Neighbourhood survey: 'It is tempting to be cynical about findings'

IT IS tempting to be cynical when examining the findings of the latest Edinburgh Neighbourhood Survey. Why would the council spend £34,000 on an annual poll unless it knew that it was going to hear what it wanted to? And cynics will find plenty to dismiss in the findings.

Although carried out in September, when the city was emerging from the worst of the bin dispute and the trams saga was rolling on, it paints a very positive picture of the Capital.

But let's park such cynicism and ask a simple question: why wouldn't people be happy with life in Edinburgh? This is, after all, a wonderful city. Last year three independent polls declared it the best place in the UK.

Given its role as the city's key service provider – supplying everything from council homes to economic development opportunities – only the most obtuse or partisan critic would deny the council some credit for this. And even if today's satisfaction ratings do come from its own annual survey – the third of its kind – the council used a respected polling company with well-tested methodologies.

It found, among other things, that more people are now happy with their neighbourhoods in general, and particularly services such as leisure, recycling and action on dog fouling.

There are positive findings too when it comes to roadway maintenance, street lighting and dealing with anti-social behaviour.

It is perhaps unsurprising that approval of street cleaning is markedly up, given the council's decisive action during the bin strike. The net cost of bringing in private contractors may have been 3.12 million, but this was a price worth paying to keep our streets clean over the Festivals and festive periods, and to modernise this key service.

There are negative findings, of course, some of which can be blamed on the council's biggest problem – the trams.

For our part, the News will take its own, closer look at the state of some of the council's most important services over the next two days. We suspect that what we find will chime with last year's six-monthly residents' survey which noted that 92 per cent of people were satisfied with life here – but 37 per cent were not happy with the council itself.

That's the dilemma that every council faces – people want good services, but even when they get them they don't like having to pay for them. Whether or not it is good value to spend 34,000 to prove that fact will be ammunition for the cynics for some time to come.

No more spinning

MORE trouble for the trams – this time over fears for the readiness of Gogar depot.

Unlike many, the News remains supportive of the project. But TIE must tell us the facts, not use lazy spin to ask us to deny the evidence of our own eyes.