Petham Parish Plan Focus Groups
Report
Qualitative Research for
Petham Parish Council and the Parish Plan Committee
March 2009
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
1
Background
•
Petham Parish Council and a dedicated Plan Committee are working on the
development of a Parish Plan
•
This is a plan for the future which will represent the wishes and concerns of all in the
area
•
An application for funding and a timetable is in place
•
Ultimately a quantitative survey will be distributed throughout the area and the
findings will be used to formulate the Parish Plan
•
Prior to this, qualitative research was designed to collect issues and themes that are
important to the people of Petham - and to understand what lies behind those topics.
•
This document details the findings of the qualitative research.
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
2
Research Objectives
•
To explore the needs, wants, hopes and fears of residents in Petham – now
and in regard to the future
•
The context: ‘Petham now and looking forward to the next 5 and 10 years’
•
Covering:
– Services
– Facilities
– Social, Health and Environmental issues
•
And, allowing coverage of any other spontaneously generated issues
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
3
Methodology
•
•
•
4 x group discussions of approximately 1.5 hours duration
Conducted 28th February 2009 at Petham Village Hall
Facilitators: Philip Dunn, Elizabeth Edwards, Del Warden, Andrea Williams
Our Sample:
1 x group of 5 respondents
A mix of men and women and
a range of lifestages: young
mums, retirees, older middle
aged
All are residents:
3 x groups of 8-9 respondents
Town Road,The Street,
Broadway, Vicarage Hill,Garlinge
Green
Lighter representation of Stone
Street
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
4
Methodology
•
•
•
2 x group discussions of approximately 30-45 minutes duration
Conducted 13th March 2009 at Petham Village Hall
Facilitators: Philip Dunn and Andrea Williams
Our Sample:
1 x group of 5 respondents:
Years 5 and 6
A mix of boys and girls from
Petham Youth Club
1 x group of 10 respondents:
Years 7, 8 and 9
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
5
Main Findings – Adults Groups
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
6
Shared Priorities
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
•
All of the issues discussed are important
to residents
•
But some issues are clearly more
important than others
•
Accordingly, a hierarchy of issues is
indicated
•
NB. Not a representative sample of
residents. The quantitative survey may
rebalance.
7
Shared Priorities
•
•
•
•
•
Traffic calming and pedestrian safety
Public transport
Preservation of Petham’s current attractiveness
Support for our Elders
Support for Children and Teens outside school hours
•
Maintenance:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Public footpaths
Drainage
Electricity supply
Recycling
Hedge maintenance
Road sweeping + Litter
•
•
•
•
Potential for a Shop
Potential for a Clinic
Management of woodland
Affordable housing
•
•
•
•
•
•
Communication
Social venues – pub and village hall potential
Bringing Petham’s sub communities together
The Church
Funding in the future
Flight paths
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
(In no
order)
Higher
priority
(In no
order)
(In no
order)
Lower
8
The Issues
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
9
Traffic Calming and Pedestrian Safety
•
• Of great concern
Traffic speed reduction rather than volume of traffic reduction
• All areas of the village
• Some particular trouble spots:
There’s an argument
for saying Chequers
Hill should be one way
•
– The Street (the bend near junction with Vicarage Hill)
– Junction with Broadway (blind corner)
– Vicarage Hill (blind bend)
– Chequers Hill
– Stone Street
Narrow roads and absence of pavements compounds the problem
• Lack of consciencous driving also criticised
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
10
Traffic Calming and Pedestrian Safety
•
Contributing to anxiety is:
– Heavy traffic during the school run – respondents suggest car share or
‘walking bus’
– HGV’s failing to drive safely
– Parking of work vehicles on pavements during school run period forces
any walking children into the road
– Some sense of apathy in tackling problem
– Some concern that solutions might bring greater light pollution
It’s horrendous!
There’s no political will to
do anything about it
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
There are inexperienced
drivers who drive in the middle
of the road up Vicarage Hill. If
we go out, we try not to be on
the road then. There’s going to
be a terrible accident’
People don’t
know how to drive
in the countryside
11
Traffic Calming and Pedestrian Safety
Solutions offered by respondents:
– Speed bumps on the Street and Broadway – or chicanes on Broadway
– A paved footpath up Chequers Lane
– A footpath on the Street/Broadway junction
– Communication to enlighten and educate poor local drivers
– Speed cameras on Stone Street
– Speed limit reduction:
• 50 mph on Stone Street and 40mph at junction with Town Road
• 20mph on the Street and Vicarage Hill
– Pavement parking restricted to within school hours, banned during school
run
– One way route on Chequers Hill
– Improved maintenance of potholes to encourage correct use of roadspace
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
12
Public Transport
The existing bus service is considered too infrequent to be usable – or
to tackle car dependency
•
All would benefit from an improved service – but the greatest beneficiaries
are likely to be the older non drivers and teenagers (important)
•
The ecological benefits of more limited car use is a further motivator for
some
•
Debate surrounds feasibility – is there insufficient demand to sustain an
improved service?
•
All feel the issue should be investigated
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
13
Public Transport
•
A very hot topic in some groups:
If we use our cars less and
the bus more, we will have
more buses
I have five children and I’m constantly
having to drive them into Canterbury.
And there are other parents in other
villages doing the same thing
Transport will become a major issue
in future. The 2 car family will not
exist because of environmental
issues and the oil will run out. We
need to try to look forward
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
14
Public Transport
Solutions put forward by our sample:
•
•
•
Smaller, more frequent mini bus services for all
Dial a ride for our elders
Liaison with neighbouring villages – Waltham, Stelling Minnis and Bridge to
explore shared services
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
15
Preservation of Petham’s Current Attractiveness
The attractiveness of the area is one of the spontaneously expressed
reasons for living in Petham
•
An attractiveness created by:
– The natural beauty of the landscape and its wildlife
– Some buildings of architectural interest or character
– Compactness of the village
– Prevention of over development of housing
We live on a very crowded
island so our countryside is
precious
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
16
Preservation of Petham’s Current Attractiveness
•
Ongoing protection of this attractiveness
considered important, such as:
– Careful development of any new housing
– Or a ban on new housing
– Greater ownership of the patch outside
your own house – keeping it clean
– And picking up any litter you see
– Good land management:
• Coppicing
• Skylark patches in crop fields
– Passing on shared values. Handing
down the care of Petham to the next
generation – or to incomers. Could there
be some form of stewardship of values?
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
Retired people have the
time but we’ve got to make
sure that we actively
encourage everybody to
protect things
There are fields that are
eyesores because nobody is
allowed to touch them
There are areas that have
not been coppiced and are
going to rack and ruin
Very shortly there will be no
continuity in these villages. The
names are disappearing and
we ought to be aware of it
17
Preservation of Petham’s Current Attractiveness
•
Development of new – and affordable - housing sparks particularly powerful
debate!
For:
– would allow currently
excluded young families
onto the Petham housing
ladder
– could create greater
demand for bus services
– could encourage new small
business enterprise and
employment in the village
•
Against:
– would spoil the beauty of
the village and destroy it’s
character
– more full time working
residents would create more
traffic en route to
employment in Canterbury
and elsewhere
Liaison between Parish Council and Canterbury City Council re planning is causing
some discontent
– Some public perception that PC planning decisions are ‘automatically’ overidden
by CCC!
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
18
Preservation of Petham’s Current Attractiveness
We have to protect the look of the
village without being NIMBY
I didn’t come here to
be surrounded by
housing estates
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
We haven’t got a housing balance.
There are not enough 2 or 3
bedroom semi’s for the young
families
How do we attract more
people into the village whilst
maintaining the character of
the village?
19
Preservation of Petham’s Current Attractiveness
Better management of woodland was included here in the context of
aesthetics
•
But also included as an example of Petham’s role in ecology and the
sustainable development of woodland
•
Coppicing and the potential to use the bi-products for fuel was a topic
important to some and supported by others
•
An issue worthy of exploration under any ‘environmental’ section of the
future survey, along with ‘Management of the Countryside’ courses
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
20
Support for our Elders
•
Considered an excluded segment of Petham society
Transport problems in the village create dependency on neighbours
• Our sample can empathise:
People move to where
there are facilities
There used to be a post bus. It was
irregular but it used to run the
pensioners in and out of town
I must admit I don’t know what we’d
do when we get older and can’t drive!
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
21
Support for our Elders
•
‘Village bound’ Elders are likely to feel the absence of services more
acutely than other age groups:
– Shop / Post Office / Bank / Clinic / Pub
•
Apart from transport issues, the lack of road safety enforces isolation within
the village
•
The Village Hall drop-in is endorsed – but our Elders are not participating,
due either to transport/safety concerns or limited ‘invitation’:
– Communication in Parish News is good
– But possibly not presented persuasively enough to our Elders (may need a
strong ‘reason’ to attend – a focus or activity + tea)
•
•
Mini bus / Dial a ride service would be invaluable for them
Events staged alongside tea+cakes could be more of a reason to attend (a
talk, a clinic….)
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
22
Support for Children and Teens outside School Hours
Recent extension of school hours to provide support for working
parents applauded, but more is needed
•
•
•
The Playgroup and Petham Youth Club are strongly praised
Recreation Ground provision is also an asset to Petham
But:
– Youth Club is only one night a week
– After school clubs would be the ideal
– Recreation Ground has limited facilities (only 1 basketball hoop, 1 goal and little
for the under 5’s)
• Interest in exploring:
– The potential to encourage more voluntary help from residents
– And the feasibility of a paid groundsman at the rec to caretake grounds
and supervise activities
– A paid caretaker for the school to oversee after school activities
– More equipment at the Rec
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
23
Support for Children and Teens outside School Hours
There aren’t
enough facilities
for young people
The kids said they
wanted a basketball
hoop and that brings
them out
The playgroup and
the youth club are
great but teen
facilities is a
problem
The view that there are not many teens in the village – and that they
at least have the benefit of the freedom of living in the countryside wasn’t enough to dilute the importance of this issue and it
remained a priority
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
24
Maintenance
Several issues centred on the upkeep of the village
•
Public rights of way are plentiful and reasonably well maintained but some
feel regular monitoring / stewardship would be worthwhile (voluntary or
salaried)
•
There are services that could be improved:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Poorly functioning drainage on Broadway
Erratic electricity supply in some parts of the village
Poor hedge maintenance which obscures signage
Inefficient road sweeping
Infrequent recycling collections
Litter on Church Road / Chequers Hill
Provision of a gas supply
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
The road sweeping lorry
comes on a Saturday
morning when all the
cars are parked up and
it can’t reach the kerb.
Where’s the logic in
that?
25
Maintenance
Ideally, solutions would be:
•
•
•
•
•
•
A public rights of way warden or team of volunteers
Improved drainage and electrical supply works
More efficient hedge clipping
A bottle bank
Weekday road sweeping
More litter bins near the school
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
26
Other Services
Other services were debated:
•
The absence of a shop and healthcare services in Petham is seen
by some to create not only inconvenience – but to deny the village of
a focus
•
A focus for meeting others, particularly invaluable for our Elders
– A shop as part of another facility (such as a Pub)
– A regular, visiting clinic, staffed by a nurse if not a GP, once a
week, at the Village Hall
– A mobile bank
Some feel the village is
too small to sustain
these
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
Due to the potential practical
and emotional benefits, others
feel that the feasibility of these
services should be investigated
27
Other Services
The absence of a Pub was also raised
•
Opinions vary!
– Failure of the previous pub suggests low demand
– Could cause parking / traffic congestion
– Success of various functions in the village hall indicate there could be popular
support for a new pub
– A pub could help to unite / include the various sub-communities in Petham
(notably, bringing in Stone Street residents)
•
The topic led on to expression of interest in staging more events at the
Village Hall:
– Monthly pub night
– Annual Summer Party
•
Despite the risks or challenges, hopes for a pub remained high amongst
some who seek a more informal location for gatherings
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
28
Other Services
Respondents are very vocal about the absence of some
services:
Lots of villages manage
to get doctors to go to
their village halls – once
a fortnight or something
In the future it will be essential
to have a village shop
because of the transport
restrictions that are likely in
the future
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
Is there potential to join
forces with a parish like
Waltham? They could be
discussing the same
issues
Are we too small for a
pub? You need a critical
mass…
29
Communication
Parish News:
• Received a lot of support. A valuable communication channel
More of us should
attend
Parish Council:
• A degree of apathy as regards attendance of residents at these
meetings is perceived
• There is potential to enhance communication of Parish Council
agendas and meeting dates (beyond the Parish News)
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
30
Communication
Notice boards
• Are important – although not everyone chooses to use them.
• A website could be more accessible for some (with noticeboards maintained
for others)
Internet access
• Not voiced as an issue.
• Amongst this sample, access to the internet is no problem (coverage has
grown since the facility for access at the Village Hall was originally
discussed.)
We need a really
lively Petham
website!
Website
• The concept of a Petham only website (as opposed to the PAW site)
attracted some interest
• A Petham specific site may have potential to interest and involve kids and
teens
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
31
The Church
Important, either as a place of worship or as part of the fabric of the village
(history, aesthetics, character)
•
Felt to be under used and costly to maintain
•
Potential to use the space for multi denominational worship was discussed
•
The Petham survey could explore the following:
– How to ensure the Church is used as much as possible:
• what would encourage attendance at services?
• what else would people like to use it for? (it could be an alternative space
to the busy Village Hall)
• what would encourage people to use the space?
– To what extent the historically short term posting of vicars at Petham is felt to
create a detached relationship with the Church
– How non Christian residents feel about Parish funding of the Church
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
32
Other Issues
Future Funding
• Current economic uncertainty prompted
suggestion that the survey explore future
funding:
– Cannot rely on council tax, charitable
donation etc.
– What propensity is there amongst
residents to contribute to a fund for
Petham?
Flight Paths
• Disturbance from occasional flight routes over
Petham was not an issue
• More of a concern was the impact of any
future expansion of Manston Airport
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
33
Main Findings – Youth Groups
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
34
Youth Groups
•
Some of the spontaneous feedback concurred with the adults’ perspective:
– The intrinsic character of Petham is worth protecting – its peacefulness
it’s natural beauty and it’s compact nature
•
Thereafter, priority issues for the Petham Plan survey are felt to be:
– Lack of facilities: notably a village shop:
We just need the
– The absence of any clinic
basics
– Too many speeding cars
– The need for more activities for kids. (That said, the new basketball facilities
at the Rec are very much approved)
– Keeping the area clean and well maintained
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
35
Youth Groups
Some divergence evident:
• On the subject of the bus service:
– Older children feel the lack of transport and prioritise an improved
service
– Whereas younger children do not have that independence and so do
not feel it’s so important
•
The Environment also divides opinion:
– Younger children are more conscious of the need to protect the Environment
(possibly heavier indoctrination at Primary school vs Secondary level)
•
Our Elders and their needs can also be viewed differently:
We always talk to
them and people
visit them
– Younger children appear more caring and concerned!
– Older children perceive our Elders to be well supported by family, neighbours and
the community in general! There is no sense of their exclusion.
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
36
Youth Groups
And some other distinctions:
•
Pedestrian safety:
Younger children also feel more vulnerable due to the lack of pavements – but our
more independent, confident older children place this issue much further down the
scale!
•
The Church:
Younger children are more conscious of the need to support the Church (currently
may be the more regular attendees?)
•
Activities:
Older children also feel that whilst there is a broad range of ages represented by the
children of the village, the relatively small number of children can mean that the
different age groups can feel isolated – i.e. the age range is very spread and spread
thinly. This means that access to appropriate activities by age is important. There
can be no single solution to fit all
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
37
Youth Groups
• Lowest priorities are:
–
–
–
–
–
Village Hall – already popular and working well
Schools - ditto
Flooding – no sensitivity to the potential problem
Flight paths – ditto
Internet – no problems. Poor mobile phone reception is more of a concern!
• Other issues occupy the middle ground of concern :
– Passing on shared values to future generations and incomers
– Careful development / no development of new housing to protect the character
of the village
– Crime/safety
– Communication
– Integration of the sub communities in the area
the above are important to survey, but not ‘pressing’.
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
38
Conclusions
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
39
Conclusions - 1
•
The discussions confirm that a wide number of issues are important to
residents – and some stretch across the age range
•
Issues span practical needs and steps which could be taken to provide
emotional benefits (integration, socialisation, inclusion)
•
Quantitative evaluation will confirm the full extent to which these issues are
shared - and will indicate the interests of different lifestage segments of the
local population
•
Meantime, the focus groups succeeded in going beyond a trawl of ‘needs
and wants’ to highlight hopes and fears for the future of Petham as a
thriving community.
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
40
Conclusions - 2
•
A concern is that without careful development and improved facilities the
village will attract and retain only those who are:
–
–
–
–
Able to travel to work, to shop or access healthcare
Retired
Sufficiently affluent to buy homes
Able to be dependent on others in the community
A future population which will impact on the ultimate character of the village
•
There is a desire not to see Petham as a ‘dormitory’ where people do not
live actively or contribute to their local area. Accordingly there is interest in
using the survey to learn what people ‘do’ whilst they are here.
•
There is also an environmental conscience in the village which is keen to
ensure sustainable development, keeping an eye on the ‘bigger picture’.
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
41
Conclusions - 4
• Some topics brought with them complex challenges. How to:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
provide more homes without creating a more ‘built up’ village
provide a shop and pub without the attendant parking challenges
support new businesses like shop and pub within a small community
meet the demand for transport efficiently and realistically
bring healthcare services to the village
create more of a focal point (than the village hall) without a shop or pub
be Petham focussed when we may need to work alongside other
villages to achieve shared goals
– pass on the values of the village to people coming in who haven’t grown
up here
• There was the sense that to be defeated by these challenges could
mean serious consequences for Petham
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
42
Conclusions - 3
I strongly feel there should be more
affordable housing for young
people otherwise we will lose a
generation who will move away
We’ve got to lobby local councils for
better public facilities like transport.
If we don’t - the village will go!
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
There’s no continuity. Children grow
up and leave
We’ve got to look at the shop
situation. We have to think about
how we could have a shop (and
not just dismiss feasibility)
43
Conclusions - 5
•
At the outset respondents were encouraged not to see the focus groups as
problem solving exercises - but within the discussions some potential
solutions were offered and could be considered.
•
The less complex problems were easier to resolve than others and so
solutions were put forward for:
–
–
–
–
–
Traffic + Pedestrian safety
Transport options
Stewardship of the countryside
Ownership of the cleanliness of the village
Increased voluntary support of children and teens
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
44
Conclusions - 6
•
We now have a sense of the range of issues pertinent to residents
•
Our prediction of the broad themes was accurate
•
But our focus groups have provided an indication of priorities – many issues
were spontaneously raised
•
And we are in possession of the important detail which adds meaning to the
issues.
*
Andrea Williams
Qualitative Research
andrea.williams11@btinternet.com
*
*
*
45