News Residents want town wardens
A recent 'Quality of Life' survey has revealed two-thirds of Goole residents would like to see community wardens operating in the neighbourhood to tackle anti-social behaviour, littering and dog-fouling.
More than 500 residents took part in face-to-face interviews, which were conducted by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, to have their say on what it is like living in Goole.
The survey was carried out as part of the Advance Goole Project, which aims to improve the quality of life for local residents and tackle the issues which concerns them most.
It targeted a random sample of 7,600 residents occupying 3,458 households in three specific area of the town - Old Goole, Shuffleton and the Boothferry Road area.
Out of the 588 people who took part in the survey, 72 per cent said they were satisfied with Goole as a place to live and 64 per cent said they felt part of a community.
The survey also identified key issues that residents felt very strongly including a need to provide more facilities for young people and activities for teenagers, improve the cleanliness of streets in the town, reduce crime and improve health services for the area.
Most of the suggestions made by residents reflected problems which were already identified in the areas in which they live. These included parking in residential streets, rubbish and litter, dog mess, teenagers hanging around on the streets, anti-social behaviour and nuisance neighbours, graffiti and vandalism.
Whilst 2.2 per cent of the residents asked said they did not feel safe walking alone in their area during the day this figure rose to 29 per cent for night.
Drug dealing and abuse was cited as a major problem by 50 per cent of respondents and 23 per cent said they were concerned about anti social behaviour in the area.
However, nearly a third of the participants stated they had no concerns at all about crime.
The survey also highlighted that 77 residents had found themselves a victim of crime, with the most common offences being household burglaries, damage to or theft from a vehicle and physical attack.
In the last 12 months 84 households said that they had experienced anti-social behaviour.
Out of the 84, half the households were dissatisfied with the response they received from organisations that they had contacted to deal with the problem.
Residents were also asked to identify what they felt were the best things about living in Goole. Community spirit, schools and the range of sport and leisure facilities on offer were cited as the best whilst the range of shops, job opportunities and crime rates were amongst the worst.
The Advance Goole Neighbourhood Team will now use will now use the findings from the survey to develop a Neighbourhood Action Plan for Goole.
The plan will set out how the neighbourhood team will work with the council, its partners and the local community to address Goole residents concerns and further improve the quality of life.
For more information contact principal sustainable communities officer Coral Gladstone on 01482 391470.
Published on 24th July 2008 in News.
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