Why live anywhere else …?

The South Hams is one of the top places to live, in England according to survey results published this week.

In the South Hams 94% of people who took part in the Place Survey rated the district as the best place to live. This score put the South Hams in the second spot in the league table just behind Ribble Valley Borough Council who scored 94.2%.

87.7% agreed that the South Hams is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together. This ranked the district third behind City of London (91.6%) and Stroud District Council (88.0%).

Last October a random sample of 3,000 households across the South Hams were invited to respond to the Place Survey which was designed to test local opinion and satisfaction levels against a range of issues and services.  

The national results were finally released this week by the Department for Communities and Local Government and reveal that the South Hams has fared well against a range of national performance indicators.

South Hams came out top in Devon in terms of satisfaction amongst its residents with the area as a place to live: 94% of people were satisfied compared to a Devon average of 87.7% and a national average of 80%.

Community spirit was also high on the agenda with 74.3% of people feeling that they really belonged to their local neighbourhood. Again this compares well with a Devon average of 66.9% and a national average of 59%.

Nationally 45% of people are satisfied with the way their local council runs things; 56.8% of South Hams residents are happy with the council against a Devon average of 48.9%. Clearly there is room for improvement, but the Place Survey is a very useful way of testing public opinion on how well the council is doing.  We will be working hard to improve our score.

David Incoll, Chief Executive of South Hams District Council, said: “It was no surprise to find that South Hams is rated by its residents as the top place to live in Devon. Councillors will feel pleased that satisfaction with the authority is so much higher than the county and national averages. However they will not be complacent but determined to achieve even more for our residents, businesses and visitors in the future.”

The full range of national satisfaction results can be seen at www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/placesurvey2008

Ends

061-09

24^th June 2009

For more information please contact the Communications Office at South Hams District Council on 01803 861368 or email public.relations@southhams.gov.uk

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