • ALL road humps obstacle need removing. I remember when roads use to be flat. • Places to securely lock cycles near shops, GP surgeries, schools, etc. • Need some safe cycling paths, particularly to Tickhill and Wadworth.

FOOTPATHS

• The paths in every street are in such a bad state of repair also hedgerows are two-foot-high with weeds. There are not enough litter bins or benches to sit on around the village. Flower displays are virtually non-existent. There is a roundabout near the Styrrup which would have looked lovely planted up instead we have an eyesore roundabout. • Hedges on houses too big. • Am concerned about Waddy Lane not the nice walk it once was. • I live near the fields and the only way by car is through the backs and I have to carry a monthly shop through the alley. I would like to think that they could put some sort of access to the front of the houses. • I can't understand why West End Lane could be entirely surfaced so well yet the pavements were completely ignored as they are a disgrace. • Rubbish/dog fouling seems to plague many parts… though not everywhere. Footpath between Holmescarr and ASDA seems especially bad at all times. • Footpaths round and about are not maintained enough, Littleworth Lane and down to Parrots Corner and the Cycle path are all neglected making it difficult for walkers with pushchairs or mobility scooters. You have to walk on the grass to get round all the brambles, nettles and rubbish strew about. The paths are not wide enough as grass has grown over them. More facilities on both sides of the crossing would be welcome too.

WOODLANDS AND OPEN SPACES

• The country wants people to go outdoors walking etc yet Waddy Lane is a not go as it is Stringy Billy's there's nowhere to walk. • Rossington duck pond area needs to be cared for and looked after this is very popular with dog walkers like myself, joggers and hikers this is also a place full of wildlife that should be protected rather than forced to move elsewhere! • The pit is a complete mess; I can't believe people will want to buy a house on the pit/coal site as it stands. • Stop the thieves from sawing down the trees in the park wood just because wood burners have got more popular buy your fuel and leave the woods for the younger generation to enjoy like we have. • Holmescarr wood soooh neglected. • Holmescarr wood neglected. • The spreading of pit soil over greenbelt land was disgraceful. The airborne dust and associated ill health has been widespread. The removal of the tip is creating new environmental problems and is seeing the death of a great number of older trees in the Holmescarr Great Wood, compounded by the flooding due to lack of drainage works being carried out since the abolition of the drainage groups. • About time Waddie Lane was sorted it's a right mess down there. • Need to hold on to green spaces.

PARKING • Police parking on the road at the police station, driving through the majority of the village the place looks dirty and full of litter. Potholes are a nightmare. • Police station parking causing chaos, especially with traffic at the level crossing. Not enough play parks. New road has taken a lot of nice walks away, dangerous for dogs to be let off. • Could do with something on West End Lane to slow traffic down. • Drivers speeding around the village, drivers on the phones. Slow the traffic down doing past the schools. • The parking at St Michael's School is particularly bad as some drivers do not consider the needs of others and are a danger to the children. • I'm dismayed at the cancellation of the beer festival and the feeble excuses on regards to why this is the case. I know how long and what it takes to organise. A few parish councillors need to have a look at themselves and ask are they fit to do a job they have been elected to do. • Car parking at school opening and closing times clearly causes significant disruption to the free and safe flow of other traffic - both vehicular and pedestrian.

ENVIRONMENT • Do any of the Cllrs ever walk around the village? I live on Clay Flat Lane and the traffic is terrible. I have complained to the Council but they won't do anything. Litter is another thing. We don't have any street cleaners. I know we shouldn't need them if people were cleaner but they are not. Gardens are another thing. Some are terrible and some are really lovely. Nobody seems to notice these things. When I go for my paper I'm picking up rubbish. The dustbin men are sometimes to blame as well. Sorry to moan because I was told by an elderly gentleman that this village used to be lovely but sadly a lot of areas look awful. Weeds growing in between paving stones, not pretty. I've only been here for 26 years and I've seen it slip • The new road is a brilliant opportunity for Rossington but the first thing you see is the waste site! If nothing else a road into the back of Bankwood industrial estate needs to be considered to stop all the HGVs going through the new housing development. Why would you buy a house in front of you? • We seem to be getting an abundance of take-aways and hair salons, we could do with more retail.

TRAFFIC

• Many roads are covered in potholes and dangerous especially for cyclists the worst in my opinion is the stretch from the Circle to King George's road also lack of litter bins. • Yes, the amount of lorries coming through the village particularly from the depot on Stripe Road past St Michael’s school. Also the heavy lorries bringing disgusting waste to the Bankwood Industrial Estate. • Why do the majority of the activities that take place in the village ie arts and craft groups are during the day when people work? • A lot of people need help with maintenance, it would be helpful if local trade could do something for them.

AREAS IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT

LITTER

• Too much rubbish out in people’s gardens. Just left 3 chairs and a settee. • Litter is a serious issue. • Need a good idea, how to make area clean from rubbish on the streets. • The bin men leave a trail of rubbish on the ground in their wake. • The road to the cemetery needs sorting out along with the surrounding verges etc to stop fly tipping.

ROADS AND VERGES

• The road at the junction of Littleworth Lane, Sheep Bridge Lane and Yew Tree Crescent is in a very bad state of repair and dangerous for cyclists. It needs re-marking too. This junction is another accident waiting to happen with the lorries, additional through traffic since the link road opened and poor road markings.

WOODLANDS AND OPEN SPACES

• DO NOT BUILD OR DESTROY THE DUCK POND AREA. • I would like to know your intentions for the regeneration of the pit top now that RecyCoal seem to have pulled out of the site as they found in unprofitable. Surely some safety mechanisms were set in place in case the situation occurred. The walkway to 'Waddy' Lane is disgraceful. This used to be a very pleasant walk and I am sure many in Rossington have pleasant childhood memories of Waddy Bridge. The biggest injustice is the Grave Yard. What a lovely place this was once to visit our loved ones and now it's just surrounded by mounds of filthy earth, giving out a very grey and dismal feel. I am really disappointed we have been let down in this way. The pit top should have been left as it was. I don't think we will be seeing any more deer down there. • Some areas need landscaping. • Quad bikes around Radburn Road and on the area around the cemetery. Quad bikes have been reported on numerous occasions and where they are coming from and nothing is done. They are dangerous as they are running around grassed pedestrian areas.

PARKING

• Parking without a doubt needs sorting especially around the schools. It's mayhem trying to get down West End Lane or Stripe Road when schools re on especially if the train lines are down as well. I'm a nursery worker who sometimes has to do a school run and pick several children up at a time. It's not great having to walk several children down busy roads because there's no adequate parking. There's no enticement for children to come outside and enjoy the fresh air in holidays. When I was younger I remember there was lots of activities on the Welfare one being an inflatable slide for us to enjoy. Why don't things like that happen anymore? I'd like to see more litter pickers, road sweepers or generally more bins. Walking my dog the other day there wasn't a single bin from the Leisure Centre on West End Lane all the way past St Joseph's school round past Tornedale School and all the way to the Co-op. I had to carry my dog mess all that way. It was disgusting. I think more bins would be good then at least more litter would be binned. • There are a lot of issues outside schools with regard to parking. Although schools were obviously not built with this in mind times have changed and a lot of parents need to drive and go straight to work. There needs to be some thought into how this can be managed. • With the new link road now open near the former colliery I find cars parked on Bankwood Lane an obstruction. Surely the large grass verges could be made into a layby to take residents cars off the main road.

GENERAL ENVIRONMENT

• Rossington certainly needs investment in the central areas of the village. • We need a bus sign painting at terminus (shops) people are parking and the bus has to stop in the middle of the road!!! • Attention should be paid to the terminus at Rossington – a disgrace – no seats! • Do more to make Parklands and Brodsworth Way estate seem to be part of Rossington. • There are too many takeaways and basically junk shops opening in Rossington threat pop up then leave. The village is full of hairdressers and takeaways. I have a small child of 4 years ant there is nothing for her to do. I live down near the pit side of Rossington and if she wants to go to the park we have to go up to the new estate as the parts at Attlee and Bankwood are disgusting. This village has room for great things but it has none. Other villages have new supermarkets and family pubs/play areas which we have to visit rather than staying in own village. More facilities are needed for all ages, take a look at other villages like Armthorpe and Thorne they have fruit and veg shops, fuel stations, sit down restaurants. Well established shops like Boots, B&M. This village could thrive if the right shops were brought in and were not filled up with takeaways after takeaways. • Everything could always be improved - make the most of. • Big problem with dog mess on potteries. What can be done???? • Would be nice to have a local pub with a child’s play area instead of having to go out of the village on a nice day.

TRAFFIC

• Footpaths and roadways a mess including West End Lane link road (full of nails and screws etc. (I personally picked up over 30 off the road). Street cleaning poor. Opportunities exist through the new FARRRS Road, proposed golf course and planned country park at the part recycled tip, to create a first class woodland and open green spaces this should include screening off the recycling industry on Bankwood Lane. (Ps. Speed restriction signs needed urgently on link road before there is an accident! • I would love to see some traffic management signs etc on Stripe Road between 30 mph signs near Clay Flat Lane and the roundabout near the Styrrup Pub. As a resident living on the Brodsworth Estate, I see too many vehicles travelling above the speed limit, some significantly exceeding the speed limit. • Something needs to be done about all the lorries coming along West End Lane, they drive like lunatics and use their mobile phones whilst driving. Don't think they realise there are schools and play areas along that road.

FACILITIES/AMENITIES

• There is nothing here for kids. Everything is always at least 2 buses away. Bring more things to this side of Doncaster • More supermarkets. • We need more diverse shops and places to eat. Not takeaway!!!!! A decent pub! • What are the plans to improve the amenities in the village other than takeaway food shops? This village is sorely lacking and is way behind other mining villages such as Armthorpe.

FINAL COMMENTS

What events would you like to see the Parish Council supporting? • Only those that make a profit. • Hoping the best days of Rosso are yet ahead. • Getting people to have a pride in their village. • I'm worried if I have no future in this village why would I stay to raise my children to have the same prospects - it feels so cut off from the world here. • More police on patrol as I am having to lock myself in the house with my children because I am scared of someone just walking in while I'm in. • Get rid of drugs in Rossington. Let's make those who condone its use and selling on premises accountable for all the rubbish that comes from it. • Would like to see another access road over the train crossing. • No access to Cantelow Court. Dog fowling. • The new link road has created exactly what everyone said it would, a rat run for both cars and commercial vehicles with those entering the village from the old pit site overtaking parked cars forcing oncoming vehicles into the parking area off the road to avoid them. • Traffic calming measures on Littleworth Lane. • Let's have a decent shoe shop, no more takeaways, hairdressers, cafes and fish and chip shops. A nice veg shop would also be good. Even a mixed clothes shop for men and women etc. • I was disappointed to hear of the beer festival being cancelled this year with no real explanation to the residents of Rossington. The community old and young all enjoyed this event and it was growing each year. I see no real reason for it not to go ahead and I also think the reasons given by the chairman to be very poor!!! • Need more crossings. • Need a crossing on West End Lane. • Need to look at a Pedestrian Crossing for Radburn Road and West End Lane.