Annual Town Survey Overview

Annual Town Survey - Overview

Question 1

This question relates to how satisfied you are with Cirencester as a place to live, work or go to school/college/Uni in.

Cirencester continues to be accredited with being one of the best places to live in the South West; citing the sense of community alongside good education, the cultural offer, a vibrant town centre, and beautiful parks and open spaces.

Question 2

We want to know how satisfied you are with the local services provided by the Town, District, and County councils.

The Town Council has published information about who does what to help you decide.

Who does what?

Question 3

The Town Council has published a wide range of financial information, to help you decide if we provide value for money.

We believe that staff should be paid a fair and reasonable salary for what they do, our focus is on being the best we can be and improving on what we do. We do not pay excessive salaries. We also believe in delivering services as efficiently and effectively as possible, to minimise the cost.

Let's talk money

The following information outlines our expenditure and income for 2024-25, along with our proportion of the council tax; we receive no direct financial support from the Government, Cotswold District Council, or Gloucestershire County Council. We do our best within limited resources to be as efficient and effective as possible using our assets and investments to generate income to minimise the impact on council tax. In 2024, we had to increase our general reserves, which caused the council tax to go up so much.

Income and Expenditure 2024-25

Question 4

We want to know how you feel Cirencester Town Council has responded to the local community over the past 12 months; here are a few examples:

• Refurbishing the Abbey Grounds toilets. 
• Going out to tender on refurbishing the Norman Arch Cottage.
• Setting up a Junior Town Council.
•  Providing support and advice through our Local Information Centre. 
• Launching a review about parks and open spaces. 
• Looking after the sluice gates and minimising the risk of flooding. 
• Providing support during the winter months by gritting footbridges and the town centre pavements. 
• Providing work experience opportunities for young people at Paternoster School and a T Level placement for a student from Cirencester College. 
• Working with the Police to provide CCTV. 
• Delivering a draft Neighbourhood Plan and facilitating a public exhibition.
• Providing grants and support to a wide range of community groups and charity organisations.

Question 5

We want to know how you feel about how the Town Council engages with the community and keeps you informed. 

In 2023, Cirencester Town Council carried out various consultations. This is an important opportunity for the public to provide feedback on the state of the town, what is liked, and what can be improved on. We also like to meet face-to-face with residents and when we can, host various workshops and open days; as well as provide a monthly newsletter and be active on social media.

We have subsequently published a feedback report providing a summary of the issues you have raised with us. The Annual Consultation Feedback Report 2023-24 provides an overview of those comments, along with a You Said We Did response. 

Question 6

How do you feel about openness and transparency? 

In response to the Corporate Peer Challenge and Review. which was facilitated by the Local Government Association and undertaken by the National Association of Local Councils we moved towards a committee-style governance structure in 2023-24, this has made our decision-making more open and transparent to the public.

It has also provided the public with more regular opportunities to engage with, and influence, the decision-making process. 

In addition, we continue to seek ways to be more proactive in supporting local community groups and organisations, in each of the eight wards of Cirencester.

We publish regular updates via social media and send out an E-Newsletter to over 2,900 residents; as well as being open during the week for residents to pop in for a chat.

Question 7

We want to ask you various questions about the future of public toilets in Cirencester. How often do you use the toilets? How much would you be willing to pay? Do you think the Town Council should take over responsibility and cost for toilets under threat of closure to the public? 

Comment Boxes

At the end of the survey, there are two comment boxes; the first box is an opportunity to celebrate all that is good about Cirencester and the second is an opportunity for you to ask the Town Council a question.