2. Results and feedback from the 'Your Community' questions
- 56% feel part of the community, this is 7% less people than in 2014 and a 14% reduction since 2013. 15% do not feel part of their community.
- 61% regularly speak to the people they meet, a gradual 12% fall since 2013. 12% do not regularly speak to people in the local area.
- 93% get out of the house regularly, against 2% who don’t. No significant change from previous years.
- 87% feel it is a good place to live. 5% don’t feel it is a good place to live. No significant change from previous years.
- 84% get on well with the people they meet, 1% said they didn’t. No significant change from previous years.
- 75% trust the people in the local area and 4% don’t. No significant change from previous years.
47% of people had moved to Cranbrook from Exeter, 20% from elsewhere in East Devon and 14% from wider Devon. 81% of people moved to Cranbrook from within Devon. No significant change from last year.
21% of respondents moved to Cranbrook from an EX4 postcode, 16% from an EX2 postcode and 10% from an EX1 postcode.
- People mainly moved to Cranbrook as it is close to Exeter but still in the countryside, it was an opportunity to have a brand new home, they could afford to buy for the first time and it’s close to their place of work. This is the same as last year’s result.
- 87% of residents would recommend Cranbrook as a place to live, very similar to the 2015 result. The two most popular reasons for not recommending it were a lack of facilities and not enough on road parking.
- The main things people like most about Cranbrook is the community spirit and friendly people, that it’s quiet and in the countryside and it’s close to good transport links. These are very similar to the most popular things in all the surveys since 2013.
- What people don’t like most about Cranbrook is the lack of facilities and amenities, particularly a pub, leisure centre, large supermarket and more shops, this is the same as last year’s results. Other things a lot of respondents really didn’t like were the lack of off road car parking and the amount of anti-social behaviour. This is very similar to last year’s results but last year there was mention of traveller sites.
- The services and facilities that are most wanted in Cranbrook are (in order); a leisure centre, a swimming pool, a gym, more local shops, Post Office and a big supermarket. This is very similar to last year’s comments, apart from the pub mentioned in last year’s comments, which is being delivered at the moment.
The Growth Point Team’s responses to the results above:
We are working with Cranbrook Town Council, Devon County Council and Action East Devon to take forward a community development strategy for the town. This will help to;
- Understand what community spaces need to be provided in conjunction with the expansion plans for the town
- Find a sustainable way of commissioning and paying for a community development service
- Consider the best model for delivering services and assets going forward
Ultimately this work is all about enabling the community to help meet its own needs and to ensure that residents feel part of an active and vibrant community.
The new pub at Cranbrook opened 8th May. We are working with Cranbrook Town Council, Devon County Council, Clinical Commission Group and the developer Consortium to find ways of accelerating the delivery of key facilities in the town. Currently this includes the Town Council offices, library and auditorium as well as the potential for a leisure centre including a gym and swimming pool.
We continue to work with our partners to proactively manage parking (there was a surgery with Devon County Council on this topic recently) and anti-social behaviour in the town. A post office is incorporated as part of the Co-op in the Younghayes neighbourhood centre. An enterprise zone designation went live at the beginning of April which includes Cranbrook town centre. This includes incentives to help bring forward further investment.