Report of Survey

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REPORT OF SURVEY

by questionnaire carried out in September 2011

Prepared by the Sutton Parish Plan Steering Group

May 2012

CONTENTS

Page

A: INTRODUCTION 2

B: METHODOLOGY 3

C: THE QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS

Section 1: General information 6

Section 2: Community 8

Section 3: Countryside 13

Section 4: Housing and Planning 17

Section 5: Roads and Transport 20

Section 6: Services and Facilities 23

D: YOUNG PEOPLE'S QUESTIONNAIRE 26

E: BUSINESS QUESTIONNAIRE 28

F: THE WAY FORWARD 32

1 A: INTRODUCTION

The aim of this Report of Survey is to summarise the information gathered from the Questionnaire which was distributed to all households in the Parish in September 2011. The Report has been produced by the Parish Plan Steering Group, with input from numerous volunteers who have participated in analysing data and discussing the results.

There was an excellent (58%) response to the survey and we are grateful to all those who took the time to fill in a questionnaire, as well as to those volunteers who personally delivered and collected them.

It has taken a considerable amount of time to analyse the data from the Questionnaires, but the resulting information is useful for two purposes:

 to identify the concerns and wishes of local residents, and provide the evidence to justify projects which will be included in the eventual Parish Plan  as reference material for local authorities and others to research the views of Sutton Parish on a wide range of subjects. To this end, the base data from the questionnaires is available in an Excel spreadsheet on our website

The detailed findings at part C below is split into the same sections as the original Questionnaire – Community, Countryside, Housing and Planning, Roads and Transport and Services and Facilities. There is a separate summary of the Young People’s and Business responses. In each case, we have sought to highlight the key issues raised, and to give a flavour of the main comments.

Our aim is to launch the Parish Plan in September 2012. In the meantime, please visit our website www.suttonparishplan.org for more information.

The Sutton Parish Plan Steering Group

2 B: METHODOLOGY

The Sutton Parish Plan Steering Group was established by public meeting in November 2010. Following established practice in other Parishes, it decided to conduct a survey by questionnaire to establish the views of the local community and provide evidence to support an eventual Parish Plan.

Preparation of Questionnaires

Five working groups were set up, chaired by Steering Group members and comprising volunteers resident in the Parish. They covered Community, Countryside, Housing and Planning, Roads and Transport and Services and Facilities, and developed questions to be included in the questionnaire. The questions were of two types:

 those suitable for completion by a tick-box, with either a yes/no answer or the possibility of showing degrees of satisfaction or concern (usually by four boxes, so as to discourage a middle-of-the road response)  those asking for comments or suggestions in free format

The main household questionnaire contained an introductory letter from the Chair of the Steering Group and was illustrated with cartoons and photographs. Through a process of thirteen iterations the Steering Group arrived at a final format for a 20-page questionnaire, which was sent to press in July 2011. The questionnaire was designed to be completed by a household, representing the views of all members. Recognising that a household questionnaire would not necessarily encompass all views, and to encourage thought and initiative more widely, two other questionnaires were developed:

 a cut-down two-page young people's questionnaire (YPQ), focusing on issues affecting residents aged up to 16, such as playing fields, buses and evening activities. Completion of this was designed to be optional: children could input their views to the main household questionnaire, compete a YPQ with siblings, or complete one on their own, as they wished  a ten-page business questionnaire (BQ), containing questions on a wide range of issues affecting businesses in the Parish, from employment to infrastructure and communications. A BQ was designed to be completed by each business, additionally to the household questionnaire if the business was run from home

Copies of all the questionnaires can be found on www.suttonparishplan.org

The Parish contains two sets of accommodation for people with disabilities, and arrangements were made with the managers of these for facilitators to help residents complete surveys individually or collectively as appropriate. [MB to check with LR]

To raise awareness and encourage completion of the questionnaires:

 Articles were written for church magazines  Banners were hung at strategic points in the Parish  The Steering Group manned Parish Plan stands at four shows and fetes in the villages during the summer

3  A prize draw was arranged for completed questionnaires. Three prizes of produce or services from local businesses were offered for household questionnaires, and a single prize for young people's questionnaires. To permit the draw, householders had to write a name and telephone number on their response. For data protection purposes, these were detached from questionnaires before analysis and destroyed after the draw.

Distribution and collection of questionnaires

Household Questionnaires were distributed by hand at the end of August and early September 2011, using teams of volunteers each of whom was allocated a 'delivery patch' of around 20 to 40 houses. Volunteers were asked to knock on doors and hand over the questionnaire in person, as this is believed to maximise response rates. They were fully briefed and given trigger notes to explain the background and the objective of a Parish Plan. Volunteers made several visits before finding a householder home, or in some cases eventually pushing the questionnaire through the door.

Young People's Questionnaires were offered to households known to have children, and could be requested or printed from our website by others interested in submitting a separate 'youth' response. Business questionnaires were hand-delivered to all known business premises and collectors were given stocks and asked to make them available to households for any business run from home.

There are 1207 dwellings in the Parish. Ignoring empty properties, 1185 copies of the household questionnaire were distributed. Volunteers visited 'their' houses again around the end of September to collect completed forms (again, multiple visits were sometimes necessary). Respondents also had the opportunity to leave completed forms in boxes held at six focal points in the Parish - shops, pubs, etc. Questionnaires continued to dribble in during October 2011.

Responses and analysis of the survey information

684 Household questionnaires were eventually returned, giving a response rate of 58% (ignoring empty properties). However, at the time of the analysis, for the purposes of this report, 667 completed questionnaires were available. This compares very favourably with rates for other Parishes of a similar size within Cheshire East. It is also higher than both the concurrent Cheshire East Rural Housing Needs Survey in our Parish (37%) and the Sutton Ward turnout at the Cheshire East Council elections 2011 (52%).

There were 82 responses to the Young People’s Survey, as well as 46 responses to the Business Survey.

The recording and analysis of results was done (initially at a meeting of a large number of volunteers and subsequently by Steering Group members) between November 2011 and February 2012. Given the number and complexity of the survey forms, it was a long task: the information comprised “hard” or quantitative data (specific answers to tick-box questions, such as frequency of use of facilities) and “soft” or qualitative data in the form of free text comments.

4 The final page of the questionnaire gave respondents the opportunity to identify the two or three main issues they would like to see feature in a future Parish Plan. These were extracted and categorised early in the analysis. Together with initial data from other parts of the questionnaire, the 'back page’ analysis allowed the Steering Group to make an early presentation of emerging findings to a public meeting held on 17 November 2011.

An early decision was made to tally the 'hard' data manually, rather than capture it electronically. Aggregated totals for the data tallied for each tick-box question were then entered into an Excel spreadsheet, which permitted a certain amount of arithmetical manipulation and graphic presentation of the results in part C below. The full spreadsheet of data is accessible on our website.

Where results are recorded as a percentage of ‘total respondents’, this is calculated as a percentage of the total number of questionnaires returned including those left blank or illegible, or ticking the option of ‘No Opinion’. Where the percentage relates to a sub-set of respondents, for example only those respondents who have expressed an opinion in that instance, the approach will be defined.

The 'soft' comments in the free format boxes were reviewed, categorised and summarised in a separate exercise, which provided concrete examples of the concerns felt by local residents, an indication of the scale of feeling, and some specific suggestions for action. A record has been kept of all of the comments, although only those made by a significant number of respondents can be included in this summary. Both the quantitative data and the free-form comments have been anonymised in the presentations at Part C below.

The Working Groups, refreshed with some new volunteers, were reconvened once the questionnaire results had been tallied and tabulated. Each Group was responsible for preparing a summary of the results and conclusions for the relevant section of the questionnaire, and for turning those conclusions into an action plan (see Part F below).

Errors and omissions

Inevitably with a survey of this nature, conducted by amateurs, we made some minor mistakes, for example:

 The wording of questions occasionally lacked total clarity: for example the question on willingness to 'pay for' new community initiatives could have been interpreted as either referring to user fees (our intention) or to global funding through Council Tax  Our catalogue of current village activities omitted a few such as bell ringing, walking groups and the scarecrow competition  Tallying is subject to human error, and tally forms were not checked, so totals are not always exact. Also, responses to the main questionnaire that arrived after mid- October 2011 were not taken into account

With hindsight our decision to tally manually was probably a mistake. It simplified the initial capture of questionnaire data, but it prevented the sophisticated analysis that might have been possible with electronic data capture of each questionnaire. So, for example, we know that speeding is a top priority issue, but we do not know with any certainty whether there are variations in opinion between Langley and Lyme Green respondents, or between the elderly and young people.

5 C: THE QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS

Section 1: General information

Distribution of responses

Of the questionnaires analysed, responding households were distributed by location as per the chart below.

Responses by Location

302

166 149

43 6 18

Gurnett Higher Langley Lyme Green Sutton Unknown Sutton

Within these households, the majority (400 of 667) comprised one or two residents. The chart below shows the total numbers of people per respondent household.

Total number of people in respondents households 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

The majority of respondents were aged 41 or over at the time of the survey, and the full age distribution of respondents is shown in the chart below.

6 Age distribution of respondents (full household)

500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 under 65 and 6-11 12-18 19-40 41-64 5 over Number 65 86 87 249 466 437

27% of households are formed of people who have moved to the Parish in the last 10 years, this being the largest single response group for this question. However, over 30% of total households contain a member who has lived in the Parish for over 30 years.

Number of years the longest-standing resident in respondent households has lived in the Parish 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0

7 Section 2: Community

Section 2 of the questionnaire covered community events and activities. Of the total responses received, 47% agreed or strongly agreed that the Parish needs to develop a stronger sense of community spirit. The chart below shows the spread of responses to this question.

Do you feel that the Parish of Sutton needs to develop a stronger sense of community spirit?

300

250

200

150

100

0 Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly Don’t Know No response disagree

Community Meeting Places

Sutton Church and Church Hall are the most used of all the community meeting places in the Parish. The balance of use of the other meeting places in the Parish is shown in the chart below.

How often do you use these public meeting places? 600 500 400 300 200 Never 100 Rarely

Occasionally

Often

Hall

Sutton Church Sutton Sutton Church Church Sutton

Sutton Ex Ex Sutton

Langley Village Village Langley

Langley Chapel Chapel Langley

Hollinhey School School Hollinhey Sutton Scout Scout Hut Sutton Servicemen’s Club Servicemen’s

8 There were calls in Langley for Langley Village Hall to be refurbished. Some concerns were also raised about disabled access to some meeting places, safety when using such places at night and the availability of public transport.

Community Events, Clubs and Associations

Awareness of community events across the Parish was generally good. The greatest awareness was of the Sheepdog Trials, while the greatest attendance was at Langley Fete.

Awareness of and Attendence at community events

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

Aware % 20% Attended %

10%

Rose Queen Rose

Langley Fete Langley

Well Dressing Well

School Events School

Church Events Church

Rossendale Fete Rossendale

Sheep Dog Trials Dog Sheep

Langley Lectures Langley

Flower and and Show Veg Flower

Langley Chapel Chapel events Langley

Purvies Productions plays Productions Purvies Events Club Servicemen’s

Langley Eleven Eleven Pub Walks Langley

Lighting of Parish Christmas Trees Christmas of Parish Lighting Scout and Guide Association Association and Events Guide Scout Sutton Ex Sutton

9 Awareness of and participation in Clubs and Associations 70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

Pantomime

Table Tennis Table

Yoga, Langley Yoga,

Hob Nob Club Club Nob Hob

Langley Chapel Langley

U3A in Parish the in U3A

Salsacise, Hollinhey Salsacise,

Langley Cricket Club Cricket Langley

Sutton Scouts/Guides Sutton

Bridge (Langley Chapel) (Langley Bridge

Dancing Classes Sutton Sutton Classes Dancing

Sutton St James’ Church James’St Sutton

Scottish Dancing, Langley Dancing, Scottish

Sutton Women’s Institute Women’s Sutton

Servicemen’s Club Activities Club Servicemen’s

Reading Group, Vicarage Sutton Group, Reading

Sutton Parent and Toddler Group and Toddler Parent Sutton

Gentle Exercise Class Langley Chapel Langley Exercise Class Gentle

Sutton Ex Sutton

Sutton & Langley Onions Society Pumpkins Onions & Langley & Sutton

Purvies Productions (acting/production (acting/production Productions team) Purvies Wednesday Coffee Mornings Chapel Coffee Langleyat Mornings Wednesday

Aware of this? Attend?

There were many suggestions for a wide range of additional social / cultural events or activities that people wished to see in the community, the most commonly put forward being:

. More activities for teenagers including organised sport, youth club and outdoor activities . More play facilities for the under fives . Safer places to cycle, bike tracks and off road biking . Safer places for horse riding, both on and off road

10 Quality and range of activities

Both quality and range were rated best for the retired and the elderly, but poorest for those in the 12 to 18 year age group. As a consequence there was considerable support for more activities for young people, especially teenagers. Other frequent comments in relation to activities included:

. Better publicity is needed for events which are not at either the Church or the School . More activities are needed for children and families . There is not enough play equipment on the Cop Meadow play area

Quality of activities available in Rating of current range of the community activities per age group 250 350

300 200 250

150 200

150 100 Poor Poor Acceptable Acceptable 100 Good Good 50 Very Good 50 Very Good

0 0

5 olds 5 year olds 5 year

11 olds year 11 olds year 11

18 olds year 18 olds year 18

– –

0 0 0

6 6 6

Retired / / Elderly Retired / Elderly Retired

12 12 12 People of working ageof working People People of working ageof working People

Communication

Of the various communications available to respondents, there was greatest awareness of the Sutton St James Parish newsletter, which was also reported to be the most useful.

11 Awareness and perception of usefulness of communications 600

500

400

300

200

Aware 100 Useful

Langley News Langley

Dunstan board Dunstan

Hollinhey board Hollinhey

Scout Hut board Hut Scout

WI/parish board WI/parish

Farm Shop board Shop Farm

Lyme Green board Green Lyme Langley Village Board Village Hall Langley

Sutton St James Parish NewsletterParish JamesSt Sutton Several improvements to communications were suggested, the most common of these being more prominent, more frequently updated and well maintained notice boards.

There was also strong support (61% of total respondents) for a village website covering local events, a Parish diary and local business information.

Community Initiatives

Respondents were asked whether they would be willing to pay for or to organise a range of community initiatives. The strongest interest in paying to support an initiative was for Neighbourhood Watch schemes. Litter picking and planting trees and bulbs received most support in terms of offers of help with organisation.

12 Section 3: Countryside

Section 3 of the questionnaire covered countryside issues, and provided a large number of views and comments from this predominantly rural Parish with significant farming and leisure interests.

Outdoor Leisure Facilities and Activities

The most popular activity is walking (78% of total respondents practise this often or occasionally). Strong minority interests are cycling (26%), bird-watching (20%) and running/jogging (15%).

Regularity of outdoor leisure activities in the Parish 600

500

400

300 Never 200 Rarely Occasionally 100 Often

road

Cycling

Angling

Walking Walking

Horse riding Horse

Birdwatching Running jogging / Running

Motorbiking off Motorbiking The major outdoor activity location is Macclesfield Forest, with well over half of respondents also using the Canal, the reservoirs, public footpaths and Tegg's Nose. There is a very high level of satisfaction among participants. The overwhelming majority of those expressing an opinion are happy with the facilities, except for horse riders (51%) and off-road motorcyclists (44%).

13 Level of satisfaction with outdoor leisure facilities in the Parish 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 Very unhappy 150 Unhappy 100 Happy 50 Very happy

road

Cycling

Angling

Walking Walking

Horse riding Horse

Birdwatching Running jogging / Running

Motorbiking off Motorbiking The question asking about other outdoor facilities that residents would like to see in the Parish had only a scant response. The most popular request was for more bike tracks (14 responses), followed by more bridle paths (10), a bike/skate-board park (8) and tennis courts (6).

Visitor facilities

Sutton Parish's countryside is a resource for many visitors as well as residents, and views were sought on the adequacy of visitor facilities. The range of activities available was praised, and the main weaknesses were seen to be the limited availability of car parking, lack of accommodation and lack of refreshment facilities.

Are the facilities adequate? 600 500 400 300 200 100 No

Yes

Range of of Range

activities activities

ents

Car parking Car

Information Information Food/refreshm Accommodatio

14 The Environment

Residents were asked how well they felt the countryside was managed. Farmers received a high level of praise (91% of those expressing a view), and none of the major landowners received a poor response. The main areas of concern mentioned in additional comments were hedge maintenance and the condition of canal towpaths.

How happy are you with how the local countryside is managed by the following landowners? 700

600

500 No Opinion 400 Very Unhappy 300 Unhappy Happy 200 Very happy 100

0 Farmers Cheshire East British United Utilities Other major Council Waterways landowners

The appearance of the countryside gave rise to a wide range of responses. There was a high degree of satisfaction (92% of those expressing a view) with the appearance of our villages, followed closely by the conservation of nature and by the state of our streams and rivers. Conversely, 66% of those expressing a view felt negatively about dog-fouling, and 61% about the provision of allotments.

15 How happy/unhappy are you with the following aspects of the appearance of the local area? 700 600 500 400 300 200 Very unhappy 100 Unhappy

Happy

Litter Very happy

Dog fouling Dog

verges

Conservation of of nature Conservation

Provision of allotments Provision

State of hedgerows and and of hedgerows State

Attractiveness of villages of Attractiveness

State of streams and rivers and streamsof State Information about nature nature about Information (signage, interpretation etc) interpretation (signage, Energy and Resource Conservations

Only 10% of total respondents claimed to have any form of energy conservation systems or plans to install them in the near future. However, there was significant interest in the idea of community initiatives to investigate water conservation for non-drinking purposes (50% of total respondents), community composting (44% of total respondents) and to a lesser extent collective renewable energy sources such as wind power (37% of total respondents).

16 Section 4: Housing and Planning

Section 4 of the questionnaire covered housing and planning issues, and sought views on how these should be addressed in the future planning of the Parish.

9% of surveys returned did not respond to specify the type of accommodation currently occupied. Of those who completed this question, most residents (76%) live in owner occupied accommodation, the vast majority of which (84%) are houses. There is a significant amount of rented housing (20% of those who completed this question), most of which is managed by Peaks and Plains Housing Trust and Dane Housing.

Accommodation type distribution of respondent households 500 450 400 350 300 Blank/illegible 250 Shared equity 200 Owner occupied 150 Rented 100 50 0 Flat or apartment House Bungalow Nursing or care home

A total of 134 households (20% of total respondents) indicated that they or someone in their household would be looking for alternative accommodation in the Parish within the next five years. The split of these responses is well spread out across the Parish and shown in the chart below.

Number of respondents looking for alternative accommodation in the Parish within the next 5 years.

Unknown Area, 28 Sutton, 45

Lyme Green , 26

Langley, 28 Higher Sutton, 7

There is a wide variety of future alternative accommodation requirements, with some residents looking to downsize and others seeking larger properties. References to

17 retirement and the need to accommodate growing families were the most common. As such there is no discernible overall trend.

Affordable Housing

Despite the mix of accommodation available across the Parish, 11% of total respondents indicated that a member of their household had had to move out of the Parish because of the high price of accommodation either to buy or to rent.

The Parish, and Langley in particular, has seen the construction of a large number of affordable homes, but there remains support (50% of total respondents) for a small development to meet the needs of local people. Reasons in support of such a development are varied and include a desire to maintain residents with a wide range of ages and income levels in the Parish.

% Respondents in favour of a small development of affordable housing being built in the Parish

11% Yes 50% No 39% No Response

A number of locations for affordable housing were suggested, the most frequently referred to being the Rieter Scragg site in Langley. Other more general references included Walker Lane and the site of Cheshire East Council’s Lyme Green depot.

Green Belt Maintenance

Maintenance of the Green Belt received overwhelming support with 97% of those who responded to this question being in favour (91% of total respondents).

18 Repondents in favour of maintaining the Green Belt gap

3% 6%

Yes No No Response 91%

The exclusion of areas from the Green Belt had little support with only 42 respondents in agreement.

New Local Employment

The creation of new light industrial or small-scale service industry units in the Parish received significant minority support from 40% of total respondents.

The Rieter Scragg site and other brownfield sites (including Lyme Green depot, Langley Hall Yard and Gaw End Lane) were suggested as appropriate locations for such development.

Re-use of Redundant Agricultural Buildings

The re-use of redundant agricultural buildings for employment uses received strong support, from 56% of total respondents.

Conservation Areas

The protection of the older and more attractive built up parts of the Parish, by means of Conservation Area designation, received strong support (63% of total respondents).

Frequently suggested areas for consideration as Conservation Areas in the Parish included Sutton Lane Ends, Church Lane, Langley Hall and Cottages and Main Road Langley.

19 Section 5: Roads and Transport

Section 5 of the questionnaire covered issues in relation to roads and transport and resulted in more comments than any other section, indicating the strength of feeling in relation to these issues.

Dissatisfaction levels with several aspects of roads and transport were high across the Parish. Speeding and other road safety was a key concern with 57% of total respondents being dissatisfied. 58% of total respondents were unhappy with road repair and 51% of total respondents with road and drain cleaning. Car parking was also an issue with 42% of total respondents expressing dissatisfaction with the current provision.

Level of satisfaction with the following aspects of roads and transport

700 600 500 400 300 No Opinion 200 Very Unhappy 100 Unhappy 0 Happy Very Happy

Speeding & Road Safety

This was a concern for many respondents with speeding being mentioned as an issue on many roads in the Parish including Leek Old Road, Robin Lane, Walker Lane, Hollin Lane, Hall Lane, Jarman and Langley Road (particularly the Church House junction and the vicinity of Langley Hall). Several general solutions including speed limits, sleeping policemen and warning signs were suggested.

Road Repair

Poor maintenance of roads and pavements, gutters and drainage were key issues for many, along with frequent flooding of certain roads including Hall Lane and Robin Lane. Respondents were also unhappy with the prevalence of pot holes and poor road surfaces. Residents of the Seddons estate and some cul-de-sacs complained of a lack of gritting during the winter months.

20 Parking

A significant number of respondents were concerned about lack of parking and congestion in several parts in the Parish. Problem areas included Sutton around the school, Langley Main Road and the roads up to the Forest. School run time brings considerable congestion and danger to roads around Sutton Lane Ends and Hollinhey. Parked cars in Langley make passing through to the Forest difficult, especially at busy times and during the holidays.

Parking on London Road, Robin Lane and Lindrum Avenue was felt by some respondents to limit visibility and make access to London Road difficult. Crossing London Road is also difficult for some local residents, particularly those at Lyme Green Settlement.

Parking, generally and on pavements, was mentioned frequently as being a cause of difficulty for residents and visitors.

Church Lane

Church Lane was considered by many respondents to be a dangerous road because of the lack of visibility and its sharp bend. During the rebuilding of the Gurnett bridge, Church Lane had been one way and diversions were in place through the Seddons estate. However, 60% of total respondents were not in favour of making permanent changes to the flow of traffic.

Are you in favour of making permanent changes to traffic flows?

10%

30% Yes No No response

60%

Buses

With the exception of the popular No.14 service into Macclesfield, bus services within the Parish are used relatively infrequently. There is limited use of the current Dial a Ride service with only 10 respondents having used the service in the past. 160 respondents would be interested in using a more flexible Dial a Ride service in future, but very few would be prepared to pay more than £2 for a single fare to Macclesfield.

21 How often do you use the following services? 700 600 500 400 300 Blank/illegible 200 Never 100 Rarely

Occasionally

ride

- Often

service

No. 14 leisure 14 No.

Baker bus bus leisure Baker

Secondary school school Secondary

No. 14 commuting 14 No. Cheshire Dial Cheshire Baker bus bus commuting Baker

Of those who use the bus services and responded to this section of the survey, levels of satisfaction were relatively good, the most significant dissatisfaction being with fares (49% of those expressing a view).

How happy/unhappy are you with the following? 600

500

400 No opinion 300 Very unhappy 200 Unhappy 100 Happy

0 Very happy Bus fares Bus routes Frequency Coverage Reliability Provision for people with disabilities

333 respondents benefit from some kind of reduced bus fare, including over 60s passes and reduced young person’s fares. Some of those paying full fares feel that the service is expensive, especially for children using the bus to go to school. This was similarly reflected in the results of the Young Person’s questionnaire.

22 Section 6: Services and Facilities

Section 6 of the questionnaire covered issues in relation to the many services and facilities available to residents of the Parish and their visitors.

Utilities

Overall satisfaction with utilities is relatively high across the board with the exception of mobile phone and broadband coverage. The majority of respondents were satisfied with these services, but free format comments suggest there are pockets of significant dissatisfaction where there is poor mobile reception, poor TV reception or slow broadband speeds.

Distribution of satisfaction with utilities 700 600 500 400 300 No Opinion 200 Not Connected 100 Very Unhappy

Unhappy

Happy Water

Sewerage Very Happy

Telephone

Gas Supply Gas

Broadband

Mail Delivery Mail

T.V Reception T.V

Parcel Delivery Parcel

Radio Reception Radio Electricity Supply Electricity

Mobile Phone Coverage Phone Mobile

Late postal deliveries were highlighted by a number of respondents and it was suggested that undeliverable post should be left with Sutton Post Office, rather than the Sorting Office in Macclesfield.

Waste Management

There was strong support for the imminent new waste collection arrangements, with 88% of total respondents in favour. However, storage of three waste bins is a concern to some, as is the smell from the tip at Lyme Green.

Mobile Library

Awareness of the mobile library service was high, but with relatively low levels of usage. The results of the Young People’s questionnaire showed strong support (61% of total respondents) for the mobile library service to visit the Parish outside school hours to enable younger people to access the service.

23 Use/awareness of Mobile Library Service 800 700 600 500 400 Blank 300 No 200 Yes 100 0 Are you aware of this Do you use this service Would it be useful to service advertise stops/times

Crime / Emergency Services

28% of total respondents said that they were concerned about crime / security in the Parish. There was some support for an increased police presence, also a ‘village bobby’ and more Neighbourhood Watch schemes.

Play Facilities

Families who use the playing facilities in the Parish are generally unhappy with them, particularly with Cop Meadow. It is notable that nearly twice as many Sutton respondents use the Langley facility than their own in Sutton. Play equipment at Lyme Green and Cop Meadow is viewed as inadequate by significant numbers of users. Respondents feel that Cop Meadow is relatively isolated from the community, there is little equipment and the area is poorly maintained. Nettles, standing water and dog fouling were also frequently mentioned issues. Many respondents felt that it was unsafe to let children go to the play areas without a responsible adult.

Which Which Location of of these is best Adequate Adequate Play do you for your Equipment Equipment Facility use? needs? - Yes - No

Lyme Green 99 61 53 57 Cop Meadow, Sutton 138 104 58 72 Langley Park 285 123 120 28

Families travel some distance to use other play facilities, with West Park, South Park and Gawsworth being the most commonly mentioned. Families also use the facilities at Tittesworth, Buxton, Lyme Park, Tatton, Macclesfield Leisure Centre and Eaton Park.

Education Facilities

Local education facilities have good levels of usage with 10 households using The Kindergarten 2 / K2, 55 households using Hollinhey and 13 households using Goslings.

Several comments were made that the pre-school facilities were unsuitable for working parents, and also that the pre-school could be relocated to Hollinhey to provide a wrap- around service for families.

Healthcare

An overwhelming majority (91% of those who responded to this question) stated that they find it easy to access healthcare facilities, and 76% of those who responded to this question stated that they find it easy to access social services. In addition, 72% of those who responded to this question stated that they believe that the healthcare facilities in the Parish are satisfactory for people with disabilities.

Local Businesses

Usage of the main local businesses by residents and their visitors is very good. The highest usage level is for Sutton General Stores with 89% of total respondents using the service either often or occasionally, followed by 87% for the Post Office.

Usage of local businesses 800 600 Blank 400 200 Never

Rarely

Occasionally

Bar

Centre

Garden Garden

Other Other

Shop Office

Fairways Often

Sutton Sutton

Businesses

The Beauty The

Sutton Post Sutton

Sutton Farm Farm Sutton

Lyme Green Green Lyme

Petrol Station Petrol General Store General Public Houses Public

Suggestions for other businesses that people would like to see in the Parish were varied, with the most common suggestions being a tea rooms or coffee shop.

25 D: YOUNG PEOPLE'S QUESTIONNAIRE

The Young People’s questionnaire was designed to take into account the views and needs of the younger Parishioners. 61% of those providing their age were aged 10 or under.

A total of 82 responses to the questionnaire were received.

Age Distribution of Respondents

0-5 yrs 6-10 yrs 11-15 yrs 16+ yrs Blank

A significant proportion, 44% of total respondents, would like to remain living in the Parish when they grow up.

Activities for Young People

63% of total respondents felt that there were plenty of leisure activities on offer in the Parish for their age group. However, 49% of total respondents did feel that the local play areas are in need of improvement. A large number of suggestions were received; the most common included a bike track (24% of those responding) and a skate park (22% of those responding). Usage of the various playing facilities is shown in the chart below.

Usage of Play Facilities

Sutton Lyme Green Langley Blank/Illegible

26 Many respondents travel outside the Parish for a better range of play facilities and equipment. A significant minority (48% of total respondents) attend the St James Scout and Guide groups. However, there is a desire for additional indoor activities, and a youth club was suggested by 7% of those responding.

Given that a large proportion of local households now have internet access, there was limited (34% of total respondents) interest in an internet café.

Bus Services

Although 69% of total respondents find it easy to get into Macclesfield, 49% of total respondents do not use the local bus service. The bus fares are considered to be too expensive by 33% of total respondents.

Environment

55% of total respondents feel that we as a community do enough to conserve our environment.

27 E: BUSINESS QUESTIONNAIRE

The Business questionnaire was designed to take into account the views and needs of those working in and owning local businesses. 46 Business questionnaires were completed and returned.

Types of Business

Respondents were asked whether they were based in domestic or commercial premises, and what sector they feel best describes their business activities.

Distribution of Businesses within the Parish 20 18 16 14 12

10 Commercial Premises 8 Domestic Premises 6 4 2 0 Sutton Langley Lyme Higher Gurnett Green Sutton

Distribution of businesses by sector

16 14 14 12 10 8 8 7 6 6 Number 6 4 4 2 2 2 1 1

Retail

Others

Childcare

Education

Leisure & Tourism & Leisure

Finance/Insurance/IT

Building/Construction Reataurant/Pub/Catering

Sector Manufacturing/Related Industries Manufacturing/Related Farming/Argriculture/Horticulture

28 Employees

60% of total respondents indicated that they employ staff in their business, and that 67% of employees working within the Parish live outside the Parish. The respondent businesses between them employ 181 full time employees and 117 part time employees.

Number of Full & Part Time Employees

120 100 80 Part Time 60

40 Full Time Number 20 0 Sutton Langley Lyme Green Higher Sutton Outside the Parish Location of the Business

41% of total respondents indicated that it was challenging to recruit staff, the main reasons for this being the skills gap of local applicants, strong competition from businesses adjacent to the Parish and poor transport links to employment locations within the Parish.

Business Accommodation

The bulk of businesses in the Parish have been established for more than 20 years (57% of total respondents). Those considering moving away from the Parish may do so for the following reasons:

. Lack of availability of suitably qualified or experienced staff . Local planning constraints . The lack of larger premises . The business owner lives outside the Parish

However, only 24% of total respondents feel that they will need new and/or larger accommodation in the next three to five years.

74% of total respondents feel that the quality of the local countryside was of significant importance to their business.

Business Support

24% of total respondents said that they would like more advice and support on how to reduce energy costs and improve recycling.

29 There is no particular trend in the extent to which various local organisations are felt by businesses to understand and address their needs. However, respondents felt that the Parish Council is marginally more helpful than Cheshire East Council.

Perceived level of understanding of local business needs by various organisations

30 No Opinion 25 Very Restrictive 20

15 Unhelpful Responses 10 Helpful 5 Very Supportive 0 Sutton Parish Cheshire East Utility Providers Telecoms Council Council Providers Organisation

Transport issues vary across the business sector with the high levels of speeding traffic causing most concern.

Distribution of main traffic concerns

Standard of road maintenance HGVs using narrow local roads Adequacy of road signage Adequacy of parking Speeding traffic Local congestion Limited public transport services No opinion

Overall, the Parish is not seen as an area of high crime by the business community. However, 22% of total respondents feel that the Police support to business in the Parish is ineffective.

30 Communications

The most common way for the business community to find out about activities or facilities in the Parish was via word of mouth, followed closely by the local newspaper or newslink.

Sources of information relating to activities/facilities in the Parish

Local newspaper or newslink Parish notice boards Notices in local pubs or shops Word of mouth Parish magazine Langley News Hollinhey School No Comment

A significant minority (39%) of total respondents were interested in a listing and/or advertisement on a Parish website.

31 F: THE WAY FORWARD

This Report of Survey marks a significant step in the preparation of a Parish Plan. It has assembled the evidence on the basis of which conclusions can be formed and proposals for change made. Concurrently with the preparation of the report, on the basis of the survey results, Working Groups have drafted a Project Plan, summarising the key projects which the community has identified. This work has involved:

 Identifying and prioritising the main issues  Preparing a 'long list' of ideas for change  Discussing options with Parish Councillors and with external stakeholders whose cooperation in implementing any plan will be essential  Estimating costs and identifying any potential sources of funding  Estimating and planning timescales, including the possibility of 'quick wins' that could be implemented even before the Parish Plan is finalised

An early draft of the Project Plan is being presented to the Parish Council in May 2012, for discussion and assessment of feasibility. In the light of the Parish Council's views, a further consultation draft will be prepared and there will be a period of public consultation at various Parish events during June and July 2012.

The Steering Group hopes to present the final version of the Plan to the Parish Council and external stakeholders by the end of September or early October 2012.