Sefton Council’s Green Sefton Service loves the Borough’s parks, greenspaces, playgrounds, sports pitches and beaches just as much as its residents, which is why they want the community’s views on their management of these vital outdoor spaces.
The customer satisfaction survey is now open for contributions until 31st October 2021 and can be easily completed online at www.yourseftonyoursay.sefton.gov.uk
Green Sefton Rangers will also be out and about over the next fortnight at popular parks and coastal locations, to help gather feedback and encourage people to submit their thoughts online.
Cllr Ian Moncur, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, said: “Sefton has 22-miles of stunning coastline, more than 30 parks and around 180 open spaces. All these places have been more popular than ever over the pandemic for residents and visitors as people have enjoyed spending time outdoors.
“We have an incredibly passionate workforce who look after these sites, many of whom are experts on conservation and environmental issues. They work side-by-side a network of enthusiastic volunteers and community groups who together ensure our outdoor spaces are great places for people, animals and plants to thrive.
“It’s really important that we take time to stop and reflect on what has been an incredibly busy and demanding 18 months, and so conducting the survey at this time will allow us to make informed decisions on our management and development of the service area over the next few years.”
Feedback will be gathered from people who use Sefton’s parks, open spaces and coastal gateways to see how they rate the services provided by Green Sefton and to set a baseline for future customer satisfaction surveys.
The survey also looks to provide an understanding of the expectations of visitors which needs to be balanced with the Council’s commitment to managing recreation pressure on the Sefton Coast. The Council must also fulfil its legal duties under the Habitats Regulations to protect these internationally important nature sites.
Cllr Moncur added: “We have faced backlogs and delays to many of our normal maintenance schedules this summer, as we’ve continued to feel the effects of the pandemic. We know that some of our outdoor spaces are not looking up to their usual standards, which people may well reflect on when answering our survey.
“But the management and maintence of our greenspaces also needs to take into account the need to reduce the impact of climate change moving forward, and how we can boost our biodiversity so that rare species and habitats are not lost.
“We are interested in opening this dialogue with our residents as part of this survey, so that together raising the standards of our outdoor spaces doesn’t just mean regular mowing and pruning, but more sympathetic and sustainable approaches that benefit both people and planet.”
Once the consultation period has concluded, the results will be used to inform and shape management and development decisions for the Green Sefton Service, for example where resources could or should be directed, to maintain and improve satisfaction levels.
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