7 Online Survey Findings
8.3 Poole Survey
Appendix v lists the questions, frequencies and percentage responses from the survey of Poole Quarter. There were noticeably fewer errors and omissions compared to the Camden returns, which may reflect the improvements referred to above, but also the profile of the respondents – with English as the first language for all but a tiny proportion of Poole residents (see Section 6.2).
The questions were similar to those of the other surveys, except that most of the questions about moving house were not included (the exception, about carfree neighbourhoods, is discussed
below). The questions used to identify the possible groups were the same as the other two surveys, although the question numbering differed again, as shown in Table 8-1:
Possible Group Question Responses
Carfree Choosers: 19 I live without a car by choice Carfree Possibles: 16
&: 15
I would like to live without a car if circumstances changed options 2 or 3 (have lived without a car in the past)
Other Nonowners: 19 options 2 or 3 (would like to own a car, or I am unable to)
Other Owners: 16
&/or: 15
options 1 or 2 (would not give up car, or not possible) options 1 or 4 (never lived without a car since passing test) Table 8-7 Questionnaire responses identifying the Camden possible groups
A total of 97 (42.5% of the) questionnaires were returned. In 9 cases missing data prevented their allocation into one of the potential groups. The distribution of the remainder is shown in Figure 8-1:
Carfree Choosers 11 Other Nonowners 11
Carfree Possibles 1 Other Owners 65
Total valid responses: 88
Figure 8-10 Poole Survey – Proportions & Sizes of Potential Groups
Three of the four groups were too small to permit any meaningful statistical comparisons between them. The target groups were smaller than in the other samples. The proportion of Carfree
Choosers was double the estimated national average (around 6%, on a slightly different measure – see Section 5.4), and probably higher than average for Poole Town Ward, where 18% of adults lived without access to the car. The following analysis will compare some of the survey responses to Census data for Poole Town ward, where Poole Quarter was located (for some of the questions,
12.5%
examined, proposing a different subdivision of the ‘Other Owners’ (Car Limiters) offering another perspective on the question of potential demand for carfree developments.
The housing tenures of the sample were very different from those of the other surveys. At the time of the survey, the affordable housing on the site was substantially complete, whereas much of the open market housing was still under construction. ‘Buy to let’ investors have also found the development attractive. These factors help to explain the distribution below and much of what follows.
Figure 8-11 Poole Survey - Tenures
76% of the dwellings were flats, reflecting the density and design of the development. Most had two (58%) or three (21%) bedrooms.
The age distribution is markedly different from both the other two surveys, and Poole Town ward.
A sheltered housing block for older people was under development at Poole Quarter but not occupied at the time of the survey, so the proportion of over 70s, high in Poole generally, was relatively low in the sample.
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0
Owner occupier Shared Ownership
Social Renting Private Renting
% Poole Survey - Tenures (Q.2)
The home owners were significantly older (82% over 40) than other respondents (see Appendix vi).
Hence, the small proportion of owner occupiers contributed to the relatively young sample; the 20 – 29 age group was well represented amongst all the other tenures.
Figure 8-12 Poole Survey - Age Distribution
The relatively high proportion of households with three or four people was largely due to the affordable housing allocation policies of the local authority: two thirds of the social tenants had children. Overall, 31% of the sample had children compared to a ward average of just 20%.
Poole Survey - Age Distribution (Q.26)
(Compared with Census data for Poole Town ward)
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
18 - 19 20 - 29 30 - 39 40 - 49 50 - 59 60 - 69 70 +
% Census
Survey
Figure 8-13 Poole Survey - Household Size
Interestingly, given the high proportion of social and affordable housing, employees, mostly full-time, were again over-represented.
Figure 8-14 Poole Survey - Economic Status Poole Survey - Household Size (Q.3)
(Compared with Census data for Poole Town ward)
0.0
(Compared with Census data for Poole Town ward)
0.0
The income distribution, particularly amongst the social tenants (see Appendix vi), indicated a lower median than for the Borough as a whole, estimated as £26,399 by Poole Borough Council in 2005 (Charles Arthurs 2007, personal communication October 3).
Figure 8-15 Poole Survey - Household Income
Car Ownership and Travel
Nearly two thirds of the sample had one car in their household. 29% of the households had just one adult. For the others, the parking policy at Poole Quarter would make it difficult to keep more than one car in or near the site. The proportion without a car (19%) was similar to the average for the ward.
Poole Survey - Household Income (Q.28)
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
< 10000 10001 -20000
20001 -30000
30001 -40000
40001 -50000
50001- 80000 80000 +
%
Figure 8-16 Poole Survey - Cars in Household
Table 8-8 below has been derived from Question 9 in the same way as the Camden comparison above (Table 8-2), and illustrates, subject to the same caveats, a very general comparison. It seems to suggest the respondents may drive a little less, walk, cycle and use the bus a little more than people elsewhere in the ward. Although the mainline station is within walking distance, there was only one regular rail user in the sample – and few in the rest of the ward.
Survey
Table 8-8 Poole Survey - Travel Compared to Census
*Poole Town ward – proportion of trips to work only
The following questions show a very clear pattern of change in travel behaviour since moving to Poole Quarter. Comparing the responses to Questions 11 and 12, 28% of respondents reported that the ownership of cars in their household had fallen since immediately before moving. The
0.0
Poole Survey - Cars in Household (Q.10)
(Compared with Census data for Poole Town ward)
Census Survey
proportion of households with more than one car had fallen from 38% to just 16%, although the proportion without a car had risen only slightly, from 17% to 19%.
In some cases these changes were linked to changes (generally reductions) in household size, but this explained only part of the fall. Overall, the mean household cars per adult fell from 0.67 to 0.60 on moving. Also, excluding those where household size had changed: in 11 cases the number of cars had fallen, in 42 it remained the same. In only one case had it risen.
Similarly, Table 8-9 shows a widespread shift towards more sustainable modes of travel, although the question (13) did not seek to quantify the terms ‘more’ and ‘less’:
% of responses to each section More About the Same Less Total
Table 8-9 Poole Survey - Changes in Travel Behaviour Since Moving
In a marked contrast to the other surveys, very few car owners (9%) had lived without a car for longer periods, and nearly two thirds ticked that they would not want to give up their car under any circumstances (Q.16). Only 11 people – the Carfree Choosers – stated that they lived without a car by choice (Q.19).
Questions 21 to 23 appeared to present a paradoxical picture in the light of the above responses concerning changes in travel behaviour. Three quarters of respondents were aware of Poole Quarter’s travel plan objectives. Only 27% of respondents believed the plan was working – as against 41% who believed it was not, and 32% who did not know. Nearly half of respondents believed nonetheless that councils and developers ought to follow such principles elsewhere (Q.23). The reasons for this apparent contradiction were explored in the interviews, as discussed in the next chapter.
Attitudes to Poole Quarter and Carfree Developments
Occupation of Poole Quarter began in 2005, but 92% of respondents had moved there since 2006 i.e. within the previous two years. Question 7 asked about factors influencing the move. Clearly the choices open to social tenants would be constrained to some extent: one indicated that they
association with tenure: ‘convenient for work’, was cited by 75% of the private tenants, which could be expected amongst a relatively mobile group. The top three reasons for the sample as a whole are shown in Table 8-10:
Q. 7: Reasons for Moving to Poole Quarter Survey – All
Near to the town centre 64%
The flat or house itself 58%
Near to the sea 50%
Table 8-10 Most Frequent Responses to Q.7 The top three problems in Question 8 are shown in Table 8-11:
Q. 8: Problems of Poole Quarter Survey – All
Lack of parking 57%
Too many flats in a small area 31%
Lack of green spaces or play areas 31%
Table 8-11 Most Frequent Responses to Q.8
Nine of the social tenants and shared owners listed other concerns relating to speeding cars and problems with and for children. Most of these respondents had children themselves.
Question 24 concerning carfree developments was phrased in a different way to its equivalents in the other surveys, reflecting the fact that respondents had just moved and might not be open to the idea of moving again. The responses shown in Table 8-12 were less favourable than in the other surveys. As with nearly all of the questions described in this section, there was no significant difference between the Carfree Choosers and the rest of the sample.
Q. 24: Attitude to living in a carfree neighbourhood
Survey All Be keen to move there even if it meant moving some distance 2%
Consider moving there, if it were somewhere convenient 15%
Possibly consider the idea 13%
Not consider moving there 40%
Not applicable – I don’t expect to move again 20%
Don’t know 11%
Table 8-12 Attitudes to Carfree Neighbourhoods – Poole Survey
Car Limiters
In Section 5.2, in defining the target groups it was decided to leave aside the possibility that a minority of residents in carfree developments could continue to own cars. In practice, this was the