Thanks to everyone who took the time out to fill in the survey forms about how much the rec gets used. The number of completed forms was enough to be a viable sample and provides a real snapshot of how often we visit the rec.
How often do you visit the rec? 23% of the respondents visited more than once a day, whilst 60% visited more than once a week. A sturdy 2 respondents visited more often and the rest from time-to-time each month.
When asked about their children or grandchildren's use of the play park 11% used it more than once a day (they must be the toddlers I think), almost 50% used it more than once a week and the rest used it from time-to-time each month.
95% agreed that it is a vital resource for wildlife and enjoyed seeing the creatures too.
And a splendid 100% said that they love the place and agreed that building over it would be a crime.
Of course this isn't a gold-standard randomly controlled piece of research but is more than the district council seems to have done, and perhaps more telling than the figures are the comments people made:
"Don't build on it!Or teens will have nowhere to go and will get in to trouble!"
"It's the nicest play area in the ..... area. We choose this one to go to instead of about 5 others we could visit."
"Child health is of major importance and it is more important than ever to encourage playing and outdoor activity, this is the only accessible playground for our child."
"A vital area of our community and was a factor when we bought our house. Please consider other alternatives."
"Having a child at Camelsdale First School and a new baby who will be attending in the future, I'm concerned that not only will they lose their cherished play area but that the school will be overwhelmed by the excess pupils brought to the area by the new housing that is proposed."
"Camelsdale Rec is a vital social area for the local community for all age groups. It is used for children's play, football matches, stool ball matches, dog walking and it is somewhere safe our children can gain their first taste of independence. It is a beautiful spot and certainly the wildlife would suffer if this land is built on (owls, foxes, bird life). Please don't spoil this beautiful place."
"This plan is not thought through at all. Camelsdale doesn't have the infrastructure to support these extra families and the traffic at rush hour is horrific as it is and could not support the extra congestion. It is ironic that at the very time the government is starting to act to reduce child obesity the council are reducing the recreation space."
"The need to keep such recreational areas are essential. Sporting events undertaken by the children each weekend are an important part of life in Haslemere and cannot be taken away."
And finally.......Everyone agreed that communication from the PC (although I think it's beginning to improve) and elected councillors - district and county MUST improve.
9 comments:
Thank you for gathering these statistics and comments - are you going to pass them on to Parish and District Councils?
Regarding communication, I still haven't had a reply to my e-mail to the Parish Council sent over a week ago now.
Haslemere Town Youth FC have three girls teams who play their games at Camelsdale Rec and train in the summer months. Therefore the girls are very much dependent on the facilities provided here 12months of the year. The Club anticipates further growth of girls football in the coming seasons, all of which will need Camelsdale Rec. We need the Rec to remain as playing fields.
Yes, I have already passed the survey result on to the DC, I copied them in with my formal letter of objection. I don't know why the PC takes so long to reply. I guess it's because there is nodedicated email address or website for the PC and their email address is hosted by Chichester DC.
Really interested to hear about the football teams, it's very important to show that these fields are vital to the community and especially to the health and well-being of local young people. You can see them playing two matches simultaneously last Sunday in the pic at the top of this blog. Unfortunately it's not very high definition but I can safely say there were about 100 kids and spectators there for a couple of hours plus various dogs.
I still think that a meet of as many residents as possible is a good way forward.
We need to keep the momentum going. We should compose a letter to both MPs (Andrwe Tyrie and Jermy Hunt) Copies sent to local newspapers (Haslemere herald and Midhurst Times). Posters in and around the rec. A name for the campaign. Look into getting a mantion on South today on the BBC. We need a Good concensus of opinion from as many residents as possible. I have tried to post this three times now so if it repeats, sorry.
Mike - can you put the link to the Government site at the top of your website each time something is added - people new to the site won't be able to read what it is all about.
Just to let you know that some of us have got toether and produced a flyer which should be coming through your door this week. This is the best we can do at this stage but will form a proper campaign if necessary - we hope it won't be!
Bill,
I think you're right. How about a meeting at the village hall? Then an after party at the 'Mill'? I'm just a little concerned about arranging a meeting straight to the pub as who knows? the landlord/lady might welcome 50 new households and potential customers as a good thing. And protestors as not a good thing.
PS, I'm happier as MikeDB other than my usual blog name.
This is great info to know.
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