Four in five people are happy living in South West Hertfordshire

Four in five people are happy living in South West Hertfordshire, which includes Three Rivers, according to an online poll exploring people’s views on the area.

Three Rivers District Council, working with the five other councils in the area - Hertsmere, Dacorum, St Albans, Watford, and Hertfordshire County Council - conducted the poll between February and May 2020, in order to find out what is important to the people of South West Hertfordshire. The findings will be used to inform work by all six local authorities to create great places to live, work and enjoy, supported by the right infrastructure at the right time.

The “SW Herts – Your Future” poll achieved over 10,000 visits, with over 600 people indicating that they would like to be involved in any future discussions about the area. By largely using social media, the poll also managed to reach a large proportion of 18-25 year olds, as well as achieving an even spread of responses across all age groups.

Key findings from the polls were:

• Eighty-six per cent per cent of those who took part felt positive about living and working in South West Herts
• Nearly 70% of all respondents said that parks and open spaces were their favourite thing with closeness to London appealing to over 60%. However, this wasn’t the case for the younger age groups with 70% of the under 25s liking the proximity to London more.
• In terms of priorities for improving South West Herts, better health facilities (65%), being able to get around easier (46%) and climate change (36%) were the most popular responses, with better housing choice also appealing to the under 25’s.

Further details of the polling can be found here.

These results will be used to inform the emerging SW Herts strategic plan which will be looking at the long term future of SW Herts. The councils will also be contacting those who expressed an interest in being involved in future work.

Cllr Chris White, Chair of the SW Herts Member Group said: “It is really encouraging that so many people have responded to this poll and told us what they like about living in SW Herts. It is also important that they have told us what they would like to improve.

“We will now consider these responses as we move forward as a group of authorities and work towards making the future of SW Herts a great place to live, work and play.”