This presentation provides an overview of the Thatcham Survey 2006 which was conducted by the Thatcham Vision project team to identify the priorites and needs of Thatcham's community.
9. The Town Centre A thriving town centre is vital to the future of Thatcham, as it is to any town. The town centre topic team are exploring a number of initiatives and the survey tested feelings about some of them as well as asking for general views about specific aspects of the centre.
10. Develop a plan for improving the town centre 86% of respondents agree or strongly agree that a plan should be developed to improve the town centre. Our separate town centre survey indicated that the community’s highest priority is for more, and more varied, shops
11. Develop a plan for improving the town centre An analysis of responses to this question, based on length of residence in Thatcham, shows that those who have lived in the town for two years or less have the strongest views on this issue, with 91% agreeing strongly or agreeing. (In the remainder of this presentation the percentage agreeing or agreeing strongly will be referred to as ‘agree’.)
12. Build a community facility in the town centre An early proposal from the town centre topic team was the development of a new facility in the town centre which could include a bigger library, an internet café and other facilities. 78% of respondents agree with this proposal.
13. Build a community facility in the town centre As this chart shows, those who have lived in Thatcham for less than two years again had the strongest views, with 85% agreeing.
14. Build a community facility in the town centre Under 25s had the strongest views on this, with 85% agreeing, but the proposal is popular across all age groups.
15. Keep the existing Friday market Exploring other aspects of the town centre, 82% are in favour of keeping the existing Friday market, which takes place in the Broadway.
16. Keep the existing Friday market Once again, strength of feeling is highest amongst those who have recently moved to Thatcham: 90% agree.
17. Keep the existing Friday market Considering responses by age, views are very similar across all age groups. The strongest agreement was from those aged 65 and over who, with 84% agreeing, were marginally ahead of other age groups.
18. Transport and Access Transport and access causes particular problems in Thatcham, as responses to questions related to rising heavy goods vehicle (HGV) traffic through and around the town demonstrate. Road safety and views related to Thatcham’s level crossing were also covered in the survey.
19. How do you travel to your location of work or study? Low levels of bus travel to places of work or study (more people walk) is of particular interest and partly reflects the poor state of Thatcham’s bus network.
20. Reduce HGV movements along the A4 The A4 effectively cuts Thatcham in two and increasing HGV movements not only cause congestion but also generate air and noise pollution. 71% thought that measures should be taken to reduce HGV movements on the A4. This won’t be easy to achieve because of the large number of distribution depots adjacent to the A4 at Colthrop. 71% agree with this proposition.
21. Reduce HGV movements along the A4 Views about this were strongest in Thatcham West ward
22. Stop HGVs using Crookham Hill HGV traffic over the level crossing and on Crookham Hill causes particular problems. This road is acknowledged by West Berkshire Council’s Highways Department to be unsuitable for HGVs and 72% agree with the need to stop HGVs using it. As with the first slide on this topic, a relatively high proportion of respondents have no opinion and it is possible that many of these are not affected by this issue.
23. Stop HGVs using Crookham Hill Again, those in the ward in which the road is located unsurprisingly have the strongest views with 81% agreeing.
24. Reduce HGV movements on other roads in Thatcham HGV traffic through and around the town inevitably has consequences for other roads. 79% agree that HGV traffic movements generally around the town should be reduced.
25. Reduce HGV movements on other roads in Thatcham Thatcham South and Crookham residents have the strongest views on this, with 83% agreeing.
26. Introduce further measures to improve road safety While reducing HGV movements will be a major challenge, improvements in road safety are an ongoing concern for many and local measures can be taken. 66% agree that they should be, although numbers disagreeing – 36% – are significant. It is possible that this reflects of those who live in areas where measures like road-humps, which are rarely popular, have been implemented.
27. Introduce further measures to improve road safety Thatcham’s senior citizens have the strongest views on this, with 76% of those aged 65 and over agreeing. Evidence from consultation exercises conducted in schools suggests that school children of all ages have very strong views about this topic (see the Databank link on our website for more details) and have major concerns about road safety.
28. Introduce further measures to improve road safety Residents from Thatcham West have the strongest views on this, with 71% agreeing, although views are similar across the town.
29. Investigate the feasibility of introducing a dial-a-ride bus service to hospitals Getting to the general hospitals in Reading, Basingstoke and Oxford that serve Thatcham can be a major problem, particularly if you are visiting relatives or friends and don’t own a car. 78% agree with the proposal that the feasibility of a dial-a-ride service should be investigated.
30. Investigate the feasibility of introducing a dial-a-ride bus service to hospitals Views on this varied quite significantly by ward, with 89% of those in Thatcham West agreeing with this proposal.
31. Encourage employers to implement green transport plans Poor bus services, higher levels of car ownership than elsewhere in West Berkshire, poor bus provision and the fact that many people who live in Thatcham work elsewhere result in many journeys being made by car. 80% of respondents agree that as many employers as possible should implement green transport plans to help reduce the damaging environmental consequences of car use.
32. Build more distribution depots in Thatcham A major cause of the high and growing levels of HGV traffic in Thatcham is that there are many distribution depots in the town. Nearly 20% of the town’s built-up area is taken up by the Colthrop industrial estate and it is the location of many distribution depots. Only 16% want to see more and 67% disagree with this proposition.
33. Should an eastern bypass be built at Colthrop? Frustration with Thatcham’s level crossing which is on the only route out of the town to the south, figured strongly in our qualitative surveys. Some 67% of respondents agreed with the proposition that an ‘eastern bypass’ should be built. However, this responses conflicts with the overwhelming wish of respondents to protect the countryside around Thatcham. Building a bypass would have major detrimental impact on the countryside and recent studies have indicated that it would attract more traffic to Thatcham’s roads.
34. Should an eastern bypass be built at Colthrop? Opinions about this didn’t vary significantly based on length of residence.
35. Should an eastern bypass be built at Colthrop? Residents in Thatcham North had the strongest views on this subject, with 78% of them agreeing.
36. If a new eastern bypass was built would you use it? There were quite wide differences of opinion about this based on the wards in which respondents live. 82% of Thatcham North residents said that they would use an eastern bypass but those in Thatcham South and Crookham were least likely to do so. This may be because it would be residents in this part of Thatcham who would adversely suffer from increasing traffic likely to use such a new road.
37. Homes and Housing It was decided to defer detailed work on this topic until after the publication of the first action plan. Like health and wellbeing, schooling and other topics not yet considered, in detail this is obviously an important aspect of life in Thatcham but they require more time and effort than we had available during our first year. However, views about homes and housing were sought in the survey.
38. Option A: Build only within the already built-up area West Berkshire Council’s Local Development Framework – which is essentially a strategic plan for the future of West Berkshire – recognises that Thatcham’s infrastructure and services seriously lags behind the rapid increase in the town’s population. But recognising some new housing is inevitable, this question asked where people would like to see any new homes built. 76% opted for building within the already built-up area…
39. Option B: Build only within the already built-up area Only 8% thought that all development should take place solely on greenfield sites. …
40. Option C: Build only within the already built-up area … and for 31%, the first preference was that a balance of infilling and greenfield development.
41. Build more homes which are suitable for senior citizens, key workers and those on low incomes 68% agreed that more affordable housing is needed: an issue across West Berkshire given the very high cost of homes.
42. Build more homes which are suitable for senior citizens, key workers and those on low incomes Perhaps unsurprisingly those who have lived in Thatcham for more than 10 years – some of whom will have family members seeking homes in the area - have the strongest views on this, with 74% agreeing.
43. Build more homes which are suitable for senior citizens, key workers and those on low incomes Again, looking at responses by age, the 65s and over have the strongest views with 88% agreeing.
44. Replace some older stock with larger numbers of modern houses with small gardens Infilling, or ‘pepper potting’ is unpopular, with only 33% agreeing that this is desirable.
45. Replace some older stock with larger numbers of modern houses with small gardens Here are the responses based on length of residence: 26% of those who have lived in Thatcham for 2 years or less agree.
46. Build more low-rise blocks of flats One way of increasing housing density in Thatcham would be to build more low-rise apartments. Local housing associations would be keen to do this so that they can make more efficient use of the land they own, but only 29% agree that this should be done
47. Build more low-rise blocks of flats Responses based on length of residence are quite similar.
48. Provision for Senior Citizens Two of the Vision’s topic teams considered the needs of specific age groups. The senior citizens topic team had two major ideas that they wanted to test via the questionnaire.
49. Investigate the feasibility of building a senior citizens centre in Thatcham Although rare in the UK, senior citizens centres – which provide a comprehensive range of facilities for older people – exist in many other countries and the senior citizens topic team have proposed that one is provided in Thatcham. 78% of respondents agree that this should be looked at.
50. Investigate the feasibility of building a senior citizens centre in Thatcham The strongest support was from those who have lived in Thatcham for over 10 years, with 83% of them supporting the proposed feasibility study.
51. Investigate the feasibility of building a senior citizens centre in Thatcham 89% of 65s and over agree with this proposal.
52. Thatcham needs specialist workers for older people The team is also investigating the idea of providing specialist workers to support older people, with a remit similar to that of youth workers. This idea isn’t quite as popular as the senior citizens’ centre, with 67% agreeing.
53. Thatcham needs specialist workers for older people 72% of those who had lived in Thatcham for over 10 years supported this proposal.
55. The Environment This is a very broad topic area, covering everything from the consequences of urban growth and sustainable energy use through to pollution of various kinds. These issues are high on national and international agenda. Based on the survey results, they are a major concern for Thatcham residents as well.
56. Require all new houses and other buildings to be environmentally friendly and meet some of their own energy needs Although some changes are in the pipeline, developers have few incentives to build homes which minimise energy costs, water use and sustainability in general. 90% of respondents think that this situation should change.
57. Investigate the feasibility of building a wind turbine in Thatcham Reading’s wind turbine – featured in the supplement that accompanied the survey – has generated a lot of interest in the possibility of a similar installation in Thatcham. A feasibility study will be needed to determine whether this makes economic and environmental sense and 68% agree that one should be conducted.
58. Mandate local councils to take action to reduce their impact on the environment The public sector has an important role in leading the way in this area and 93% think that local councils should be doing more in this area.
59. Restore current and new gravel workings to protect wildlife and landscape in the Kennet Valley Gravel extraction has had a major impact on Thatcham’s countryside and continues in the area. However, sensitive restoration of the land affected can have major benefits for wildlife and the landscape and 91% agree that gravel workings should be restored.
60. Restore current and new gravel workings to protect wildlife and landscape in the Kennet Valley Those who have lived in the area for over 10 years have the strongest views, with 93% agreeing.
61. Restore current and new gravel workings to protect wildlife and landscape in the Kennet Valley Those living in Thatcham central/west had the strongest views, with 95% agreeing.
62. Protect the countryside around Thatcham A quite dramatic indication of the strength of feeling related to this topic area – 98% agree with this proposition.
63. Protect the countryside around Thatcham 98% of those who have lived in Thatcham for more than 10 years agreed with this proposition.
64. Protect the countryside around Thatcham In Thatcham North there is a remarkable 100% support for the proposition, possibly because that if there were to be development on Thatcham’s countryside it would almost certainly have to be north of the A4.
65. Allow the “green gap” between Thatcham and Newbury to be built on As maps which will be made available via the Thatcham Databank show, there is still a ‘green gap’ to the west of the town. 87% think that this should be preserved.
66. Allow the “green gap” between Thatcham and Newbury to be built on Views are similar regardless of length of residence.
67. Set up an informal youth forum to allow young people to express their views and ideas This relates to the idea of engagement and it is likely that in practice a range of methods will be used to involve young people in Thatcham’s future both in terms of consultation and taking practical action to improve the situation. 78% of those consulted agree that something is needed.
68. Allow the “green gap” between Thatcham and Newbury to be built on Again, those in Thatcham North have the strongest feelings about this issue.
69. Health and Wellbeing As noted earlier, health and wellbeing is one of a series of important topics which will be examined in the future – hopefully early in 2007. Further consultation exercises will be conducted in the future in relation to this and other topics. A general question on this topic was included in the survey. (Please get in touch with us via one of the contact methods detailed on our website if you would like to be involved with this team.)
70. The provision of NHS services in the town is adequate The new topic team will need to find out why only 38% of people think that NHS provision is adequate.
71. Youth Provision The youth provision topic team was the first to be set-up in 2005, partly because strong opinions had been expressed about this topic during the qualitative consultation exercises. The team have made a wide range of proposals, but the word ‘engagement’ summarises their work: effort is needed to continue to engage young people in the future of their town.
72. Provide more facilities for young people 85% agreed with this broad proposition: as with many other aspects of Thatcham’s infrastructure and services, there is a strong feeling that rapid population growth has not been matched by improved provision.
73. Provide more facilities for young people Those who have lived in the town for between 5 and 10 years have the strongest feelings about this, with 87% of them agreeing. This might reflect the views of young families thinking about the future.
74. Provide more facilities for young people Unsurprisingly the under 25s have the strongest feelings, with 90% of them agreeing.
75. Set up an informal youth forum to allow young people to express their views and ideas Interestingly, when ‘agree’ and ‘strongly agree’ are taken together the 45-64 age group were most in favour of this idea, although the strongest feelings were in the under 28 age group.
76. Social and Community Development High levels of participation in local clubs, other organised activities and volunteering is a real strength of Thatcham. The proposals made by this topic team are to do with exploiting the internet to build on this strength, partly by facilitating the formation of new groups and also by enabling existing ones to promote their activities more effectively.
77. Develop a community website for Thatcham, providing news and local information The development of a comprehensive community website is one proposal and 80% support this idea. A project team is already working on this, and the associated idea of extending web access covered on the next slide. It has been looking at examples of the best community websites in the UK and around the world so that it work out how to build on others’ ideas.
78. Develop a community website for Thatcham, providing news and local information Those aged 25-44 show the strongest support for this idea, with 84% agreeing.
79. Investigate the feasibility of providing a low-cost or free broadband access in Thatcham Increasing numbers of towns in the UK and overseas are introducing low cost or free ‘wireless’ access to the internet, which means that a suitably equipped computer can connect to the internet without a physical connection. 70% support work in this area. The benefits of making web access available to all cut across all the Vision’s topic areas.
80. Investigate the feasibility of providing a low-cost or free broadband access in Thatcham Again the 25s-44s show the strongest agreement, with 76% supporting the idea.
81. Respondent’s Profile In addition to the topic specific questions, the questionnaire included a series of questions which were aimed at building a picture of respondents’ background. The charts which follow show the responses. Please note that the responses to the questionnaire were weighted to reflect the age distribution of Thatcham’s actual population, which differs slightly from the survey response rate in different age groups.
85. Would you join a support network for home workers? The idea of providing support, in various ways, for those who work from home was suggested early in the project and it seems that there would be a sufficient number of people interested to make this worth pursuing.
86. Overview The next slide summarises the overall response to questions which were based questions based on a five point scale. The responses are ordered by level of agreement. The overall strong response to questions related to sustainability and the environment is worth noting.
88. The Thatcham Vision Databank The first version of this summary was published on 30 November 2006. Updated versions of this summary, summaries of the Vision’s other consultation exercises, statistical information, maps, and a large collection of photographs will be added to the Thatcham Vision Databank over the coming days and weeks. The Databank’s home page, which can be accessed via the Vision’s website, includes guidance on a simple way of keeping up-to-date with additions and changes. Please email questions about or comments on this survey to [email_address] or leave a message on the Vision’s voicemail line 020 8133 3423.
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