2004

INTRODUCTION
As some of the most visible results of the original Village Opinion @ Long Itchington, carried out in December 2001, were introduced into the village, the Parish Council decided to carry out another consultation using questionnaires.

Village Opinion 2001 was a massive exercise in terms of its planning, execution and the topics it covered. The opinions expressed then can now be seen to be affecting life in the village, perhaps most obviously in the new 30mph speed limit with new signs, traffic calming measures and road crossings.

Village Opinion 2004 was rather simpler:
• The distribution & collection of the questionnaires was not as sophisticated, resulting in an inevitably lower, but still very respectable, response rate of 58% (compared to 83% in 2001).
• The coverage of the questionnaire was restricted to 3 specific issues which needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Nevertheless, the results have been extremely useful and, most importantly, villagers have had the opportunity to have their say on 3 important aspects of village life.

472 households completed questionnaires, with responses from 1032 individuals. In addition to answering the ‘tick box’ questions, many people also wrote in more detailed comments – making up nearly 40 pages when typed up!

This document is a summary report of the results which is being distributed to all households in the parish. The full report, with all the detailed statistics and comments, is available to read from the Parish Clerk or any Parish Councillor.

Finally, as part of this introduction, we must thank all the people who made Village Opinion @ Long Itchington 2004 possible, including:
• The questionnaire collectors
• The shops who also collected questionnaires
• The thousand villagers who took part
It is your village and this exercise has given you the chance to influence what happens in 3 specific areas.
Thank you.

THE POND
We all know that the pond is a very significant part of the village to many people. In Village Opinion 2001 it was the feature that the most people said was the best feature of the village & needed to be preserved.

However, over the past few years, the state of the pond has been causing concern and a working party has been set up to look into what can be done.

This working party asked a number of questions and the responses we received were as follows:

The vast majority of the village want to see:
• The water supply secured
• The banks restored
• Swans on the pond
• Naturally occurring flowering plants

Most of the village would also like to see:
• Other waterfowl & ducks
• Functional species of plants
• Fishing banned in the pond (although among the under 16s it is the other way, with slightly more wanting fishing allowed or encouraged)

Only a minority of the village would like to see:
• Landscaping
• Ornamental species of plants
• Additional features (feeding platforms, duck houses or water features)

Much was also written on the questionnaires about the pond.

The most frequently occurring word in the written in comments was that the pond should be kept “natural”.

While most acknowledged work needs to be done, they wanted the pond to be “restored to its previous natural glory” rather than tarted up and fancified.

Typical comments were:
“I would like the pond to remain as natural as possible, but obviously for this to happen, certain action needs to be taken.”

“We do not want to make the pond too ornamental. It is a traditional feature of the village and should be restored to its ‘traditional’ pleasant surround.”

Many appreciated that the quantity of ducks now on the pond is a severe problem and has contributed to the current problems.

Even more wanted to see a return of swans which are seen, by many, as an essential part of the pond and the village.

EXTENDED GREEN END RECREATIONAL AREA
As a result of the requests for more leisure facilities in Village Opinions 2001, the Parish Council has acquired for the village a new field which doubles the recreation area at Green End.

It consists of nearly 6 acres immediately adjoining, and north of, the Green End field, and bordered to the east by the A423.

The acquisition of this field, and the dilapidated state of the existing changing rooms, toilet and car parking arrangements at Green End, led the Parish Council to ask questions about what facilities people would like in the recreational area and a possible new pavilion.

Villagers were asked both what they would like and what they would use.

For the recreational area, most (87%) would like to see some additional facilities, and the ones that came up the most (in order) were:
• Walking
• Picnicking
• Cricket pitch
• Tennis court
• Bowls
• Dog walking

Over half (59%) said they would personally use some of them, and the most popular were:
• Walking
• Picnicking
• Tennis court
• Dog walking
• Bowls
• Golfing area

For the pavilion, most (83%) would like to see some of the facilities, with the most liked being:
• Changing rooms
• Showers
• Kitchen & catering
• Gym
• Café

Just under half (43%) said they would personally use some, and the most popular were:
• Gym
• Café
• Changing rooms
• Showers
• Kitchen & catering

In the written in comments, the key themes were:
• The need for car parking at the site.
• Concern about the upkeep of the facility & prevention of litter & vandalism.
• That any new facilities do not duplicate those already available in the village (Community Centre & tennis courts) and even Southam for some (gym).
• Concern about dog fouling.

HOUSING NEEDS
With the development of the Galanos House site it was very important that the Parish Council had an accurate measure of the housing needs of the village in order to help influence decisions on future plans for the site.

The head of each household was asked to complete some questions about their housing needs.
• 20% of households said they, or someone in their family, currently needed accommodation locally, or was likely to do so within the next 12 months.
• This represents 152 households in the village.
• Of these, 120 said they could not afford to rent or buy a suitable property on the open market.
• They are primarily looking for 2 bedroom houses.

In the written in comments, the key theme is the need for starter homes / affordable housing for the young in the village so that they don’t have to move elsewhere. In addition, people also mention the need for suitable housing for the elderly:

“We need housing for young people who have been brought up in the village. We also need appropriate housing for elderly people who have lived in the village for any length of time.”

“It would be good to have some affordable housing for the young married couples to keep our village for a few more born & bred here.”

“Part rent / buy housing should be a top priority as young people in the village have no chance of buying property nowadays & remaining in the village.”

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
We now know what the villagers want with regard to these 3 important issues. But this is only the start …… now the hard work begins.

In the planning process, the Parish Council will be using the housing needs information to try to obtain a more acceptable mix of units on the Galanos site.

For the pond, a committed working party has been working on our behalf for many months and will be using these results to develop their plans.

But the extended Green End recreational area requires committed villagers to help develop and implement plans to ensure this facility provides what the villagers want.

If you would like to help, please contact the Chairman of the Parish Council, David Cobley, on 817676.  He would be very happy to hear from you.