People love Basingstoke and Deane as a place to live, according to the latest residents’ satisfaction survey.

The borough council carries out research with a representative sample of residents from across the borough to give a picture of what matters most to them, how well the council is doing and what it could do better. More than 1,100 face-to-face interviews for the latest survey took place in November and December last year.

And the results show an overwhelming 95 per cent of people are satisfied with their local area, compared to 94 per cent in 2017 and higher than the national average of 81 per cent, with 89 per cent feeling a sense of belonging to the borough.

The news comes as the borough outlines an ambitious Council Plan, agreed by Cabinet last month, to ensure Basingstoke and Deane remains a great place to live and work over the next four years, setting strong foundations for decades to come.

And this follows the borough being named in the top 50 places to live in Britain in Halifax’s annual Quality of Life survey, based on the area’s employment rate, earnings, housing affordability, health and wellbeing, education, traffic and crime rates.

In the residents’ survey, 80 per cent were satisfied with the way the council runs things, compared to the 2017 figure of 78 per cent and putting the borough higher than the 64 per cent for the South East and 63 per cent for England. And 73 per cent feel well informed about the services the council provides, higher than 61 per cent for the South East and 59 per cent for England, with 62 per cent agreeing that the council provides value for money, topping the 48 per cent national average.

The top five things that make somewhere a good place to live, according to residents, were low levels of crime and antisocial behaviour, clean and litter free streets, health services, affordable housing and shopping facilities. At the top of the list of things that need improving were affordable housing, road and pavement repairs, public transport, health services and activities for teenagers.

Council Leader Cllr Ken Rhatigan said: “It is great to hear that the majority of people who live in Basingstoke and Deane love it here, but we are determined to do everything we can to make it an even better place to live, work and visit.

“We’ve set clear priorities in our Council Plan to do what residents have told us is most important to them, including through the survey. It is important that we are all working together as a team and everyone can do their bit by reporting things like fly-tipping, taking steps to cut carbon emissions and recycling all they can. Residents, businesses and partners are at the heart of our plans to improve the borough.”

For more information about the Council Plan and residents’ survey see www.basingstoke.gov.uk/priorities.