SUMMARY OF THE
PIRTON PARISH COUNCIL VILLAGE APPRAISAL 1999

Introduction by the Chairman of the Parish Council

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all parishioners who took the time to complete the Village Appraisal. This had enabled the Parish Council to complete the most accurate survey ever of issues which affect daily life in Pirton.

A special thank you must also go to all of the helpers who gave of their time to deliver and collect the appraisal questionnaire. Their efforts enabled us to obtain replies from over 84% of households. We are also grateful to John Souster, our consultant, who worked diligently on the Council's behalf.

Pirton Parish Council is leading the way in the subject of parishioner consultation, being one of the few Parish Council's in Hertfordshire that has undertaken this in- depth study.

Using computer software, information gained from all the questionnaires has been compiled and interpreted to form a database. If anyone would like to see a copy of the uncompiled statistics or would like further clarification, please contact any Parish Councillor or the Clerk whose names and telephone numbers are listed in the summary document.

With the information gleaned from the Appraisal, the Parish Council has a more informed guide to village opinion. This will be used as a source of, reference in all future decisions. It has already been very useful in forming our reply to the recent Local Plan Review:

We intend to furnish North Herts District Council, Herts County Council, Police, Highways, Health Authority and all local village groups including the school and village shop with copies of this summary.

Looking ahead it would be beneficial to repeat the appraisal in perhaps 10 years' time.

People are generally very happy and satisfied with the quality of life in Pirton and we should be very proud of the community spirit and sense of belonging to such a lovely village.

Hoping you find these results interesting.

Michael Goddard
Chairman, Pirton Parish Council (1999)

The Parish Council has arranged an Open Meeting for all parishioners on Monday 29th November 1999 at the Village Hall to discuss the Appraisal and to present an Action Plan for the future. Councillors will be available from 7.45pm and at 8pm there will be a short presentation followed by any questions. I hope you will be able to attend.

COUNCILLORS (at the time)

PARISH COUNCIL

The Village Appraisal highlighted a desire by many villagers to be given more information about the responsibilities of the Parish Council.

What is a Parish Council?
A Parish Council is the smallest of local government authorities in England. Parish Councillors are elected for a four-year term of office. The Clerk's term of office can continue over the lifetime of many councils. The Clerk carries out the administrative and financial duties relating to the Council's activities. Parish Councils are subject to the same rules as other local authorities in such matters as admitting the public to their meetings, opening their accounts to public inspection and having their accounts audited.

What can a Parish Council do?
Parish Councils have a wide range of powers to provide facilities of local significance, such as meeting halls, sports and recreation facilities, allotments, burial grounds and public open spaces. They also support local voluntary and charitable activities and undertake initiatives in matters such as transport and crime prevention. These powers are mostly discretionary and can, therefore, be exercised to as great or little an extent as the local community wishes.

Equally important is the consultative and representational role of Parish Councils. The Parish Council has the right to comment on all planning applications in its area and is involved in each update of the Local Plan which defines what building development will and will not be permitted in the area.

Dealing with such agencies as health authorities, the police, transport and utility companies, a Parish Council can be effective in expressing its community's view.

How are Parish Council's funded?
Parish Council's are funded by a small part of the Council Tax known as the Parish Precept. The Precept is requested by the Parish Council and is based on the estimated cost of village maintenance and expenditure.

Parish Council Meetings
Pirton Parish Council holds a monthly meeting normally on the second Thursday of the month (with the exception of August when there is no meeting).

All members of the public are welcome at the monthly Parish Council meetings and are encouraged to attend in order to listen to the debate and discussion. Statutory regulations governing local authority meetings do not allow a formal decision to be reached by the Council unless the item appears on the Agenda. Parishioners should, therefore, speak to any Councillor or write to the Clerk concerning any topic they wish to be considered. This can then be included on the Agenda for the next meeting. The Agenda is issued one week before each meeting.

The Parish Council is required to hold a public assembly for all its electors once a year. This assembly is called the Annual Meeting and the date of the meeting is posted in the Notice Board. This meeting takes place anytime between the beginning of March and end of June.

Public Participation
From September 1999 Councillors have been available to meet with Parishioners before each Council meeting to discuss any general concerns. These concerns are brought to the attention of the meeting and if a course of action is required, the concern will be tabled for proper discussion at the subsequent Council meeting.

Publicising the work of the Council
Notices of meetings are posted in the Parish Council noticeboard at the junction of High Street and Crabtree Lane (opposite The Fox public house).

Official Notices and details of Planning Applications and Decisions are also placed in this noticeboard.

From November 1999 the Agenda for the monthly Council meeting will appear in the Noticeboard approximately five days before the meeting.

Minutes of Council Meetings are displayed in the Church Porch and a summary of the Minutes appears monthly in the Parish Magazine.

The Village Appraisal showed that 66% of villagers thought that the council published its decisions well although a small minority of villagers consider that greater publicity could be given to planning applications. 87% of residents get their information about events taking place in Pirton from the Parish Magazine, whilst 40% said they received information from either the Post Office or the Noticeboard.

Responsibilities

The Parish Council is responsible for:

1. providing facilities of local significance, for example, the Recreation Ground, The Bury and children's play areas,
2. maintaining the War Memorial, bus shelter, village pond, church clock and village greens, and
3. providing litter and dog bins.

If a matter does not come under the direct responsibility of the Parish Council, the matter is brought to the attention of the relevant authority. The situation is monitored until a satisfactory outcome is reached. The District Council is responsible for streetlights, abandoned vehicles, street cleaning and Council Tax. The County Council deals with roads, education, health and transport. Communicating with agencies such as the Police, transport companies and the utilities, the Parish Council can be effective in expressing the views of Parishioners which have now been further strengthened as a result of this Appraisal.

In relation to Planning Applications, the Parish Council exercises its right to comment on all applications in the Parish, but it has no absolute decision-making powers in this area. Being locally based, the Councillors know the site and the implications better than is possible for the District Council and this is why the Parish Council's views are taken into consideration.

Parish Council Representation
The Parish Council has representatives on the following village bodies:

VILLAGE APPRAISAL SUMMARY

There is a wealth of data that can be extracted from the Appraisal as and when it is needed to assist in future decisions. This summary contains a selection of facts that we hope you will find interesting. 84% of households replied to the questionnaire which gives a clear indication of parishioners' views.

PERSONAL DETAILS
There are 1015 residents in Pirton of which 772 are adults. The average age of the residents in Pirton is 38 years, while .the average length of time that people have lived in the village is 17 years. The average length of time that people have occupied their home is 13 years. In fact only 2% of residents are looking to move within Pirton at the present time which indicates that once people have moved into the village they tend to become settled.

HOUSEHOLD DETAILS
There are a total of 475 properties in the village of which 163 are detached houses, 137 semi-detached, 17 terraced, and 49 bungalows. The village has doubled in size during the last 50 years as 54% (256) of homes have been built since 1950. The average number of bedrooms is 3, while 126 homes have I or 2 bedrooms. 84% are owner occupied whilst 15% are either Local Authority or privately rented.

TRANSPORT
There are 688 cars owned in the village which averages 1.7 per household. In addition there are 21 vans and 39 motorbikes. 76% of cars (488) are used during the week for journeys to work or education. The average distance to work is 15 miles which indicates that Pirton could be classed as a commuter village. Of the 709 cars and vans 81% are parked off the road, and 16% (113) are parked on the road. Probably due to the amount of off-road parking places available, 72% of drivers never have a problem parking, while 23% occasionally do, and 5% often have a problem parking their vehicle. There is an identified problem caused by the street parking in that 61% of residents consider it a safety risk.

42 villagers use the bus as their major means of transport, of which 24 people (2% of villagers) use the bus as their main means of getting to work or study. Of this number many are school children going to or from school. When it came to ways to improve the bus service, although a majority (58%) had no opinion, 36% would like to see an improvement in the timetable. 12% would like to see an expansion of routes or better access for those with disabilities. 4% felt that the bus stop location could be improved.

In answer to the subject of bicycles, 120 people stated that they used their bicycles weekly and 277 used theirs at least once per month. 3 people used their bikes as their main means of transport to work or study. It was felt that the facilities for cyclists in the village were poor (36%) to reasonable (27%). 30% had no opinion.

The Village Map should go here, but unfortunately it cannot be published at this time due to copyright problems.

STREET LIGHTING
44% of respondents would like to see more street lighting in the future. The present amount of street lighting is considered reasonable to good by 68% of parishioners and poor by 28%.

34% of people believe that there is a need for more pavements and 46% think that the pavements are poor when using a pushchair. The need for a footpath on Royal Oak Lane was specifically identified by a number of people.

ROAD SAFETY
In response to the question of danger spots on the roads, many villagers highlighted several road junctions. Most commonly identified were the junctions between Hitchin Road and Walnut Tree Road, Hitchin Road and Great Green, and the junction of Royal Oak Lane, West Lane and Holwell Road. The bend in Walnut Tree Lane was considered a blind spot and dangerous for not having a footpath. The most commonly identified danger spot was the junction of High Street, Shillington Road, West Lane and Burge End Lane with the danger being caused by parked cars.

PARKING
Parking was generally considered a problem in many parts of the village. The bend outside the Motte and Bailey was mentioned in particular. Parking in Holwell Road is considered to cause an actual danger. The High Street fared particularly badly in people's perception. The High Street in front of the Fox (even though the Fox has its own customer car park), the section outside the School at drop-off and pick-up times and the slope towards Shillington Road being mentioned by many. However by far the largest response was reserved for the section of the High Street between Coleman's Close and Cromwell Way.

SPEEDING
Speeding vehicles were noted as causing a danger, in particular on the Hitchin Road from Pirton Cross (junction with Hitchin to Barton road) to Walnut Tree Lane and a significant number of people would like to see white lines painted along this road. Almost all roads within the village were identified as areas where speeding occurs. Some villagers suggested a reduced speed limit whilst others indicated that traffic calming should be considered. One respondent felt that this would be unnecessary by the village pond, as the ducks were sufficiently good at this!

DEVELOPMENT
This was the subject which generated more strength of feeling than any other issue raised in the Appraisal. People took the chance to convey this feeling in the written replies.

57% of residents were either quite or totally satisfied with the appearance of the new buildings in the village, although a similar percentage believed that these houses have been too big or too expensive. One third of villagers felt that there had been too much housing built in the last 10 years and 69% felt that Pirton could not accommodate any more new housing. A similar number felt that if there were to be any more building it would spoil the environment. If there were to be any new housing built in the village, it was generally thought that it should be homes for young people, small family homes, sheltered accommodation, and homes for single people. Roughly a third of residents thought that it would be acceptable if the houses built were detached homes on infill plots and/or homes in small groups of less than ten. 72% found the conversion of redundant buildings acceptable. Nearly unanimous support (94%) was given to confining future housing to within the village boundary.

Interestingly, 90% said that they considered there was a need for a doctor's surgery in the village.

The written replies to the question of which architectural style was considered most appropriate to Pirton indicated that all house styles present in Pirton are appreciated by someone, but most commonly named were the cottages opposite the pond. There was a feeling that the village should consist of a variety of styles although many people showed a preference for the older style of design. Support for cottage style and barn conversions was evident.

COMMUNITY

Employment
In response to how Pirton could create more opportunity for employment it is evident that residents felt that industry is not appropriate and should not be encouraged. However an overwhelming majority of respondents felt that existing buildings should be converted to provide for locally based cottage industries. Some thought that working from home should be encouraged and others suggested a Summer Tea Room open at weekends with, perhaps, a museum.

There is a feeling that expansion of the range of items sold in the Village Shop and also its opening hours would be very well received by the village population. This might also bring extra employment. 55% of residents use the village shop at least once per week. 75% like to support the shop as they found it useful for last minute items and 40% said it saved them time.

Health and Safety
With regard to the emergency services most people have not had cause to call upon them. With regard to safety and crime written replies indicated that there was a desire for the return of the village bobby and better community policing. The crimes appearing to cause most concern were car theft (78% of residents), household theft (67%) and vandalism (51%). 61% believe that a greater police presence would address some of these problems. When asked if residents took special precautions to protect themselves such as not going out alone or in the dark, a vast majority (81%) said they did not 6% (40 people) took the precaution of staying away from certain areas in the village.

Utilities and Services
Most residents feel that the utilities such as gas and electricity, refuse and street cleaning are reasonable to good. 88% have never had cause to use the local telephone box. One person suggested that it should be replaced with an old fashioned red box. Most people find the postal service reasonable to good.

Facilities
When it comes to village facilities 380 villagers (45%) use the Village Hall at least once per month with 10% using it more than 10 times per month. The Public Houses within the village are well supported with no one saying that they had never visited any of the hostelries. The Sports and Social Club is also frequently used by all residents although there was a feeling that the social facilities for the 17-25 year olds are poor. There is a general interest in seeing more sporting facilities available in the village of which tennis and keep fit are most favoured.

With a population of 100 5-10 year olds within the village the school is obviously important. This was reflected by 78% of the respondents.

ENVIRONMENT
It is apparent that the majority (60%) of people felt that the village was a quiet place to live without excess noise levels. Almost everybody believes that the countryside around Pirton is important The majority of people consider that planting and protecting trees would improve the environment. Villagers would like to maintain the hedgerows and footpaths and keep the Village Greens, Bury, Churchyard and pond as they are. There is a general feeling that verges should be preserved, with some remaining uncut, and vehicle parking on verges prevented.

Vehicle parking on verges and pavements was considered to be a serious safety issue for pedestrians. There is a strong desire to see on-road car parking reduced and better off-road parking facilities. A suggestion was made to reduce the speed limit on village roads to 25 or 20 MPH.

Despite the Parish Council's efforts to resolve the problem of dog-fouling it is obvious from the Appraisal that there is still a problem and that the message is not getting through to some dog owners. Several solutions were offered to address this problem ranging from providing more dog bins, a Dog Warden or shooting all dogs!

80% of villagers would like a bottle bank and 49% would like a can bank in the village. 63% would like to see the return of a newspaper bank however as the District Council already operates a monthly kerbside paper collection scheme there appears to be no real necessity.

The questionnaire asked villagers to put forward their own ideas on how to protect and enhance the local environment. Popular suggestions included no more housing and no expansion outside the village boundary. A number of villagers indicated that they thought there should be no industrial units. In relation to planning matters, respondents gave support to the Parish Council acting on their behalf, although some residents would like wider planning application consultation.

When asked which elements of the local countryside they valued, the most common answer was the open spaces and views closely followed by footpaths, bridle ways (particularly Wood Lane) flora and forna.  Woodlands, trees and hedges were all considered important as is the ease of access to the countryside and tranquility

When it came to indicating how  the local countryside had changed in recent years, many people highlighted the loss of trees and hedges. Several people stated that the use of chemicals in farming is causing damage to wildlife and many others pointed to a general decline in wildlife and loss of country sounds. The impact of too much rape seed was drawn to the Council's attention and also that there is too much redundant crop and field space (which possibly could be EEC set aside land). There is a perception amongst a small number of villagers that the countryside has been spoilt by too much building and a feeling that local farm buildings which have been converted have taken away the charm. Countryside Management has improved paths yet there is a feeling that footpaths have been damaged by the trampling of horses. More vehicles, traffic signs and traffic pollution have made the area less rural. On the other hand, there is a stated belief by a number of people that the countryside has not changed a great deal recently.

One question raised the issue of litter in the village and asked where it was seen to be a problem. It was apparent from the replies that there is a high satisfaction with the refuse collection and people feel the street cleaning is reasonable but that the litter problem exists mainly in areas of an open nature. Particularly named were the Recreation Ground, Coleman's Close play area, the School, the waste ground behind the Motte and Bailey, and the Bury (particularly in summer). Other areas mentioned were, outside public houses, the Village Hall area, Great Green bus stop, on footpaths inside the village, and on access roads and footpaths outside the village. Of the roads within the village Little Lane was raised by 14 people and 7 thought litter was a problem on the High Street between Coleman's Close and Cromwell Way.

One sixth of replies to this litter question included the problem of dog fouling.

GENERAL COMMENTS
At the end of the questionnaire people were given the opportunity to raise any subject that they wished. Most comments were used to expand on subjects that had been covered by specific questions in the Appraisal. This has given the Parish Council invaluable additional information. The only topic raised in this section that had not been covered directly by the Appraisal was the issue of whether the footpath through the School should be re-routed.

CONCLUSION.
We hope that you have found this summary of the facts raised by the Village Appraisal interesting. This questionnaire has given the Parish Council a valuable insight into the views and wishes of residents. All Parish Councillors are keen to see this input from villagers continue. We hope that you will take the opportunity to talk to Councillors during the public session at the start of each monthly Council meeting or by speaking directly to Councillors (telephone contact numbers at the front of this summary or in the Parish Noticeboard).

This appraisal has raised many points but one of the most striking impressions is the way that villagers care about Pirton. Time and again the responses indicate how much parishioners want to protect and enhance our village. The general feeling

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