Devon Facts & Figures - Bere Ferrers Parish Appraisal

[DF&F Main Menu] [Community Profiles Menu]

Bere Ferrers Parish Village Appraisal - Report 1999

Environmental Issues & Improvements

There is extremely strong feeling about dog fouling - 970 respondents said they wanted it controlled, and 901 would like dogs banned from play areas. These are among the highest responses to any question in the survey.
More tree planting was asked for by 618 people (51% of respondents) and 1147 (94% of respondents) said they would be willing to separate their rubbish to assist recycling. The level of support for community orchards (251) and a car sharing scheme (227) seems encouraging.
229 respondents said they would use a community composting scheme often and 456 would use it occasionally.
Views were sought on specific possible improvements for Bere Alston and Bere Ferrers villages.
The most popular for Bere Alston were:

Public access to toilets in recreation field - 573
All weather sports court in recreation field - 495
Improved street and path lighting - 436
Tree avenue approaching village - 421
Small play areas in housing estates - 372

The most popular for Bere Ferrers were:

Enhance village centre - 251
Move play area nearer village centre - 228
Improved street and path lighting - 217
All weather sports court - 206

Recommendations: Contact West Devon Borough Environmental Health department, Bere Ferrers Parish Council, Bere Ferrers Villagers Association

There were many specific suggestions for Bere ferrers written on survey forms, including:

'Landscape area around the War Memorial'	Enhancement would not suit the character of Bere Ferrers village. People who choose to live here should make do with less facilities'
'Move War Memorial into churchyard. Replant a horse chestnut tree.'	'The allotments are a disgrace and could be used for a hard tennis court and playground for the children'
'The present playground is too far away from any house, so in today's climate it is not suitable....No one would hear any child's cry for assistance'	'Improvements to surfaces only around war memorial and quay parking area.'
'Would not like to see bollards around the war memorial'

The Parish Hall

The Parish Hall is widely used;27% (314) respondents said they ‘never’ used the Parish Hall, and nearly half (47%) admitted their use is only ‘yearly’, but 109 use it at least once a week.
A number of suggestions were put forward in the questionnaire for improvements to the Parish Hall. These included:

more activities (71%) 307
a new portable stage (23%) 98
more storage space in the hall (19%) 82.
127 (30%) thought ‘independent management’ would be a good thing, and 45 people would be willing to be on a committee.

Recommendations: Contact Bere Ferrers Parish Council

There were many individual comments and suggestions; thoses below are only a selection.

'Divide so can be used for smaller functions'
'Geberal internal improvements, such as lowering the ceiling, new stage curtains and comfortable seats'
'I'd like it to become more vibrant - something for everyone'
'It's a great hall, but floors are very dirty to lie on when doing aerobics classes'
'Keep hall clean and well-equipped - it is dirty and run don and generally uncared for'
'More youth band nights and raves'

'Separate bar facilities away from hall activities'
'Provide a supervised youth club with training opportunities and hobbies'
'More entertainment, live concerts'

'Permanent sound system so you can hear at the back'
'Refurbish - especially kitchen and toilets. Maintain and use as often as possible for local functions'
'More activities for the young'

Parish Finance & Management

The question was posed: ‘if suggestions raised by the questionnaire require money for implementation, where should this come from?’ People could select one or more options from a list of possible sources.

The results are as follows:

&NBSP	% respondents selecting opinions
Lottery Grants	81
European Union Grants	60
Fund-raising	52
Sponsership	36
Moderate borough tax increase	17
Private contributions	15
Increased parish precept	11
Higher borough tax increase	2

While the appraisal survey reveals much enthusiasm for a variety of additional facilities, views on how these might be funded are striking. There is clearly much faith in external sources of finance such as the National Lottery, sponsorship and the E.U. While there is a fair acceptance of ‘fund-raising’ for new facilities, only a small minority regard additional local taxation as acceptable. It appears that rather few local people accept that additional funds might be raised through the parish council’s statutory powers.
Although the Parish Council was considered to be quite sensitive to local needs and feelings, many people (48%) do not know how money is spent. Only 5% of respondents felt that the Parish Council publicise their decisions and activities well, while 38% thought it ‘poor’.

Recommendations: Contact Bere Ferrers Parish Council

[DF&F Main Menu] [Community Profiles Menu] [Top of Page]
[Devon C.C. Homepage]

Page last updated on: 12 July 1999
This Information was provided by Corporate Information Services
Send any comments, enquiries, etc. to dris@devon.gov.uk