Council listens to public but won’t do everything

These are some of the changes people in Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth called for when Warwick District Council introduced new surveys to find out what residents wanted.

But despite evidence that people would be in favour of it, the district council’s leader Cllr Michael Doody says he will not close one of its ‘one-stop shops’, at which people can access district and county council services.

Having pledged to explain if he did not do what residents wanted. Cllr Doody said sharing staff with Warwickshire County Council would keep libraries open for longer.

Cllr Doody said: “It wouldn’t make any sense. This is something Warwick district people are getting over and above those in any other district. We’re keeping libraries open. That’s why we’re not going to close one.”

The council interviewed 250 people using Simalto - a survey method provided by research company Research For Today. The method, used by 90 local authorities as well as car and IT companies, uses a random sample, adjusted to reflect age and income.

Among immediate changes will be an end to the council’s magazine Focus, even though Cllr Doody said advertising made the magazine ‘cost neutral’. Instead he says it is up to the council to let people know about its services through the local media.

There was also support for increasing travel tokens, closing one one-stop-shop, improving noise control, improving the council’s bereavement service, taking on more apprentices - the authority will employ six over the next three years - and having more antisocial behaviour officers.

Cllr Doody stressed the survey was not a means of finding savings, but finding priorities, and that he felt improvements were possible in noise and anti-social behaviour without taking on staff.

Research For Today director Rosalind Girvan said 80 per cent of respondents were happy with the council’s services.

Explaining the method, she said interviewers first asked people to rule out the unthinkable - with a minimal CCTV service coming top. It then gave four levels of priority, asking where they would spend money in each.

Mrs Girvan said: “We’ve learned that people love complaining, so giving them a red pen is a good start. Residents love spending but hate saving. If we start from the minimum position they have a positive task.