Resident survey

Spelthorne publishes results of residents' survey

Spelthorne Borough Council has released the results of a survey it conducted in the summer to ask residents for their views on the Borough and the Council's services.

1,707 residents responded to the survey which ran from 1 July to 8 September. It asked for residents' opinions on a number of areas including quality of services, value for money and trust in the council.

The Council used questions recommended by the Local Government Association (LGA) to enable the results to be benchmarked against other councils. Compared with the LGA averages, Spelthorne scored particularly well in relation to service delivery, value for money, trust, keeping residents informed, and listening and acting on residents' views (see table 1). Spelthorne fell below the LGA average on waste collections, green spaces and safety (see table 2).

Services which received the highest satisfaction levels included elections, floral street displays, parks and open spaces, and cemeteries. Satisfaction levels were lowest for planning, building control and community safety.

In response to the concerns raised about community safety, Spelthorne Council is planning to introduce a Public Space Protection Order aimed at addressing antisocial behaviour, and has launched a survey to gain residents' views on the plans. The survey can be found at https://spelthorne.inconsult.uk/antisocial from 18 November - 15 December.

Many respondents expressed dissatisfaction with grass verge maintenance, an area which is currently the responsibility of Surrey County Council. In direct response to resident's feedback, this service will be transferred to Spelthorne Borough Council from spring 2025, a positive move which will see an improvement in service levels.

The comprehensive survey analysis has been shared with senior management to drive improvements and inform future service delivery and corporate planning.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Joanne Sexton, said: "The residents' survey has provided really valuable insights to help us to understand what is working well and where we need to make some improvements. Thank you to everyone who took the time to take part in the survey. We place residents at the heart of everything we do and listening carefully to their feedback is one of the most crucial steps in this process.

"Some of the issues raised fall under the responsibility of other authorities, but we will share the feedback with them and collaborate to enhance our Borough.

"I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Chief Executive, staff and colleagues here at the Council. The excellent feedback is testament to all their hard work."

Table 1 - areas where Spelthorne Council scored above the LGA average

Table 2 - areas where Spelthorne Council scored below the LGA average