Survey shows why city is best place to live

Published on Thursday 19 February 2009 08:47

EDINBURGH is a safer, cleaner and friendlier city than it was five years ago, according to a major new survey of residents' views.

The approval ratings given to city services – ranging from schools to street cleaning, and policing to road repairs – have risen dramatically in recent years.

They are now at their highest levels since the city council began commissioning regular surveys on Edinburgh life from leading pollsters Ipsos MORI in 2004.

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The survey again found that Edinburgh was one of the best places to live in the UK. For the third year in a row, more residents said it was a good place to live – an overwhelming 92 per cent – than any other city surveyed by Ipsos MORI.

The poll also highlighted an apparent public relations problem for the city council. Despite residents' high opinion of their city and the services provided by the council, the number who believe the council is doing a good job fell from 48 per cent to 40 per cent.

By contrast, there were improved ratings for 19 out of 31 services compared to last year, with six more staying the same, and only four decreasing.

Among the findings were improved satisfaction ratings for primary, secondary and nursery schools, road repairs and street cleaning. Measures to deal with antisocial behaviour and house-breaking were also seen to have improved, thanks in part to the council funding extra police and council-employed community wardens working with the police.

Significantly, a total of 75 per cent said they felt safe in their neighbourhood after dark.

There has also been an increase in sense of community. The council said the survey was carried out last autumn following a year of "difficult and unpopular issues", including schools closures, budget constraints and the disruption caused by tram works.

Council leader Jenny Dawe said: "It gives me great comfort because what counts is what is actually being delivered to people day-to-day in their lives. Despite the good news, there are clearly some areas where we need to improve, or do more research to establish what lies behind public concerns.

"There's no doubt that the time of the surveys coincided with some difficult issues, but there will always be controversy of some kind. It seems there's a gap between the positive experience that people have of council services, and their perception of it as a whole.

"We will have to close that gap and continue gaining the confidence of the people of Edinburgh through our actions."

The Edinburgh Resident Survey – which cost 28,750 – was carried out by Ipsos MORI and saw 1000 people interviewed face-to-face.

It was backed up by the Annual Neighbourhood Survey, which saw a further 5000 people interviewed by the council's services for communities department.

The survey also highlighted the disruption caused by the tram works and other road works, with a third of people saying they had changed their route to get to the city centre shops and a quarter saying the had changed their route to work over the last year.

Less than half of respondents said they knew the reason for the introduction of the trams or the timescale for their arrival.

Other areas of concern included only 36 per cent of people believing they have any say in influencing decisions in their neighbourhood – a drop of five per cent. This follows poor turn-outs at meetings of the 12 neighbourhood partnerships recently established by the council. Only 31 per cent felt the council delivered good value for money, with just 17 per cent saying it "demonstrates sound financial management".

With 100 extra police officers now being paid for by the council, city leaders say this is a major factor behind the growing satisfaction with crime rates and community safety.

Over the past couple of years, council employees have teamed up with police officers to patrol neighbourhoods in an effort to stamp out antisocial behaviour, vandalism and graffiti.

Road maintenance also scored highly amongst residents, and this is being put down to the fact that more local repairs are being carried out, which matters to people most.

The council has invested 2.5 million per year into local road repairs in residential areas and this is said to have improved public perception.

Significant investment has also been put into street lighting over the last few years, and this, coupled with the number of additional police officers, is said to be the reason for residents viewing Edinburgh's streets as safer than they have been.

Mark Turley, director of services for communities, said: "It's also a perception thing because it depends not so much on personal experience, but whether people are hearing about a lot of crime.

"Over the last year, there's been a 20 per cent reduction in youth crime. If people hear good news stories like these, it makes them feel that bit more confident."

Street cleaning times have also been changed so that more work is being done "in the middle of the night" so that city centre streets are clean when people are walking to work in the morning.

The top city-wide cause for concern for residents is traffic congestion, with 45 per cent rating this the most significant issue.

Councillor Andrew Burns, the city's Labour leader, said: "Overall, many of the trends are going in the right direction and I do recognise and welcome that.

"But the one very worrying aspect of the 2008 survey is the percentage of people who feel unable to influence decisions in their neighbourhood. We are now in a situation where we have got only about a third of people in the city who feel they can affect decisions in their neighbourhood and we need to look at that.

"The fact that satisfaction with the way the council is managing the city has fallen from 48 per cent to 40 per cent is a direct reflection of this and the way the council is currently communicating with people."