Residents can influence Council — survey Eighty-two per cent of the people who took part in this year's Christchurch City Council annual Citizens' Survey felt they could influence Council decision-making. Eight per cent said they had the ability to have a "large influence" on Council decisions, 38% said "some influence" and 36% "small influence". The remaining 18% either didn't know whether they could influence decision-making, didn't have an opinion or didn't think they could have any influence at all. The National Research Bureau conducted the survey for the Council a few months ago. It involved face-to-face interviews with 755 randomly chosen city residents. The survey is an important way for the Council to find out what residents think of its performance and provision of services. A whopping 93% of the respondents were either satisfied or very satisfied with Christchurch as a place to live (the same number as last year). Eighty-three per cent were satisfied with the "look and feel" of Christchurch. When asked why, they responded with a variety of reasons. The main ones were:
The small percentage of respondents - 9% - who expressed dissatisfaction with the "look and feel" were also concerned mainly with physical aspects of the city, particularly drab and untidy areas, the Cathedral Square redevelopment, and smog and air pollution. This year's citizens' survey revealed that some residents want more, rather than less, money spent on some services, particularly:
A key Council spending issue examined this year was the purchase of land for parks and open spaces at the edge of the city. About 60% supported Council spending more to achieve this. For a full copy of the key results of the Annual Citizens' Survey 2000 contact Rex Harrison, project administrator, on 941 8479, or visit our website at http://www.ccc.govt.nz |