Second rural parish housing survey gets underway

Dorset Council and Dorset Community Action has just launched the second of a series of housing surveys.

From today, the survey opens for the parish of Puncknowle & Swyre which includes the village of West Bexington. 

The survey, commissioned by Puncknowle & Swyre Parish Council, is supporting the neighbourhood plan and is for anyone with a connection to any of the three villages.

This applies to anyone living in the area now or in the past, have family who live or have lived in the Parish and who are working or providing a service of more than 16 hours a week.  

The survey is also for businesses in the area and for property and land owners.

Residents of neighbouring parishes and towns are also being encouraged to participate, to capture the experiences and views of anyone with links to the parish. This includes past residents or people who want to move Puncknowle, Swyre and West Bexington or have a connection through family, friends, or work.

The survey went live today,  Friday 1 November for three weeks, until Monday 25 November.

The survey should take between five to fifteen minutes to complete and will depend on the respondents’ circumstances.

Questions will cover the type and size of existing accommodation, people who want to buy or rent in the parish, downsizing and there will be an opportunity to give opinions and suggestions for affordable and other housing provision in the future.

Gill Taylor, Cabinet Member for Health and Housing, said; “The survey will help us establish the local housing need in the parish and feed into the neighbourhood plan as part of the wider draft local plan. It will look at what’s happening now and help identify future housing need.  

“But it’s not our only source of information as we will use the results of this survey alongside other data we hold as a council such as housing register data to complete the picture.

With an eclectic mix of parishes and towns across the Dorset Council area these surveys give us a better understanding of who we are and what we need.”

The housing needs survey is live online from 01 November to 25 November 2024.

Please use the following link: 

https://consultation.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/housing/c4f83e29

Although the survey is anonymous, there is an option to include contact details and add a telephone number for anyone who would like to be involved.

For further information or support in completing the survey, please contact the Housing Enabling Team on 01305 252445 or Jacqui Cuff, Rural Housing Enabler on 07421 994590 or email: jacqui.cuff@dorsetcommunityaction.org.uk

This work is supported is by Dorset Council, Dorset Community Action, Funded by UK Government through DEFRA and in partnership with ACRE, Action with Communities in Rural England.

Please use the following link to the Dorset Council Housing Register for anyone who feels they are eligible and wishes to apply. https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/housing-register

Paper copies are available on request.

The Morden parish housing survey has now closed.