Residents' Survey
avdc
Your views matter to us - survey on local council services
The views of local residents form a vital part of the council's work in planning to meet the needs of the local community. We care not only what you think about the services that we provide, but also what it's like to live in your area and will use your feedback from this consultation and from others to be certain we are dealing with the issues and services that concern and most matter to you.  


The questionnaire asks for your views on our new joint council news magazine, parking services, Customer Services in Winslow and future recycling initiatives. We very much hope you will be able to take part and take this opportunity to contribute to the decision making process in the local area.
If you have not recently completed one of our surveys, we hope that as well as completing this survey you will want to join our new residents’ panel. There is a section at the end of this questionnaire where you can join. Panellists will be invited to join in further surveys up to three times a year, on a variety of issues. This could take the form of postal and online surveys or small discussion groups. We'd love you to take part in each survey, but in joining the panel it will be your decision each time.  
The panel will be managed for us by an independent market research agency, The Halo Works Ltd. AVDC will not have access to any personal details, only the views from specific groups such as age or geographic area, nor will your personal details be shared with any other organisation.
I very much hope you will be able to take part in this survey and take this opportunity to contribute to the decision making process in the local area. Please complete this survey as soon as possible - it will close on 30th July.  
You might find the following notes helpful when completing this survey.
In most cases you will only have to select one box but please read the questions carefully, as sometimes you will need to select more than one.
×If you have any queries about the questionnaire please do not hesitate to contact Alison Kennedy at Aylesbury Vale District Council on 01296 585007 or akennedy@aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk
New council magazine, Aylesbury Vale & County Times
Recently you will have received our new magazine, the Aylesbury Vale & County Times. We publish this four times a year and it's distributed to all homes in Aylesbury Vale, by Royal Mail. The magazine is produced by both Aylesbury Vale District Council and Buckinghamshire County Council and replaces District Link and the Buckinghamshire Times.
1. Do you recall receiving the first issue of the new Aylesbury Vale & County Times?
2. How much of this new magazine did you read?
3. How informative do you find the magazine?
4. Taking into account the content of the magazine and the way it looks, how would you rate the magazine overall?
New Customer Service Centre in Winslow
To improve  our service to residents in the Winslow area, we are moving our office to Winslow Library on 2 August 2010.  Our opening hours will be extended in line with the library opening hours, be open at lunchtimes, and have free car parking outside. In sharing facilities, both AVDC and Buckinghamshire County Council will make savings.
5. Have you visited our Winslow Area Office (based on the High Street) before?
6. If you answered yes, what service(s) did you use /enquire about?
   
7. Once we have opened, we will look to widen the range of services offered at Winslow. What services do you think would be useful to you or your neighbours in the Winslow area?
   
Text alerts
AVDC has introduced a FREE text alert service for mobile and house phones. Residents register and choose topics they'd like to receive messages about, such as car parking closures or changes to normal refuse and recycling collections.
8. Were you aware of our free text alert service?
9. If 'yes', have you signed up to receive these free text alerts from AVDC?
10. If ‘yes’, have you found the service to be useful?
11. If you responded ‘no’,  it would be helpful to know why you are not interested in this free service?  
Please tick all that apply
   
Recycling
12. Thinking about our recycling service, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the current household kerbside recycling collection service?
13. What improvements, if any, do you think we could make to the household kerbside recycling collection service?
Please tick all that apply
   
14. We are considering increasing the number of materials we collect as part of our household kerbside collection service. What additional materials would you like to be able to recycle at the kerbside?
Please tick up to three
   
Some councils are looking at offering their residents the opportunity of purchasing a wheeled bin for the collection of recyclables. This could cost in the region of £20 - £25. Residents would be able to place all their paper, plastics, cans and in addition, cardboard, which we do not currently collect, into this single wheeled bin. (Glass would still have to be collected in the glass box currently provided).
15. If AVDC offered this scheme, would you be interested in purchasing a wheeled bin for this purpose?
16. If you answered ‘no’ above, please can you tell us why?
Please tick all that apply
   
To encourage more recycling and prevent recyclable waste being put in refuse bins, we are also considering rewarding residents for recycling more if they have a 'recycling wheeled bin'. The rewards could be for example, vouchers for high street shops, free use of leisure facilities or buy 1 get 1 free offers.  
17. Given this information, do you agree with the following statements?  
Please tick one box per row
       
  This is a good way to get people to recycle      
  This would encourage me to recycle more      
18. Thinking about garden waste, would you like a regular kerbside garden waste collection service?
19. If you answered ‘no’ above, please can you tell us why?
   
20. If you answered 'yes', would you be happy to pay for this service?
Parking services
AVDC manage 11 car parks in Aylesbury and 5 others in Buckingham, Winslow and Wendover. We will be reviewing our service, as we approach the closure of the Civic Centre and other car parks in Aylesbury. Your views on our parking service are very important to us, in assisting with this review. (Carparks managed by other providers are marked with an *)
If you haven't used our car parks, and don't intend to, please skip this section (press "next" at the bottom of the page)
21. Please let us know which car park listed below you use most frequently:
Please tick only one
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
22. Can you tell us why you use this car park more frequently than any other?
Please tick all that apply:
   
23. What aspects of our car parking service would you say are the most important to you and which of these do you think are in the most need of improvement?
     
  External car park location signs    
  Paying information    
  Directional signs within the car parks    
  Availability of disabled bays    
  Lighting    
  Cleanliness e.g.  lack of litter / graffiti    
  Security, e.g. CCTV, patrols    
  Availability and pricing of season tickets    
  Cycle and motorcycle provision    
24.
Aylesbury town centre events
The town centre partnership sponsors up to 100 free events held at weekends and school holidays in Aylesbury town centre for residents, visitors and shoppers to enjoy. Held throughout the year, events range from craft fairs to farmers' markets, free children's activities to summer music festivals.
25. Have you heard about these free events or visited Aylesbury to enjoy one?
Please tick one only
26. Please write in:
27. If you have not attended any of these events before, can you let us know why?
Please tick all that apply
28. Finally, would you be interested in finding out more about the events being organised in the next few months?
Living in Aylesbury Vale
29. How satisfied or dissatisfied are you overall with your local area as a place to live?
Please consider your local area to be the area within 15-20 minutes walking distance from your home.
30. Please write in:
31. Please write in:
Value for money
32. Were you aware that Aylesbury Vale District Council are responsible for collecting council tax on behalf of a number of other authorities including Buckinghamshire County Council, Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Fire Authority, Thames Valley Police and the Town and Parish Councils?
The average 'band D' household pays £27.36 council tax per week, of which AVDC keeps less than 10%, £2.52, to run its services. This pays for many services including refuse collection, recycling and street cleaning, environment health, planning, parks & open spaces and leisure centres. The remainder is shared between Buckinghamshire County Council, Thames Valley Police, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority, and the Town and Parish Councils.
33. To what extent do you agree or disagree that Aylesbury Vale District Council provides value for money?
34. Thinking specifically about the services we provide, rather than those provided by other local authorities in this area,  what factors do you think would influence you to feel we provide value for money?
Please tick up to three
   
35. And what factors may have affected the choices you selected in the previous question?
Please tick all that apply
   
Listed below are some statements about the ways of doing things that people may associate with their council. Based on your own personal experience or what you have heard or read about Aylesbury Vale District Council, for each pair of statements, please can you tell us where on the scale you think Aylesbury Vale District Council is?
If you feel AVDC are exactly like the statement on the left, select the box on the extreme left. If you feel they behave exactly like the statement on the right, select the box on the right hand side. If you feel they act somewhere in between these views, please select the box on the scale that is closest to your views.
36.a
 
 
 
 
36.b
 
 
 
 
36.c
 
 
 
 
37. Taking everything into account, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you overall with the way Aylesbury Vale District Council runs things?  
38. Please write in:
39. Please write in:
40. If you are already a member of the AVDC Resident's Panel, please select the 'yes' box otherwise please select the 'no' box
NB. If you are already a member of the Buckinghamshire County Council Residents' Panel, or are not a member of any current panel, then please tick the 'no' box
In order for us to produce a summary of the aggregate survey results and if required,  send you a summary of the key findings and/or information about forthcoming Aylesbury town centre events, please can you complete the following sections so that we can match your survey responses with the age and other demographic details you supplied in the previous questionnaire
41. I would like to receive a summary of the key findings from this consultation and/or information about forthcoming Aylesbury town centre events
Note: All individual survey responses will remain completely confidential.
   
   
   
   
Your details
The next few questions will help us understand better some of the overall results. All individual responses will remain strictly confidential.
42. Gender
43. Which of these age groups applies?
44. In which of these ways does your household occupy your current accommodation?
   
45.
46. Do you have any long-standing illness, disability or infirmity?
47. If ‘yes’, does this condition affect your activities in any way?
48. Are you any of the following?
49. How long have you/your household been living in Aylesbury Vale?
50. To which one of these groups do you consider you belong?
   
51. Finally, if you are not already a member of the Buckinghamshire County Council Residents' Panel and would like to join Aylesbury Vale District Council's panel database or receive a copy of the key findings from this consultation and/or information about forthcoming town centre events in Aylesbury, please complete the boxes below.

As panellists, you will have the opportunity to voice your opinion on issues that affect how you feel about living in this area. You will also be able to give your view on how well you feel the Council are delivering services to local people through surveys like this one
If you selected any of the above boxes, please provide us with your contact details.
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
DATA PROTECTION STATEMENT
Any personal data you provide will only be used for the purposes of being included in Aylesbury Vale District Council's panel database, which is being managed by an independent market research agency, The Halo Works Ltd. Your details will not be passed on to any other third party nor will they be used for any purpose other than for consultation taking place on behalf of the council. Please note your personal details will not be passed on to the council and your details and all individual responses to this survey will remain confidential in accordance with the UK Market Research Society code of conduct.
Thank you very much for your support by completing this survey.
Please press the submit button to finish
 
   
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  Link to http://www.haloworks.com