TheFutureofNyewoodVillageHall–CommunitySurvey2018

Reportofsurveyresults

Preparedfor:TheTrusteesofHenryWarrenHallBy:MikeImmsJuly2018

MikeImms,independentresearchconsultantJuly2018 2

Contents

BriefmanagementsummaryofthesurveyandmainfindingsBackgroundtothesurveyDetailsofthesurvey,includingresponserateFindings

1. DotheresidentsofNyewoodbelieveavillagehallisneeded?

2. Whichsiteisregardedasthemostappropriateforanewhall?

3. TowhatextentdoNyewoodresidentsthinktheywillusetheHall,andwhatkindofactivitiesareofmostinterest?

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BriefmanagementsummaryofthesurveyandmainfindingsThispageaimstoprovideashortsummaryofthesurveydetailsandmainfindings–therestofthisreportprovidesmorethoroughinformation.• ThesurveytookplaceinApril2018,andall105householdsinNyewoodweregivena

surveyformandbriefingdocument.• 76surveyformswerereturned–representinga72%responserate.

.TheneedforaHall• NyewoodclearlybelievesthecommunityneedsavillageHall.

Intotal,95%agreeitisneededforthebenefitvillageaswhole–and67%STRONGLYagree.

Sitepreference• Thereisaclearbutnotunanimouspreferencefor‘NewHallontheNewSite’• Intermsofthepreferredsiteforthebenefitforthevillageasawholetheresultswere:

o InfavourofNewHallOLDsite:34%o InfavourofNewHallNEWsite:57%o Nopreference:7%o (Plus1%other)

PotentialuseTheresultsindicateahighlevelofinterestintakingpartinHallactivitiesandalsoahighleveloflikelycommunityengagementanddirectinvolvement.• 91%ofhouseholdsexpecttousethehallforatleastonetypeofactivityeitherregularly

oroccasionally.• 85%ofhouseholdsexpecttoREGULARLYattendcommunityeventsorREGULARLY

attendclasses,clubsetc.• Socialevents&entertainmentsarebyfarthemostsoughtafter.

o Fourothertypesofactivity-Arts&crafts,Markets,ClassesandSports&Fitnessvieforthenextmostsought-aftereventsattheHall.

• HavingaHallavailableforprivatehireisalsoappealingtoaround2/3rdofhouseholds.• 64%saidtheywouldbepreparedtohelpwithfutureeventsinsomeway.• Inaddition,thesurveyidentified10peopleinterestedinorganisingspecificandvery

variedeventsandclasses.

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Backgroundtothesurvey

Nyewoodvillagehallwasbuiltin1910(andlaternamedTheHenryWarrenHallinmemoryofitsbenefactor)andhasbeenakeycommunitycentreeversince.Followingtheclosureofthevillagepubsandshop,itnowrepresentstheonlycommunityassetinthevillage.In2013,workstartedonrestorationandmodernisationoftheHenryWarrenHallandatthatpointunforeseenbutsignificantstructuraldefectswiththebuildingwerefoundbythebuilders.Adetailedreportbystructuralengineersmadeitclearthatwhilstrepairwasfeasible,thescaleandnatureoftheworkrequiredwasconsiderable(underpinning,frametosupportthestructure,substantialrepairstowallsthathadshifted,andanewroof).Armedwiththisknowledge,twokeyconsiderationsemerged;

a) Theestimatedcostwasgreatandtheconsultingengineersrecommendedfulldemolition.

b) Moreover,eveniftheworkwasundertaken,therestoredhallwouldstillbesmallandlackingthenecessaryfacilitiestomakeitfit-for-purposefortodayandthefuture.

Forthesereasons,theTrusteesconcludedthatrepairoftheexistingHallwasneitherviablenordesirableandtheydecidedtoexploretwootheroptions;

- toreplacetheexistingHallwithanewbuilding(Referredtoas‘NewHallontheOLDsite’intherestofthisreport).Designsweredrawnup,andplanningpermissionhasbeengrantedforanewhallontheexistingsite.ThisstillleavestheissueoffundingthebuildingworkforanewHallontheexistingsite.

- tofindanalternativesiteforthenewbuilding–aimingtofindasitewithgreaterpotential.(Referredtoa“NewHallontheNEWsite’intherestofthisreport).Landbecameavailableatthenorthernendofthevillage(oppositetheNyewoodIndustriessite)andpreliminarydiscussionswiththePlanningOfficersindicatedthatpermissionmaybegrantedforanewhallonthenewsitelinkedtoconsentfor2newhousesontheexistingsiteoftheHall.Crucially,thesaleoftheexistingsitewouldmakeasubstantialcontributiontothepurchaseofthenewsiteandthecostofbuildingofthenewhallonthenewsite.TheTrusteesbelievethisisthemoredesirableoption.

Clearlyhowever,theviewsofthecommunitywereessentialconsiderationsinthedevelopmentandimplementationoftheseplansandthustheTrusteesdecidedtoundertakeacommunitysurvey.ThesurveywasdevisedandmanagedbyMikeImms,anindependentmarketresearchconsultant,inordertomaximisetheprofessionalismandobjectivityofthesurveyandensuretheconfidentialityofrespondentsreplies.

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Detailsofthesurvey,includingresponserate

Theprimaryobjectivesofthesurveywerethree-fold- Firstly,toconfirmthatthecommunityfeelthatNyewoodneedsavillageHall.(Theaim

herewasalsotoupdatethe2014surveyresults).- Secondly,togaugeopinionsandpreferencesforthetwomainoptions

o NewHallontheOLDsiteo NewHallontheNEWsite

- Thirdly,toassesswhetherornotthecommunityexpecttoUSEtheHallonceitisavailable,includingtypesofactivitysoughtandinterestin‘joiningin’–helpingout,runningeventsetcetc.

Surveydetails

Thesurveyconsistedofashortsingle-pageself-completionsurveyformplusadetailed‘briefing’document.Thepurposeofthebriefingdocumentwastoprovideasobjectiveaspossibleastatementofkeyinformationabouttheprojectandthe2mainoptions,includingstrengthsandchallengesofboth‘NewHallOLDSite’and‘NewHallNEWSite’.Theaimwastoensurethecommunitywerefullyinformedabouttheprojectbeforefillinginthesurveyform.Thebriefingdocumentalsoservedas‘informationtokeep’forallNyewoodresidents.Boththesurveyformandthebriefingdocumentareavailableonthewebsite–http://www.henrywarrenvh.btck.co.uk

ThesurveywaslaunchedatacommunitymeetingonSaturday7April2018,andintotal105questionnairesweredeliveredtoallhouseholdsoverthatweekend,includingtheoutlyinghouseholdsbeyondthevillageboundarybutbeingwithinthevillagecommunity.

Thedeadlineforreturningsurveyformswas21April2018andinthatperiodallresidentsalsoreceiveda‘reminder’Newsletteraweekafterthesurveywasdistributed,andreminderemailjustbeforethesurveydeadline.(Somequestionnaireswerereceivedafterthedeadlinebutincludedinthesurveyresults).

Carewastakentoensurethesurveywasconfidentialandresponseswereanonymous.Theresultswereanalysed,andfullstatisticaltablesofthefindingsarealsoavailable.

Thetop-lineresultswerepresentedattheAGMoftheHenryWarrenHall,heldatElsteadVillageHallonSaturday12May2018.

Notealsothatatthelaunchmeetingandsubsequently,therewereothercommentsabouttheproject,includingsuggestionsofotheroptions,andofferstohelpinconstruction.(Moredetailsaregivenattherelevantsectionsofthisreportonpage9).

Whilstthesearenotstrictlypartofthesurveyresultspersetheyrepresentedrelevantinputtothecommunityconsultationandassuch,theywereallpassedontoTheTrustees(suitablyanonymised)andhavebeentakenintoaccountinpreparingthisreport.Ninealsomadenotesontheirquestionnaires,andthreeenclosedcoveringletters(2againstthe“NewSite”andoneinfavourofit).Hereagain,thesecommentsandlettersinformedthepreparationofthisreport.

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ResponserateOfthe105householdswhoreceivedthesurveypack,76surveyformswerereturned–representinga72%responserate.Asadirectconsequence,thefindingsfromthesurveycanberegardedasareliablemeasureoftheviewsofNyewoodasawhole.InpartthisisbecausewehaveheardfromhighproportionofNyewoodhouseholds,butalsobecausethosewhodonotrespondtosurveysofthisnaturetendnottohavestrongviewsonthesubject(eitheronewayoranother).The72%responseisveryhigh-wellabovetypicalresponseratesforsurveysofthistype.NOTE:Asimilarsurveytookplacein2014aftertheclosureoftheoldhall,butthatsurveywasundertakenonaratherdifferentbasisandassuchdirectcomparisonoftheresultsfromthetwosurveysisnotpossible.Havingsaidthat,carefulreviewoftheresponseindicatesthatthe2018surveyachievedasomewhatgreaterresponsethanthe2014survey–oneofseveralindicatorsthattheissueoftheHallhasgrowninimportanceforthecommunityinNyewood,despitethefactthatthevillagehasbeenwithoutaHallforthepastfouryears.

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MainFindings

1. DotheresidentsofNyewoodbelieveavillagehallisneeded?

Theanswertothisquestionisanunequivocal‘yes’.Thesurveyaskedresidentstoconsiderthisquestionfromtwoperspectives

• IntermsofthebenefittotheirOWNhousehold• AndalsointermsofthebenefitoftheVILLAGEasawhole

Intotal,95%agreeitisneededforthebenefitvillageaswhole–and67%STRONGLYagree89%agreeitisneededfortheirownhousehold

Forbenefitofownhousehold ForbenefitofvillageasawholeAgreestrongly 53% 67%Agree 37% 28%TotalAgree 89% 95%Disagree 7% 1%Disagreestrongly 0% 1%Totaldisagree 7% 2%Notanswered 4% 3%Severalpointsareofnoteabouttheseresults;Firstly,thisisoneofseveralpointsinthesurveywhereNyewoodresidentsemergeascommunity-spirited.Ingeneraltermstheresultsshowconsistentlymorepositiveresultsintermsofcommunitybenefitcomparedto‘ownhousehold’benefits.Morespecifically,almostalloftheminoritywhocannotseeapersonalbenefitregardthecommunitybenefitoftheHallasimportantandvaluable.Moreover,therearehardlyany‘nay-sayers’andthesurveyidentifiedonly2householdsinNyewoodwhofeelthevillagedoesnotneedaHall.

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2. Whichsiteisregardedasthemostappropriateforanewhall?

Thereisaclear(butnotunanimous)preferencefora‘NewHallontheNEWsite’

Forbenefitofownhousehold ForbenefitofvillageasawholeNewHallOLDSITE 33% 34%NewHallNEWSITE 45% 57%Norealpreference 12% 7%Notanswered 9% 1%Repairoldhall 1% 1%Hereagain,importantdifferencesemergedbetweenthe‘benefitsforownhousehold’and‘benefitsforthevillageasawhole’.

• Frombothperspectives,‘NewHallNEWSite’isthepreferredoption.• Fromperspectives,thereishoweverasizableminoritywhoprefertheOLDsite.• LookedatfromtheHOUSEHOLDperspectiveasignificantminoritydon’thavea

strongpreference–21%eitherdidn’tthinkitwasimportantenoughtoanswerfromthehouseholdperspectiveORstatedtheyhavenorealpersonalpreference.HOWEVER,whenconsideringfromtheperspectiveofthevillageasawhole,thebulkofthosepeopleconsidered‘NewHallNEWSite’offeredgreateradvantages–andveryfewofthisgroupconsidered‘NewHallOLDSite’offeredgreaterbenefitforthevillageasawhole.

• Inotherwords,thosewithoutapersonalpreferencelargelyoptedfor‘NewHallNEWSite’whenthinkingaboutthebenefitsforthevillageasawhole.Asaconsequence,thereisamuchclearermajorityinfavourof‘NewHallNEWSite’intermsofbenefitsforthevillageasawhole.

Thisisanotherexamplewherethecommunity-mindednessofNyewoodresidentsemerges–consideringthebenefitsforthecommunityaheadofpersonalhouseholdbenefits.Itneedstobeacknowledgethatthesurveyresultsandothercommentsaroundthesurveyprocessmakeitclearthatthesubjectraisesstrongfeelingswithinthecommunity.Carefulreadingofthecommentsonthesurveyformsandrelateddocuments(mentionedearlieratthefootofpage5)suggestsanumberofdifferentfactorsareinplayhere.NotethatinmakingtheseobservationsImakenovalue-judgementabouttheirmerit-allareentirelyunderstandableandlegitimateconcerns.• SomecommentsappeartoreflectthepersonalimpactofthelocationoftheHall• AnumberreflectabeliefthatasapointofprincipletheHallshouldbeinthecentreof

thevillage(ieOldSite).

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• Thesurveyitselfhasstimulatedaconsiderableamountofcommunitythinkingandinitiatives–with2additionaloptionsbeingsuggestedinvariouslettersandnotices.SomewerecirculatedwidelywithinNyewood,othersseemtohavegonetoamorerestrictedgroup.Theadditionaloptionssuggestedwere;

o RevisitingthenotionofrestoringtheexistingHall(andquestioningthescaleandcostsofrepairneeded).

o Usinglocalpeopletodoworkonapro-bonoorvolunteerbasistoenable‘NewHallonOLDSite’tobebuiltwithinexistingcashreserves,plussuggestionsforalternativedesignsandtypesofbuilding.

However,themajorityofthevillageappeartobuyintothelogicof‘NewhallonNEWSite’onthetwingroundsof

¨ thepracticalityoftheproposedNewHallontheNEWSite(notablysitesize,facilitiesandparking)

¨ plusthefinancialbenefitsarisingfromsellingtheoldsitetofundthepurchaseofthenewsiteandthebuildingofthenewHallthere.

Inessence,wehavesomethingofadifferencebetween‘head’and‘heart’inresponsetotheproject–with‘NewHallNEWSite’havingsignificant(andmajority)appealto‘head’butseemingtohavemorelimitedappealto‘heart’–reinforcedbypersonaladvantagestothemselvesofthemorecentrallocationoftheOldSite.AllthecommentsandsuggestionsthataroseduringandaroundthesurveybeenpassedtotheTrusteesanonymously.NotethatdiscussionswiththeTrusteesmakeitclearthesecommentshavebeenconsideredandtakenintoaccount.

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3. TowhatextentdoNyewoodresidentsthinktheywillusetheHall,andwhatkindofactivitiesareofmostinterest?

Clearly,thereisnopointinprovidingavillageHallunlessthereisevidenceofdemandforit,andthesurveyaskedthecommunitytoconsideringthis.TheresultsalsoprovideinputfortheOperatingCommitteeonthetypesofactivitysoughtandthelevelofcommunitysupporttheycanexpecttoobtainInbrief,thefindingsfromthissectionofthesurveyindicateverystrongpotentialdemandfortheHallandwidespreadinterestinsupportingandhelpingtheOperatingCommitteecreateandrunaprogrammeofpopularactivities.Overall• 92%ofhouseholdsexpecttousethehallforatleastonetypeofsocial,privateor

regularactivityeitherregularlyoroccasionally.• 87%ofhouseholdsexpecttoattendcommunityeventsorREGULARLYattendclasses,

clubsetc.Inmoredetail,theNUMBERSinterestedindifferenttypesofeventsareasfollowsTypeofactivity Weekday Evening&

weekend Adults Children Adults ChildrenSports&fitness(egyoga,pilates,tabletennisetc)

47 2 67 13

Entertainment(egquizzesfilmnights,music/concerts)

39 0 98 18

Educational(egcomputer,photography,languages)

32 2 46 8

Arts&crafts(egmarkets,classes)

41 2 68 11

Children(egtoddlers,clubs,parties)

2 3 10 16

Socialevents(egbarnights,lunches,suppers,villageparties)

42 3 105 17

Note:thefiguresinthetableofNUMBERSofpotentialusers,not%

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Aclearpatternemergesfromthis,whichprovidesguidelinesfortheOperatingCommittee,butalsohassomeimplicationsforthesize,designandfacilitiesprovidedintheHall.Timings• Thereisdemandforbothweekdayday-timeandweekend&eveningactivities.• However,theweekdaydaytimeactivitiesseemlikelytoattractroughlyhalfthenumber

ofeveningandweekendactivities.• Althoughalltypesofeventsarelikelytobemorepopularifheldduringeveningsand

weekends,theuseoftheHallduringtheweekdaydaytimesislikelytobeoptimisedbyschedulingthefollowingtypesofeventduringweekdays-eachofwhichseemtohavethepotentialtoattractover40people

o Sports&fitnessclasseso Educationalclasseso Arts&CraftsclassesEvenso,socialevents(parties,lunchesetc)arestilllikelytobeamongstthemostpopularactivitiesduringdaytimeweekday

Targetaudience,capacityandfacilities• Whilsteventsforchildrenareimportant,itwouldseemthateventsforadultswill

consistentlyattractmuchlargernumbers.• DemandforaHallwithacapacityof64seatedattablesor80seatedinrowsisindicated

forsocialeveningsandentertainmentssuchasquiznights• Facilitiesforsportsandfitnessactivitiesneedtobeaccommodated• Facilitiesforrefreshments(foodanddrink)arevitalforthekeytypesofactivitiessought.TypesofactivitiesOverallthemostsought-afteractivitiesaredominatedbySocialeventsandEntertainments.Nyewoodisavillagethatlikestoparty!TheimplicationisthattheregularclubbarnightsthatalwaystookplaceintheexistingHallwillremainacriticalfacilityandaprogrammeof(ideallyregular)one-offeventswillalsoattractlargercrowds;- Lunchesandsuppers- Parties- Quizzes- Film,music/concertsThreeothertypesof‘doing’activitiesarealsolikelytobepopular–butwillalmostcertainlyrequireexternal‘teachers’ororganisers-andpossiblyspecificfacilities.(Seethefinalparagraphforpossiblecommunityorganisersforthis).Notethatthereseemstobedemandforsuchactivitiesintheeveningsand/oratweekendsaswellasduringweekdaydaytimes¨ SportsandFitnessclasses¨ Arts&craftsclasses¨ Educationalclasses

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Marketsmightalsohavewidespreadappealbutfromthissurveyitislessclearwhattypeofmarketsaresought.Respondentswerealsoaskedfortheirownsuggestionsforspecificactivitiesandawiderangeofideasemerged.Mostarecoveredwithintheprinciplesofactivitytypesalreadymentionedbutanumberofsuggestionsstandoutasadditionstothesuggestionsalreadymentionedelsewhereinthissectionofthereport–forexample

¨ Bookclub¨ Pop-upcafé¨ Traditionalgamessuchasskittles,darts,bingo,billiards/pool,beetledrive¨ Teadances¨ Visitingspeakers

Pleasenotethatthesesuggestionsshouldberegardedonlyasideas–quitepossiblyverygoodideas–buttheywereeachmentionedbyonlyoneortwopeopleandthesurveyprovidesnorealevidenceofwiderdemandforsuchactivities.PotentialprivatehireHavingaHallavailableforprivatehireisalsoappealingtoaround2/3rdofhouseholds.Whilstthisisclearlyausefulvillagefacility(andanadditionalsourceofrevenuefortheHall)itisofcourselikelytobeforoccasionalandone-offevents.Nevertheless,asanindicatorofcommunityinterestandenthusiasmfortheHall,theresultsareverypositive.CommunityhelpOnarelatedpoint,thesurveyrevealsaremarkablyhighlevelofgoodwillfromthecommunityandawillingnessto‘pitchin’andhelp.• 64%saidtheywouldbepreparedtohelpwithfutureeventsinsomeway(examples

givenwereerectinggazeebos,BBQcooking,makingcoffeeetc).

• Inaddition,10people–oralmost1in7ofthosewhoresponded-suggestedtheywouldbeinterestedinorganisingeventsandclassesinthenewHall.TheseofferstoorganiseactivitiesatthenewHallcoveredawiderangeofsubjectsincluding

o children’sactivitieso craftsclasses,organisingacraftsmarketo computertrainingo guitarlessonso Latinclubo gameseveningso dramaclub/groupo settingupacommunitygardeno foothealthclinico andvariousother

Signed: