We’re bucking the trend! |
- Published: Thursday, 26 January 2012 19:15
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A recent survey by Tandridge District Council has shown that the readership of The Caterham and District Independent in Tandridge is steadily growing against all the odds! The survey revealed that although readership of local newspapers has generally been in decline in recent years, with The Surrey Mirror going down by 6% and the County Border News down by 9%, the number of people reading The Caterham and District Independent in the Tandridge area alone has increased by 9%, bucking the local and national trend. The figures were amongst the findings in the "Have Your Say About Council Services" survey carried out amongst Tandridge residents last year. The survey also showed that the Council's services are generally rated highly by those that use them, in particular council tax collection, food safety and parks and open spaces. The findings included the following: Over half of respondents (54%) feel the Council provides value for money, compared to 43% in a 2008 survey, while only 14% disagree. The majority (85%) are satisfied with the area as a place to live. Almost three quarters (70%) feel safe outside in the local area after dark, while almost all (89%) feel safe outside during the day. Issues considered less of a problem than in the 2008 survey are teenagers hanging around the streets (25% from 37%) and people using or dealing drugs (16% to 6%). The majority of respondents feel they get enough information about council services (81%) and feel well informed about how to vote (95%). Councillor Barry Compton, Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, said: "We wanted to find out what residents think about the services we provide, the area they live and how well we communicate with them. We are pleased with the results and will be using them to review services where necessary. These are challenging times and we have to prioritise our budgets carefully. We have to make sure we provide the services residents want and value. In addition, keeping residents and businesses informed is a key objective of the Council and we want to make sure we do our best to get it right." |