AYCLIFFE RESIDENTS SURVEY
The replies to our Aycliffe Residents Survey received in the first week of delivery far outweighed our expectations and showed how many residents care about Great Aycliffe. We are letting you know about the initial findings but assure you that we will continue to take account of further returns and act upon them to the best of our ability if elected.
AYCLIFFE TOWN CENTRE
Sadly only 1 respondent found him/herself able to state that they found the town centre to be good. 58% of respondents seemed to feel that the whole charade had been a series of false promises with nothing done over the years and found the situation at least frustrating. If one adds up comments such as, "rubbish, disgraceful, derelict, degenerating" these views were almost the same in number as those who expressed the false promises sentiment. 8% of respondents commented that it was the worst town centre they had ever seen, that they were ashamed to take visitors there and shopped in
Some people stated that they felt that bringing in big named retailers may help the situation but it was felt that this will not happen until it IS an attractive welcoming place to shop. We were surprised that only 2% of respondents mentioned the lack of public toilets as this has been a big issue in recent years. 10% of respondents stated, what is obviously the crux of the problem, that the town centre is privately owned so the owners are not interested in our views; also, that compulsory purchase should have taken place long ago in the negotiations to bring it under Local Government ownership. A well held view seems to be that the money from the sale of the
ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
40% of the respondents who gave a reply to the question stated that they had no problems with anti social behaviour and a further 6% said they had very little problems and then only occasionally. 10% of respondents gave a definite yes to the question. People cited alcohol related problems including round the pubs at night, the town centre area, round take away outlets, round the Burn area and parks and green areas as the main places with problems. Many people included these problems in the space to add "Anything Else" so maybe these problems did not apply to their immediate areas but were more perceptions of the town as a whole. Contrary to what the media would have us believe only 15% cited children or youths as the main age group causing them problems.
POLICE AND STREET WARDENS
40% of the respondents said in equal numbers that they did not see many Police or Wardens in their areas, they saw them rarely or just sometimes. and 40% said they never saw Police or wardens in their areas. 6%of respondents said Policing in their area was good. However, concern was widely expressed about the town centre Police Station being closed at night, the small number of Police actually working in Great Aycliffe, not all areas having named Police Officers and the fact that we need more Police not Wardens as Wardens do not have enough powers to deal with problems.
LITTER AND STREET CLEANING
56% of respondents who answered the question stated that litter was a real problem. This was mainly cited to be bottles and cans from and around pubs and off licences, people throwing away their take-away wrappings, carrier bags etc. blowing about in the wind and sticking to shrubs and hedges in many areas. The main problem areas seemed to be away from the main roads apart from
28% of respondents stated that their areas were clean or reasonably clean. Many of these residents said they collected the litter themselves or took pride in their areas and did not drop litter. 16% of respondents commented upon the town as a whole and many stated that the whole town was bad for litter particularly round the town centre and parks. Many commented on the fact that many people had no pride in their town.
What are the Labour controlled Authority doing as, according to the latest Inform, the Community Newspaper, the Net. cost for the environment in 2007/08 was £5,673,000=00 !!!! It would seem from the replies received that removing litter and rubbish is a very low priority and must therefore only be a fraction of this budget.
BAD SPOTS + ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO TELL US ABOUT
We have put these two sections together as similar problems became clear in answers to both these problems.
48% of respondents were clearly very dissatisfied with the County Council's road/pavement and verge maintenance. 10% of the replies included the lack of dropped Kerbs making life very difficult for the elderly, disabled and young mothers with prams. 20% reported that pavement edges were broken away due to delivery lorries and parking in the main. The same reason was given for the 15% who were concerned about damaged verges.
Many respondents, particularly in
It is alleged that the County Council has an over £70,000=00 back-log when it comes to the maintenance of roads etc. so it is hardly surprising that so many people have raised this issue as a real problem. What have your Labour Councillors done to alleviate these problems as many people claim they are very long standing ?
12% of respondents complained about traffic congestion in the town centre since the building of the superstore. The worst areas seem to be
32% stated that the town centre was the worst bad spot on the town and felt that over the years they had only had broken promises. Other comments were much the same as in the answers to the town Centre.
6% stated that dog fouling was still a problem, the majority of these respondents said they were conscientious dog owners themselves. Many elderly respondents complained about the lack of good bus services and the dreadful state of the bus shelters. 12% of respondents felt that litter throughout the town was a bad problem (most of these people being the ones who said their own areas were not bad for litter) with varying times for wheelie bins and recycling collections only adding to the problem. Many complained about tenants front and back gardens in some cases being used being used as "the householder's personal tip" which again added, in some cases, to the litter problem. The question was asked, "Why are they not MADE to keep their gardens tidy ?"
It is obvious that for many years the Labour controlled Councils, the County and Borough Councils in the main, have left people feeling very let down about the state of Great Aycliffe. Liberal Democrat Councils are renowned for listening to people and acting on their problems, in fact they are known for being more pro-active than re-active in the Councils they run. Liberal Democrat Councillors all over the
