More than half satisfied with borough performance

Sep 1 2009 Surrey Herald

A SURVEY of Runnymede residents by the borough council has revealed a number of areas that need improving.

About 55 per cent of people living in the borough said they were satisfied with the way Runnymede Council runs things in the 2008 General Satisfaction Survey, down from 65 per cent two years earlier.

The survey, sent out by the Audit Commission, had 1,391 responses and the overall satisfaction rate in the borough put it 29th in the country, out of 353 local authorities.

But respondents highlighted traffic congestion, activities for teenagers, street cleanliness and level of crime among the factors that need improving in the borough.

A spokesman for Runnymede Council said: "There is a great deal of important information that has been gathered with regard to the views of residents, which demonstrates that perception of the local area has

largely improved, while satisfaction with the local authority and its services has largely fallen.

"This mixed picture is reflected in the national trends.

"The perception based scores largely show poor performance in comparison to similar and Surrey-based authorities.

"However, resident perception on key quality of life issues, such as various measures of anti-social behaviour, has improved since 2006."

The number of residents reporting anti-social behaviour as a problem in their area fell between the two surveys (from 2006 to 2008).

The biggest improvements were in the reduced number of teenagers hanging around in the streets and the number of people dealing drugs.

The findings of the survey will be presented in a report to Runnymede's corporate management committee tomorrow (Thursday).