Essex County Council now knows which residents are generally satisfied by its services, following the results of a major joint opinion poll conducted by NOP.

The company interviewed a representative sample of more than 1,000 residents in their homes during face to face interviews across the county.

The poll tested satisfaction with the council, its services, attitudes to modernising the county council and its priorities as well as other issues.

General satisfaction with the council was good at 67 per cent. Nine out of 10 people considered their neighbourhood a good area and when asked what they thought were the best things about where they lived, said it was the fact that it was quiet and had good or convenient shops.

Top satisfaction was expressed for libraries, country parks, primary and nursery education and waste disposal points.

People said they would like to see more money spent on crime prevention, road maintenance, traffic management and services for the elderly.

Asked how the county council could improve access to its services, about 22 per cent said they would like the council to provide information kiosks in public places. A similar proportion would like the council to open a phone call centre for services.

Cllr Tom Smith-Hughes, chairman of the corporate development sub-committee of the county council said, "Finding out what Essex residents feel about services helps us review our work.

"The success of this consultation proves the worth of two-way communication with people in the county. The feedback is useful for members, officers and our partner organisations.

''Though general satisfaction with our services is good, the results show the we can still make improvements. We will be considering how to do that during the coming months and will keep people informed.

"We will constantly strive to improve our services. We will be developing our approach to consultation to ensure that the views of people are heard loud and clear. In the meantime, we thank all those who took part in the survey."

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