Community Research in Blyth Valley Borough Council Area 2003 Research Study Conducted for The Boundary Committee for England October 2003 Contents Introduction 1 Executive Summary 4 Local Communities 6 Defining Communities 6 Identifying Communities 6 Identity with the Local Community in the Blyth Valley Borough Council Area 7 Overall Identity 7 Effective Communities 9 Involvement 13 Affective Communities 16 Bringing Effective and Affective Communities Together 17 Local Authority Communities 19 Belonging to Blyth Valley Borough Council Area 19 Belonging to Northumberland County Council Area 22 Knowledge and Attitudes towards Local Governance 25 Knowledge of Local Governance 25 Involvement with Local Governance 26 Administrative Boundary Issues 26 Appendices 1. Methodology – Quantitative 2. Methodology - Qualitative 3. Sub-Group Definitions 4. Place Name Gazetteer 5. Qualitative Topic Guide 6. Marked-up Questionnaire Community Research in Blyth Valley Borough Council Area 2003 for The Boundary Committee for England Introduction Research Aims This report presents the findings of research conducted by the MORI Social Research Institute on behalf of The Boundary Committee for England (referred to in this report as "The Committee") in the Blyth Valley Borough Council area. The aim of this research is to establish the patterns of community identity in the area. Survey Coverage MORI has undertaken research in all 44 two-tier district or borough council areas in the North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber regions. The research covers two-tier local authority areas only; the results may however identify issues which overlap with adjacent areas. Reports and data for other two-tier areas are provided separately. Blyth Valley Borough Council (Northumberland CC) Wansbeck DC Castle Morpeth BC (Northumberland CC) (Northumberland CC) Blyth Valley BC (Northumberland CC) Data is available from two-tier authorities in these County Council areas: Cheshire Durham Cumbria Lancashire Northumberland North Yorkshire North Tyneside MBC Key: Newcastle-upon- BC = Borough Council DC = District Council Tyne City Council CC = County Council MBC = Metropolitan Borough Council Source: MORI Methodology Both quantitative and qualitative research has been carried out in the Blyth Valley Borough Council area, as in each two-tier district council area in the North East region. Quantitative research seeks to answer the question of ‘what’ residents think, by measuring their attitudes on a range of pre-set questions in the context of an interview, rather than holding an in-depth discussion on the issues involved. It provides statistically robust data. 1 Community Research in Blyth Valley Borough Council Area 2003 for The Boundary Committee for England Within each two-tier district or borough council area, some 300 quantitative face- to-face interviews were carried out in-home between 19th June and 31st August 2003. A total of 1,835 interviews took place across all two-tier authorities in the Northumberland County Council area, with 307 interviews being conducted in the Blyth Valley Borough Council area. Quotas were set by age, gender and work status using 2001 Census data. Data have been weighted back to the known demographic profile of each district or borough council area by age and gender, and for aggregate county, regional and overall findings by the population size of each individual district or borough council area. Full computer tabulations have been provided separately. Qualitative research helps probe the thinking processes and feelings of residents, and attempts to answer the question as to ‘why?’ residents might feel the way they do. In the Blyth Valley Borough Council area, a qualitative discussion group was held to establish how residents feel about their local community. The findings from this group were analysed within the context of the findings from discussion groups in the other 43 district or borough council areas under consideration by this study. Discussion groups do not seek to offer statistical validity from a representative sample, but seek to explore attitudes and opinions in greater depth than the quantitative research allows. It should also be borne in mind that, in order to get an overview of the in-depth feelings in each area as well as explore linkages across the region, only one discussion group was held in each district or borough council area. The findings from each group should therefore be viewed in the context of the other discussion groups which have taken place, as well as the quantitative findings. This is because the findings from participants from just one discussion group may be unrepresentative of general opinion, and misleading if viewed out of context. Report Structure This report provides an overview of the findings from the research for the Blyth Valley Borough Council area level. Individual summary reports for the findings within each of the two-tier authorities in the North East region have been issued under separate cover. Publication of the Data As part of our standard terms and conditions, the publication of the data in this report is subject to the advance approval of MORI. This would only be refused on the grounds of inaccuracy or misinterpretation of the findings. 2 Community Research in Blyth Valley Borough Council Area 2003 for The Boundary Committee for England Contact Details The research was carried out by MORI for COI Communications, acting on behalf of The Boundary Committee for England. Simon Atkinson, Research Director, MORI Emma Holloway, Senior Research Executive, MORI Jaime Rose, Senior Research Executive, MORI Neil Wholey, Senior Research Executive, MORI 79-81 Borough Road London SE1 1FY Tel: 020 7347 3000 Fax: 020 7347 3800 Email: [email protected] Internet: www.mori.com 3 Community Research in Blyth Valley Borough Council Area 2003 for The Boundary Committee for England Executive Summary • Residents in the Blyth Valley Borough Council area identify most strongly with their local neighbourhood or village, and their town or nearest town. They show less identity with the administrative areas of the local two-tier councils. This is not an unusual finding, as people will generally identify with the immediate area where they have made their home, rather than a large geographical area. • The Blyth Valley Borough Council area is a mixture of urban and rural, with activity concentrated on the town of Blyth itself. Over half of residents most associate themselves with the town of Blyth, with nearly one in five associating with Cramlington. Nearly one in ten most associate themselves with Newcastle, in the neighbouring Newcastle- upon-Tyne Met Council area. • "Effective Communities" are the sense of place created by visiting practical locations which cater for shopping or leisure needs, work place, or where parents take their children to school. Blyth is a particularly key destination for clothes and household shopping for C2s and DEs, with ABs and C1s more concentrated around visiting Newcastle-upon-Tyne for clothes and household shopping. The two combinations are fairly close to each other and there is a relatively strong link between these two areas. • As has been found in other district and borough council areas nearby, Newcastle-upon-Tyne is a local focal point - especially for clothes and household shopping. However, few residents actually feel that Newcastle-upon-Tyne is the area or community they most belong to. This suggests that it may be a good place to visit, but does not form lasting community ties. • "Affective Communities" are the sense of place created by residents forming an emotional attachment to a community. Identity with the local neighbourhood is naturally stronger for those who take part in community activities. It is also interesting that those who stay in the local Blyth Valley Borough Council area for their leisure and sporting activities feel a closer bond with the Council area. This has not come across strongly in other district or council areas in the vicinity apart from in the Castle Morpeth Borough Council area. • Overall, 88% of Blyth Valley Borough Council residents feel they belong to a local area or community within this council area. This is in line with other district or borough council areas in the Northumberland County Council area. 4 Community Research in Blyth Valley Borough Council Area 2003 for The Boundary Committee for England Interpreting the Findings • Neither the qualitative nor the quantitative research should be taken in isolation of the other, and nor should the findings of one district, borough, county or region be taken in isolation of the overall perspective provided by research in other areas. Just as residents themselves are at the centre of a number of different communities, so this research is at the centre of a wider body of research that provides context and a sense of place to the individual findings for each area. ©MORI/18710 Simon Atkinson Emma Holloway Jaime Rose Neil Wholey 5 Community Research in Blyth Valley Borough Council Area 2003 for The Boundary Committee for England Local Communities Defining Communities Communities, in the context of this research, are a sense of place. The strength of this sense of place is related to the involvement residents have in their communities, whether with people in their own immediate neighbourhood, or with places further afield through, for example, shopping trips or work. For residents there are a number of different and overlapping communities: • Administrative Communities: the sense of place created by local council administrative boundaries. • Effective Communities: the sense of place created by visiting practical locations which cater for shopping or leisure needs, or are a place of work, or where parents take their children to school. • Affective Communities: the sense of place created by residents forming an emotional attachment to a community. This is defined as where residents feel they most belong, the town or area they most identify with, and if they met someone from outside their region, where they might say they came from.