Recent survey gives Wandsworth the thumbs up for Feel Good Factor

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Nine out of ten say borough on the up

Almost nine out of ten people think the council is making the borough a better place to live according to a new survey.

The Wandsworth feelgood factor was shared by 87 per cent of local people compared to 76 per cent in other inner London boroughs and 68 per cent in suburban areas. A similar proportion (85 per cent) said Wandsworth was a good place to live.

The nationwide poll was instigated by the Department for Communities and Local Government. The response rate in Wandsworth was the highest of any inner London borough with one in three people returning completed questionnaires.

The survey confirms the picture of Wandsworth as a place where different communities live together happily with just six per cent saying the area needed better race relations.

Schools, parks and facilities for young children also scored highly as services which were playing a strong part in making the borough a good place to live. In each case the proportion saying these areas needed improving were 10 per cent or less.

Where people wanted to see action was in tackling traffic congestion and cutting crime with 48 per cent and 40 per cent respectively saying that both were priorities for improvement.

On crime 72 per cent acknowledged the council's work to make the borough safer with the most positive views expressed by older residents (80 per cent) and people from minority groups (84 per cent). The average scores for inner and outer London boroughs were 65 per cent and 60 per cent respectively.

The council also comes out well for its initiatives on the environment, winning praise from 80 per cent of respondents compared to average scores of 75 per cent and 70 per cent for inner and outer London areas.

Overall satisfaction levels vary according to age with older people more likely to be 'very satisfied' with the borough - 39 per cent of over 65s saying this compared to 20 per cent of 18 to 34s.

Even among people who are less satisfied with the area there is recognition of the council's role with more than half (53 per cent) saying the authority was making things better.

Deputy council leader Maurice Heaster said that for the vast majority of people Wandsworth was a great place to live:

"The survey gives a good snapshot of the reasons why people like living in Wandsworth as well as an insight into the things that could be improved.  We know that when people come here they want to say. The most recent figures showed 16,500 people moving house within the borough in a single year - the second highest rate of internal moves in the whole of the capital.

"The council uses the information from surveys like this to target its services and ensure that they continue to make a real difference to the quality of life for people in the borough."

The Ipsos MORI survey of residents was carried out between September and November 2006. Questionnaires were mailed to 4,500 randomly-selected addresses in all parts of the borough and generated 1,411 responses.

A report on the survey will be considered by the council's corporate resources overview and scrutiny committee on June 26.

June 24, 2007