Housing

• 47 households are in need, mainly for family homes to buy (21 people) or rent (12 people). The reason for 50% of family members leaving Bere Alston is lack of starter homes to rent, with a very small number of people 5 needing sheltered housing in the parish.
• The majority of people feel there is a need for some housing, especially for ‘affordable’ housing for local people (35% - 440) (but there is less support for larger houses) and 22% said NO to any more housing.
• The great majority of households (89% - 574) now have loft insulation and (79% - 511) a lagged water tank. Most people also have double-glazing (70% - 449). However, only just over a third (225) live in homes with cavity wall insulation. One house has solar energy.

Recommendation: Contact West Devon Borough Planning and Housing departments.

Health & Social Services

• The doctor is the most widely used service - only 47 (4%) of people said they had not used the doctor at all, while over a quarter (26%) had used the doctor ‘often’, with the next most widely used medical facility being the district nurse.
• There is a high level of satisfaction with the medical and care services currently available in the parish. Four out of five respondents felt the doctor service is ‘good’, although 23 (7%) people felt that the out-of-hours doctor service was poor. 13% of respondents (133 people) said they ‘occasionally’ or ‘often’ had difficulties reaching the surgery. There was a strong approval for the district nurse service, with as many as 88% of users considering it ‘good’.
• However, many people using the services find it difficult to reach medical services that are not available in the parish. The most prominent problem is for access to a dentist (40% - 324), followed by hospitals (39% - 243) and opticians (27% - 155). While much lower numbers of respondents find access to other types of medical services difficult, they have relatively severe access problems, with 39% of those people seeking mental health care and 27% of those needing family planning assistance, having some difficulty getting to facilities.
• There is very strong support (1000 people) for having an NHS dentist, with 94% of all respondents claiming they would use one should it be located in the parish.
• There was a fairly large number of people (438) who said they would use a mobile Citizens’ Advice Bureau (CAB). A mobile Social Services facility and a mobile Social Security Service were each mentioned by over 130 people. Others who would be interested in using a volunteer database (74) and respite care (33).
• 137 people declared they had some form of disability (11% of all respondents). They were asked their opinions about the adequacy of the services available to them. The highest level of satisfaction is with shops, with 47% of the less able group considering them ‘good’ from their point of view and 34% ‘reasonable’, only 14% feel the shops are ‘poor’. Access to community buildings also seems fairly good, with only eight people feeling that it is ‘poor’. On the other hand, at least a quarter said that sports facilities (26%), street access (26%) and parking (34%) are ‘poor’.

Employment

• Of those who were looking for work, the most ‘popular’ categories were clerical (19), professional (17), retail (15) and skilled manual (14). 64% of those ‘looking for work’ had been doing so for more than six months. 67 people said they would like more information about job vacancies or training opportunities within the community.
• The most important problem facing job seekers is ‘lack of employment opportunities’, which is less easy to influence within the parish. However, a fair number of people said ‘family commitment’, ‘lack of child care facilities’ and ‘transport’ were also difficulties.
• Most people think there should be more jobs available in the parish (71%).
• There is a distinct preference for ‘rural’ employment, in agriculture and horticulture, even though the opportunities in these sectors are increasingly limited. Although there is low support for employment in construction and mining/quarrying, many people would accept some light manufacturing. There is also fairly strong backing for ‘homeworking’ and ‘teleworking’.

Recommendation: Contact local authorities’ economic development units and local offices of the Employment Service.

Education & Training Needs

• There is a strong interest (113 people) in using pre- and after school clubs, reflecting the concerns of parents whose working hours fall outside the school day and 75 would use a pre-school playgroup. 180 people responded in total.
• Nearly a quarter of local people (297) are interested in vocational training. Of course, these results do not reveal just how ‘interested’ people might be; ‘interest’ may not be the same thing as ‘take-up’.
• The most popular category of training people would like was ‘new technology/computing’ (159). The next most popular would be ‘professional/managerial’ (76) and ‘skilled or craft-related’ (71) training. The results suggest there is generally a fairly large ‘market’ for training.
• Nearly all those interested in training could get to Tavistock (97%), whereas only just over half could manage to reach Plymouth.
• A relatively small number of people (112) go to adult education classes, mainly in Tavistock. Only 19% (173) felt that the provision of adult learning in the parish is ‘reasonable’ or ‘good’. There is a fairly substantial demand for classes, especially in three broad types of interest: ‘computing/IT studies’ (46), ‘arts and crafts/photography’ (46), and languages (37). Others are interested in ‘practical’ activities, including carpentry/building, upholstery, ‘rural skills’ and car maintenance.

Recommendation: Contact Bere District Youth and Community Association Learning and Information Centre, and Community Education

Tourism

• Opinion is divided on the acceptability of tourism within the parish:

Just over half (51%) feel that tourism should be encouraged while 35% are opposed with the rest (14%) undecided.

• The strongest support is for broadly ‘rural’, ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ forms of tourism, especially walking and rambling, nature study, photography, painting, farm visits and trails, and horse riding.
• There is less backing for the provision of further tourism accommodation in the parish than there is for tourism activities
• However 410 people feel that bed and breakfast accommodation is suited to the parish, and 295 suggest guest houses. Other forms of accommodation, such as camping sites, hotels and touring caravan sites would be less welcome.

Recommendation: Contact West Devon Borough Council Economic Development, Tourism and Leisure department, and Tamar Valley Countryside Service.