Draft Draft DrafDraft



Needs and Wants Project


Finding out about what people in Prestonville want and need to make life better in the area

Interim Report: Basic Data











Prestonville Community Association

Brighton

February 2002
Prestonville Community Association
Please acknowledge if quoting
Prestonville Community Association (PCA)
via The Shop, Upper Hamilton Road, Brighton BN1

Index


Introduction

1. Questionnaire Survey: Results

2. Key Contacts in Prestonville: Summaries

3. Focus Group Reports

4. Baseline Data on Prestonville

5. Participative Day (October 2001)

Appendix 1: Achievements of PCA 1998-2002

Appendix 2: A Profile of Prestonville

Appendix 3: The Questionnaire

Introduction:

PCA Needs and Wants Project 2001/2: Finding out what people in Prestonville want and need to make life better in the area

 Prestonville Community Association

The Prestonville Community Association (PCA) was formed in 1998 and its area of benefit (defined largely by 'natural boundaries' comprises approximately 40% of the current Seven Dials ward in Brighton containing 1700 households. PCA is very active - in the last three years we have organised a millennium street festival, campaigned for a wild park/ recreation area, helped produce a millennium quilt, made a video, set up a website, erected community notice boards, produced regular community newsletters, organised social events, delivered welcome packs to new residents, supported a rubbish clearance and taken part in planning & appeals procedures. It is a registered charity, managed by a committee of 14 local people, and we hold four public meetings a year attracting about 50 people.

This Report


This interim report gives basic data derived from the the Needs and Wants project.

 The Aims of the Needs and Wants Project


The project was intended to:

 Involve as many residents in Prestonville as possible in thinking about what is good and what needs improving in the area.
 Involve some local people in more depth to gain a richer picture of the area's needs.
 Uncover some of the needs of three groups in Prestonville in more detail: the elderly, minority ethnic population, children and parents.
Find out some baseline data about the Prestonville area.
Discuss and involve local people in the findings.
Disseminate the findings to local people, and appropriate authorities eg local authority, health, transport, planning etc depending on the findings.
Enable the PCA to better understand the needs of people in Prestonville.

The Timescale


The project was devised between December 2000 and May 2001. Focus groups took place between July and December 2001, a questionnaire survey was conducted in September 2001, and key contacts were questioned in October 2001. Baseline data was collected in September 2001. A participatory community event in October asked people in Prestonville to have an initial look at the emerging results and comment.

Co-ordination and Funding


This project was initiated and organised by the Prestonville Community Association committee. We want to thank the financial support this project has received from Brighton and Hove Council small grants scheme and the South East Co-operative Society Community Dividend award. Many local people, community and voluntary organisations, local businesses, statutory workers, faith groups and individuals have given freely of their time and expertise to make this project work. A big thanks to them all.
Prestonville Community Association is a registered charity no 1081440
Prestonville Community Association, The Shop, Upper Hamilton Road, Brighton BN1, aikenmik@pavilion.co.uk

1. Questionnaire Survey


1.1 The Survey: Distribution
The survey was distributed to all 1700 households in the area via the Prestonville Post in September 2001 and was also later available in local shops, pubs and launderette. Three small cash prizes were offered to encourage returns and people had the choice of dropping their returns into a box courtesy of The Shop in Hamilton Road, or by post to a PO box number set up for the purpose. There were 98 forms returned via The Shop and 54 sent by post to the PO Box. The cut off date for returns was mid October by which time there were 172 responses. This represents a 10% return.

1.2 Survey in Three parts
The survey was in three sections. Section (a) asked about various aspects of life in Prestonville, such as street safety, social life, housing issues, environment. Section (b) asked people to say what aspects might make life better for them in Prestonville, for example, better street environment, work opportunities. Finally section(c) asked which activities of the PCA were most important to people, from social events and a street festival to developing a web site and taking up planning issues. We also asked about ways of working: should we work closely with the local council, businesses, other community groups, and faith groups?

1.3 Monitoring Form
Alongside the questionnaire we had distributed a voluntary monitoring form to gain a picture of the age, gender and ethnic profile of people who responded. Most people returned this separate form with their questionnaire. There were 127 monitoring forms returned. These showed that many more women(90) than men (37) responded, few young people took part, and most respondents were white.

1.4 Overview of Results
From responses to section (a) the features of life in the area that people who responded most appreciated were the availability of local shops and mostly feeling safe on the streets. Out of 26 suggested areas in section (b) that would make life better, the top six were: less traffic; more flowers/trees; easier car parking; better public transport; less street rubbish and community garden/wildlife area. Section (c) suggested the most important areas of our association's work were to maintain the links with the local authority; the production of the association newsletter; and our work on planning matters. A summary of the survey results are shown on the next few pages ranked with the most popular choices listed first. Some of the questions are truncated so they fit in the boxes: a full copy of the survey questions is in the appendix.

1.5 Part (a) Statements about Life in Prestonville?

Survey: Part (a) Life in Prestonville

1.6 Part (b) What would make life better in Prestonville?

1.7 Part (c) Which Activities of the PCA are most Important?




















1.8 Monitoring Form Results

1.8.1 Survey returns compared to monitoring forms returned

Nos. %
Total survey forms received 172 100
Total monitoring forms received: 127 74

 1.8.2 Monitoring forms by age and gender
 Women (0 -19 years) 4
Women (20 -59 years) 72
Women (60+ years) 14
Total women 90 71
Men (0 -19 years) 2
Men (20 -59 years) 29
Men (60+ years) 6
Total men 37 29
Total men and women 127 100

2. Key Contacts


 Asking key people locally what they think the issues are in Prestonville
2.1 Key Contacts Questionnaire
A key contacts questionnaire was sent to 37 people between 11th and 14th October 2001 covering the following areas:
There were replies received from 14 contacts:
 3 from PCA committee members
4 from other community/voluntary sector/faith group in Prestonville
3 from councillors/prospective councillors (Labour, Conservative, Green)
4 from statutory services: school head teacher; district nurse; health visitor; police.

2.2 Responses to Key Contacts Survey (Aggregated)
2.2.1 Greatest problems in Prestonville
'Traffic and parking; access by road following Seven Dials management especially Prestonville Road/York Villas one way - increases taxi costs for elderly and disabled.'
'Access to shops at London Rd especially for the elderly; I heard the 35 bus is to be axed.' 'Parking. Rubbish collection - difficult and expensive to dispose of large objects with no car.
'Housing, employment, transport, social exclusion.'
'Rubbish in streets; vandalism; parking; drugs and property crime; high cost of maintaining property.'
'Sharply rising house prices/rents leading to increasing pressure on affordable housing.; high car speeds and traffic congestion; rising car ownership and increasing competition for parking space.'
'No great problems, largely a middle income middle class area - most people have enough to eat, a roof and have luxury of being able to deal with other issues environmental improvements. Dog mess, anti social littering, and finding a parking space problems.'
'Lack of parking.'
'Traffic; transport (lack of regular bus link to London Rd; lack of bus link along Old Shoreham Road; or to Varndean/ Dorothy Stringer senior schools (pupils have to walk up to 40 mins.'
'The lack of universal sense of community; parking difficulties; too high a proportion of people in bed and breakfasts.'
'PCA set up with residents owning it but at expense of those working or worshipping.'
'Parking cars - present solutions being tried in the centre and locally seem to make things worse not better.'
'For disabled - difficult to negotiate the hills, pavements not always safe especially for those with mobility problems. Specific groups: alcohol and drug dependent patients related to homelessness and social problems. Some people living in the area their conditions are very poor -there are privately rented flats which landlords don't keep up and some squalor and deprivation. The first time any contact is made is with us as professionals - there may be retired people who have lost social contact (1) Overcrowding is an issue in many flats and damp too - this cause problems for people who already have health problems. There is nearby Bed and Breakfast accommodation where people can't be in during the day and so have to wonder the streets. (2) For some elderly there is social isolation and lack of care. Many haven't seen the doctor for years. We come across them if they have a fall and then find them living in dreadful conditions. This comes to light only from an apparently insignificant referral on health grounds. There is a reluctance for many elderly to come for help. For many elderly it is a matter of helping them to understand there are associations that can involve them socially and help them practically.'
'Traffic around 7 Dials, although managed well by pedestrian crossing.'
'Old Shoreham Rd divides the P'ville Community.'
'Car crime; lack of lighting in some areas. Roads used as rat runs make easy getaway for offenders; some roads quiet and not overlooked by anyone; Parking on yellow zig zags outside schools, there may be a serious accident; graffiti spoils the look of the area.'

 2.2.2 Greatest strengths in Prestonville
 'A small friendly well defined area.'
'Close to town centre without being effected by negative aspects of centre (pubs, clubs, noise); sense of community, acceptance of differences and ways of life, beliefs etc.'
'If fit the town is easily accessible on foot; good community spirit. Close to station. Area feels safe, Friendly neighbours.'
'Vibrant exciting area; proximity to city amenities/ transport; prolixity to rural areas.'
'Good schools; active community groups.'
'Good community spirit, relatively low crime; good schools; environmentally aware parent groups; good campaigners within the community.'
'General benefits of not living in a deprived area; friendliness and sense of community; proximity of town centre without disadvantages town centre brings; good primary schools and proximity of 3 parks.'
'Sense of community, proxi mity to station and town.'
'Sense of community/diverse groups of people, good mix young/old/inbetween, good school.'
'Exeter Street Hall - very important as making space - excellent community resource.'
'Pleasant enough; relatively crime free; a developing sense of community; pleasant pubs, good church (1) near park, good schools and pre-schools.'
'Population stability - good quality housing, aesthetic qualities that arise from the design and materials used for most buildings. Sense of community. Local shops and small businesses.'
'City environment - not too far out of centre, Public transport good some system to take them to centres and s/market exist. For young people - its a get up and go place.'
'Sense of community around P/ Ville and 7 Dials unfortunate that road divides it.'
'Great community spirit and neighbourhood watch schemes. Up and coming area with new shops and restaurants.'

2.2.3 Things that would improve life in Prestonville
 'Parking; street lights; street cleaning; traffic calming.'
'Improve public transport; community hall dedicated to PCA; better play areas for children.'
'Stop lorries parking on pavements which cracks pavement stones making it dangerous for pedestrians; more recycling - compost, glass paper either by council or Magpie.'
'More direct involvement in local decision making; efforts to include and empower.' community; better management of services (ie rubbish collection/street cleaning; parking).'
'Rapidly rising Council Tax bills (where were savings when Unitary Authority created/).'
'More 'walking buses' like Stanford crocodile to combat school drop off and pick up times.' 'Better public transport around 7 Dials.'
'Cleaner streets, better parking arrangements; community allotments and wildlife garden; dedicated community centre with activities to compliment those at church hall eg lunch clubs; and evening classes.'
'Improved bus network. Street trees and planters. white street lights (orange gives poor visibility on pavements).'
'A greater sense of involvement - but it will grow steadily.'
'More green space. better facilities for children between ages 7 - 16. Sports, drama, music etc.'
'For the elderly: help elderly to understand there are associations that could help them, things to join, ways to involve them.'
'Better links between areas /schools -senior schools BMMS.'
'Cleaning graffiti; people obeying the rules on yellow zig zags outside schools, multi-agency approach to combating car crime; improved system for current street calming.'

2.2.4 Anything else?
'Forming PCA was probably one of the best things in recent years to improve the quality of life in Prestonville!'
'I see my role as councillor to reflect what it is the community say they want.'
'Spend public money on projects to benefit people - in Prestonville: parks; pavements; recycling; street furniture.'
'Less money on one sided propaganda like City News ('we haven't space to publish letters') and 9 lives project gimmicks.'
'St Luke's Church possible redevelopment is causing concern and might have marked impact on P/ville.'
'It will be interesting to see if 2001 census shows increase or decrease in bed sitter land.'
'Lovely place to work. Huge variety across social spectrum. Real slice of life; sometimes at risk. Older people's activities in locality.'

3. Focus groups/discussion groups:


 Talking to some selected groups in more depth about Prestonville
Four small discussion groups were held at the PCA AGM in July 2001. A discussion group with children at a local school was held in July 2001. Parents of pre-school children were interviewed in October 2001. Black and minority ethnic people were interviewed in December 2001.

3.1 Discussion Group: Prestonville Community Association Participants
Four small groups were held at the PCA AGM in July 2001, Harry Puckering, Maggie Peake, Mike Aiken and Suzy Silver lead the four discussion groups. We started by asking how long people had lived in the area. Harry's respondents : 2 months, 3 years, 4 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, 48 years. Maggie's respondents : 2 months, 1 year, 9 years, 9 years, 12 years, 13 years, 15 years,34 years. Mike People in our group had lived in Prestonville between 6 months and 20 years.Suzie's group : People had lived in the area: 4, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 26, and 45 years.

 3.1.1 Best things about Prestonville
(Group 1) Like a village. Friendly people. Schools. Developing sense of community. Socially mixed area. Intact architecture. Quiet. Local shop. Top of the hill. Near Seven Dials. Lively church with a strong social conscience. Good youth community. Children play out in the street. View from Stanford Road.

(Group 2) Good community. Central to town, station and best bits of Brighton. Feel safe. Parks. Good local shops. Variety of cafes/restaurants/takeaways (Thai etc). Mix of architecture.

(Group 3) Friendly people. Sense of community. Fairly quiet roads. Safe environment. Close to parks. A flat walk to Seven Dials shopping. Good schools. Prestonville Pub. The walk to town/station is easy. Marquis of Exeter Pub. Bus to some parts of town. Access to countryside is easy. A corner shop. A take away. The PCA! Historical Identity. The church. Seagulls. Booth museum. A view of that 'big train set' (Railway). A mixed community - garages, workshops, and residential.

(Group 4) Friendly neighbours/ community spirit (and PCA). Walking distance to the sea. Don't need a car. Convenient area - near main approach roads A23/A27. Reasonable local shops. Good schools. Two parks.'Nice' area/ desirable. Feels safe at night. Just outside main hub of city and away from tourists. No parking restrictions.

3.1.2 Worst things about Prestonville
 (1) Through traffic. Rubbish dumping. Dog poo. Useless lumps in Stanford Road. Abandoned cars. Some of the residents. Many residents in their 20s with no connection to the community. Parking. Parking on pavements. Big lorries parked on corners. Bad pavements. Tall trees.

(2) Too much of a rat run for traffic. Dyke Road traffic has increased. Rubbish. Buses: it ís hard to get anywhere that's not central such as a large supermarket (to London Road one every hour) or to Secondary schools (such as Dorothy Stringer).

(3) Long way to secondary schools. High housing costs (mortgages and rents). Cats, seagulls and irresponsible dog owners. Not enough people for the PCA committee. Graffiti. Traffic jam on Dyke Road. Speeding cars on side roads. Parking on corners. Parking on pavements. Houses are all a bit too small. Gardens are too small. Co-op Shop stock control is bad. Pollution under the Viaduct Bridge. Lack of access to London Road. Very infrequent bus to London Road. Road down to viaduct - worst road in Brighton to walk down. No pedestrian crossing to BHASVIC. Crime worries on edge of area (eg York Villas). Prestonville Pub not open Monday lunchtimes. Noisy roads - Dyke Road Drive Road congestion/ muddle near Tesco. Road humps bad design for cyclists. Skateboarders outside HSBC bank. Graffiti.

(4) Graffiti in Dyke Road Park. No buses on Old Shoreham Road. Litter/ road sweeping problems. School traffic especially Windlesham School. Dog poo. Lack of pavement repairs.

3.1.3 What would make life better?
(1) Prevent the rat run. Reverse one-way in Prestonville Road. Protect residential parking. Whist drives and scrabble evenings. More trees. Boys Brigade Band marching in area. Renovate the railings in Stanford Road. Increase walking to school. Improve pavements. Clip the tops of trees in Stanford Road Little green park in Prestonville. Place: make all roads leading to it dead ends. Clean graffiti off the bridge on Stanford Road.

(2) In some areas amplified music from people's houses is too loud (as we're all living close together in terraced houses). There could be information about what to do if you have noisy neighbours. Also there could be information to make people realise that they may themselves be noisy neighbours without realising. Clean graffiti. Have a more known community policeman. Also like more policemen/women walking around. But most important is for the community to get to know individuals. Possibly more information about neighbourhood watch ñ PCA could have more link with them.

(3) A vegetable and fruit shop. Baker's shop. Better traffic wardens to stop blocking of bus stops. Low access buses. A photocopying machine. Better bus service into town. Better bus service East - West (eg along Old Shoreham Rd). Safe cycling routes to town, to London Road, to beach. Community bike sheds. Flat rate buses are expensive for people in this area. More traffic calming - 20 mph limits. Trees. Greening of streets - plant pots/planters in streets. Bells on cats. A post office. Removal of graffiti especially especially from Dyke Road Drive and bus stops. Better street lighting and pavements in general.

(4) Getting a designated and funded community centre. Less traffic. Fewer seagulls. Cheaper housing. Better street lighting. Allotments. Cheaper buses - more bus routes. Free bus passes for OAPs. Cheap artists studios. More seating in park.

3.1.4 What do we value the most about PCA?
(1) Prestonville's very existence. Street party. Welcome pack for new residents. Prestonville Post. 40s knees up. Trees initiative. Local environmental work (trees, allotments).

(2) Bringing people together - such as The Dance or cleaning rubbish etc. Newsletter, good link with local businesses. Finding our information (such as about St Luke's church at the AGM). Having a voice. Tree planting. Care of the area. Millennium party. Pooling of talent. Acts as a mediator for parking issues (recently in Coventry St)

(3) Brought community together. Sense of belonging now to a community. Having an identity for the area. Catherine Cole! The work done on the Halo project issue. The Millennium Festival party. Keeps me in touch with what's going on in the area, behind the news. The Prestonville Post. Safe routes to School. Notice Boards (but feel left out a bit in Belmont). Campaign for wildlife site. Millennium Quilt and video. Millennium postcards.

(4) Bringing community together. Prestonville Post (* 5). Street party (*5). Social events (*5). Allotments campaign. Community representation (Joint action for community

3.1.5 Other issues
(3) Concerns about the church hall. Premises/base needed for the PCA. Street parking becoming difficult in Exeter Street. Get more people involved in PCA. Connect PCA to other groups in Brighton.
(4) Save the church hall. Save our architectural heritage.

3.2 Discussion Group 2: Stanford Juniors School Council July 9th 2001


conducted by Maggie Peake

3.2.1 Likes about Prestonville
Speed bumps to slow the traffic down. Ones that take up the whole width of the road work better than those where the bump is just in the middle.
Good local activities: Judo at BHASVIC, Pottery.
Good Shepherd after school club: Brownies ; Exeter Street Little Fishes (have fond memories of it). Safe Parks

3.2.2 Improvements to Prestonville
More activities in the park for older children, such as bigger climbing frames. Areas for them to play in the woods. An area for them to make dens. An Internet cafe. For people who can't afford their own computers. An after school club where the children can decide what to do. A 'Junk club' where you can make things out of junk. Shared animal area. For people who can't afford pets or don't have the space. Perhaps a 'pet club' where people could share pets.

 3.2.3 Prestonville Community Association
The best thing the PCA have done, according to the children was the Millennium Street party. They would like more of these please with bouncy castles and other events.

3.2.4 How could the PCA involve children more?
The children would like to have their own group who are consulted by the PCA.
The children could have their own newsletter with competitions including a poster competition for upcoming events.

3.3 Discussion 3: Black and minority ethnic people in Prestonville


Four people (2 men and 2 women) from black/minority ethnic backgrounds living in Prestonville were interviewed in December 2001 by Olufemi Hughes.

3.3.1 What do you like/ enjoy about living in the Prestonville area?
The area is peaceful, friendly with good neighbour support: (All participants) such as neighbour hood watch and helping each other out.
The facilities :shopping, schools and parks were nearby and reasonably good.
Cleanliness and safety 2 participants felt this was very good.

3.3.2 Things that I like less/ need improving about the area
Mobile library for elderly is good.
Transport is OK but not enough buses from the area to town.
Community centre needs decorating (1 participant).

Uneven pavements was mentioned by all participants as needing improvement. There are two schools are nearby and children had had accidents on these pavements. Concern was expressed too for elders and disabled people who may have problems on these pavements.
Dog mess was a problem for all participants and some felt a safety hazard for their children
Street cleaning, and rubbish removal could be improved (2 participants).
Street lighting was a little dim in Buxton Road children and elders may be afraid (2 participants).
Need more facilities for older children: a sports/ leisure centre nearby- sports centres too far way.
Parking was mentioned by all participants: 2 participants felt that there was not enough places to park; 2 felt that people left their cars parked for long periods in the area.
Recycling facilities were mentioned as needed in the area such as bottle bank and paper bank by 3 participants.
Dumping outside garages have been noticed by 1 participant: council should have a service to take away large items!

3.3.3 Other needs:
Need Hindu Temple in the area: have to travel to Portslade for temple.
I'd like facilities for my child to learn mandarin.
My disabled mother needs more public transport from this area and not having to wait for late buses.

3.3.4 Interview extract
The following extract from one interview conveys some of the difficulties that can be faced by marginalised people eg; low pay, unemployment, the 'wrong' postcode, older people made redundant, etc. This is compounded if you are also a more recent migrant, or are Black and/or Moslem and seeking British citizenship.

3.3.5 Mohammed's story
Mohammed Abraham (not his real name) has been in Britain for some time. The poverty and lack of opportunity as well as the war in his country drove him, and others like him, to seek security and income in richer nations. He is been in Britain for a few years having spent 2 years in London, before a friend, seeing his plight, suggested he move down to live in Brighton.

I found Mohammed to be a well spoken, easy going, alert and intelligent youngish man. Mohammed found the Prestonville area really friendly accept a few noisy neighbours he has had to deal with. He did comment that some people had made jokes about him holding hands with fellow countrymen. They think I am gay he said, but this is a common form of affection between men in my country, he said. He was not worried about being thought of as Gay. Other than that he likes the area of Prestonville very much and has no real problems or suggestions for change. Problems facing Mohammed are much wider:

Mohammed has faced problems as a job seeker. He has no firm qualifications, but lots of experience and knows what he wants to do. But often does not qualify for the course or job. He has completed over 50 applications in the past 6 months alone- for which he has received no response. When he does go for what he sees as an easy, service job. He feels that the interviewers ask him questions that are not relevant to the job. Such as, Have you got a driving license? when the job does not require one. He says despite the jobs he is going for being relatively easy for him - the employers when they ask questions 'it is as if they are looking for a super man' He says, 'I don't know what is wrong, why I can't get a job. I want to work. I am only being offered short term contracts of three months.'
Since September the 11th things have got worse as he is Moslem: employers like Gatwick airport don't want to take him on as he is seen a risk Mohammed says he understands and shrugs, 'what can I do?' The immigration is still looking at his application after many years of living here so he is in limbo

Mohammed manages to pay his rent and though living on a low income, sends some money home to Africa for his family- as is customary in African cultures. He is left with little money to after paying for food, travel to work, rent, family etc. When he tries to tell the council that he cannot pay the full council tax payments all at once, they threaten him rather than try to find a solution. They don't understand that he needs to send money to his family and are very unsympathetic Mohammed says.

Mohammed says, David Blunkett makes me laugh - he says ethnic minorities should speak English 'I speak five languages, including fairly good English, but when I tried to get on a course to improve my English I am told that I can't go on a course because have not got citizenship' Mohammed says cheerfully, I keep trying, though it is important not to get deflated. I will achieve my goals one of these days and it will be easier when I have British status: until then I keep trying. They should give me a job. I am young and eager to do a full time job. Why should I sit around and do nothing?

3.3.6 Concluding comments.
It appears there's an element of discrimination and much disadvantage here, that is probably a reflection of the hidden and overt issues in our society. Well documented research has shown that if you have an obviously Arabic, African or Asian name - you are more likely to be discriminated against at the point of application - in the recruitment and selection process. I wonder whether this is a factor in this case. More settled families who have work and have citizenship have some protection, though they could be vulnerable to issues similar issues.

Observations and interviews with Black and minority ethnic people in Prestonville by Olufemi Hughes for PCA.



3.4 Discussion Group 4: Little Fishes Toddlers Group


Eight mothers were interviewed on October 8th 2001. They all had children under 3 years. They had lived in the area from 1 week to 15 years.

3.4.1 Overview
Their priorities are to do with safety of the roads; slowing the traffic down and making it safer for children. Buses that can accommodate buggies are particularly important. Also, dog mess is a particular annoyance and worry with toddlers and buggies.

3.4.2 What things do you like about Living in Prestonville?
A sense of community, friendly people. It's like a village everyone knows each other. Lots of other families make it easy to meet people in similar situation. Makes you feel safe.
Well situated: it is quiet but still close enough to the shops and sea.
Good quality schools; Stanford Infants and Juniors

Little Fishes: good nursery and drop in play group.

3.4.3 What things do you dislike about living in Prestonville?
Dog mess is particularly annoying if you have a buggy. Also worrying for toddlers as it's a health hazard.
Buggy buses are to be withdrawn in January. The number 13 (to Hove) and the number 39 (to London Road). Impossible to get on a number 27 bus with a double buggy, need special buggy buses.
Better traffic calming. Unfortunately doesn't work that well in Coventry street. Encourages toddlers to walk onto the road as humps are same height as pavement.
Bad driving/parking around the school entrances at drop off and pick up times.

3.4.4 What would make life better in Prestonville?
Safer from cars. They need to slow right down in residential area.
More focus on getting people to walk and not use cars.
Clean up dog mess.
More encouragement to recycle waste. Have to pay Magpie: should be other way round - only have to pay if don't recycle. People need an incentive.
More buggy buses.
More free state-run nurseries in this area. The state ones are both in Kemp town which is hard to get to.
Property is too expensive. (One mother is having to move out of area as can't afford to go from one bed-room flat that she owns to buy a house)
Clearer identification of child minders in the area. The council gives you the whole area and it doesn't clearly specify where they are.
More local allotments. The nearest are Patcham , Hove, Falmer or Moulescombe. Need a car to get to them.

 3.4.5 What do you value most about the Prestonville Community Association?
Good what they are doing. It makes you feel part of a community.
Campaigning for a better environment in terms of safety on the streets from cars and more greenery and trees.
Prestonville Post is good for keeping people informed. It could be more religiously diverse ñ not just inform us about what's happening at St Luke's but other festivals for other religions.
Liked the Street Festival: good for children
North Laine has a childminding service (babysitting with tokens and list) that would be a good idea.
Prestonville should be in the Juicy Guide to Brighton, apparently it's not shown on the map which highlights other areas.

4. Baseline Date on Prestonville and Ward
4.1 Prestonville Data
The 1991 Census gives useful indicators around population, housing tenure, minority ethnic population, car ownership and population density. The sub-ward information from 1991 suggests: on housing tenure 30% lived in rented accommodation, 50% were buying their own property and 20% owned their property outright. Nearly half of households did not have a car. There were 13% of people with a limiting long-term illness and there were 442 children under 18 (14% of the population). The 'Profile of Prestonville' in the appendix gives some more information on Prestonville from the 1991 census. It is relatively hard to obtain details on neighbourhoods below ward size however we have found that there were just over 3,200 people living in the Prestonville Community Association area as amended in Autumn 2000. (Although information from the National Statistics Website suggests that the population of Prestonville may be slightly higher at 3470 persons).There were about 1500 males and 1700 females and just over 1700 households.

4.2 Seven Dials Data
Prestonville comprises about 40%, by population, of the current ward of Seven Dials. The ward level information yields some useful comparative information. The ward has the second highest density of people of any ward in Brighton. Only two wards had a higher number of households without access to a car, and 50% of people lived alone in a household, the second highest in the town. Seven Dials ward had the third highest minority ethnic population in Brighton (4%). Only four wards had more people living with a limiting long-term illness. There was confirmation of the large, possibly hidden, elderly population. Given the figures for long-term illness, many might be housebound, possibly in residential homes in the area. Finally the proportion of people in rented accommodation in an area with little social housing alerts us to problems of low standard private rented accommodation.

4.3 Deprivation in Seven Dials
 Seven Dials ward of Brighton and Hove, in which Prestonville lies, is ranked the 9th most deprived ward in Brighton and Hove out of a total of 26 wards. The Indices of Deprivation 2000 gave Seven Dials the rank of 1849 out of a total of 8414 English wards (with rank 1 being the most deprived ward in England). This puts Seven Dials in the top 22% of most deprived wards in the country. The National Statistics Website gives the following data for Seven Dials ward: The resident population of Seven Dials in mid 1998 was 9,900 people, 4% of the population of Brighton & Hove local authority area.

Seven Dials has a slightly higher than average population in the ward than Brighton & Hove in general and the higher number of births than deaths suggests this pattern may continue to add to the higher than average density of population. The ward has a far higher number of employee jobs than other wards. The total number of employee jobs in Brighton & Hove divided by the 26 wards equals 3,961 per ward. There was a claimant count of 9% in Seven Dials in August 1998 slightly higher than the average for England (8%).

4.4 Data for Prestonville Community Association area
The data shows that Prestonville has higher than average percentage unemployment than Brighton and Hove in general and a growing percentage of residents of working age. This may be to do with a high number of students who are considered to be 'economically inactive 'in the Indices of Deprivation. In May 2001 there was 4.8% unemployment in Prestonville, higher than the rate for Brighton and Hove (4.2%). There were 12% of pupils eligible for free school meals at our local Infants and Junior school in 2001. The data suggests 15% of households were in receipt of Housing Benefit or Council Tax benefit in November 2000 (compared to 28% of households in Brighton and Hove) suggesting that one in seven people in Prestonville are living in poverty.

This information is based on research conducted for PCA by Barry Huyler in October 2001. Information was drawn from the National Statistics Website.

5. Participative Day: October 2001


 PCA organised a drop in day on Saturday 20th October 2001 for people to look at emerging results of the parts of the Needs and Wants Project so far.
The Participative Community Meeting was organised in November to present initial findings and get people's views on priorities for the association. We organised children's activities to encourage attendance and held the event as a drop-in with refreshments available. We displayed the survey results on large sheets and drew out key points on headline pages. We gave people tasks to involve them, for example using coloured stickers to say whether they agreed or disagreed with the (anonymised) comments made in focus groups. From the questionnaire etc we identified the key issues as children/ youth issues; public transport; traffic/parking; street environment; high house prices and rents; crime and fear of crime. We invited peopl e to use post-it notes for ideas to tackle these issues and received many some useful suggestions. We also asked people to use three silver stars to suggest the main priorities. Traffic/parking and public transport were the two top issues followed by street environment.

5.1 Most Important Issues


 These issues came out as most important from the survey. We asked 'what would you most want PCA to work on/campaign on in the next 3 years from these seven areas?'
1. Traffic/ parking issues (19*)
2. Public transport (18*)
3. Street environment (16*)
4. Trees/allotments (13*)
5. Children and youth needs (11*)
6 Crime and fear of crime (2*)
7. High house prices/high rents (1*)

5.2 Action on these Issues

We asked 'what could PCA do about any of these issues?'

5.2.1 Traffic/ parking issues
'Discourage scaffolding lorries from parking on pavements'
'Promote the idea of a car share scheme between neighbours'
'Parking is becoming a huge problem'
'Get people to know whose car is whose so you can ask people to park closer together when necessary'
'Get council to mark out white lines for car spaces so you could get more cars in the same space'
'Block off some streets, narrow the road to single width by cars parked at angle out into road and make play zones and 20 mph zones'
'I think we need residential parking'
'Ensure the council erase the double yellow lines on Stanford Road (outside Juniors School) so that people can park as described on signs (ie between 12 noon to 1 pm)'
'Less unsafe parking on street corners'
'Parking hugely improved since council took over'
'Parking is unacceptable - solutions: valet parking within 10 mins; residential pay for parking except of use of valet parking as an incentive. Safer and more bike parking all over Brighton'

5.2.2 Public transport
'Try to get the 35 bus restored on Sundays'
'Please campaign for No 35 and 13, 13a to continue even if it is a skeleton service'
'Mini-buses transport from Prestonville to London Road and also transport to Dorothy Stringer school.'
'Campaign for a shared bus/taxi service'
'Transport to Dorothy Stringer School - do a survey numbers going from this area'
'Better connections to London Road, campaign to keep no 35 bus'
'Direct bus to London Rd (via the Viaduct)'
'Add PCA voice to parents campaign for bus to Dorothy Stringer'
'Lobby for more bus routes'
'We need a bus to local secondary schools'
'Restore the 7 Dials to Elm Grove/Queens Park area service - the nearest stop is Sommerfield'
'More frequent buses/mini buses and cheaper fares - very expensive if you go short distances and have to change, need a through ticketing scheme'
'The 35 bus is to be withdrawn after Xmas - we need to campaign against this'
'Strong need to improve local buses - there are no buses from here to Lewes Road or Fiveways or Preston Park'
'We need a regular bus to London Rd shops'

5.2.3 Street environment
 'Introduce compost collection'
'More benches in and around Dyke Rd park'
'Get everyone to put "no dog poo" signs in their window'
'PCA could duplicate some bright attractive posters about dog poo for people to use'
'Regular litter picks with a co-ordinator for every few streets'
'Involve companies like Magpie more in recycling -they are regular and reliable even in poor weather'
'Put pressure on Brighton Council to introduce salvage system to separate papers, cans etc while they are still in control of refuse'
'Repair broken pavement stones'
'Dog users must take responsibility - name and shame!'
'How about dog poo bins eg at Stanford railings?'
'More pressure on council to do active street cleaning including disposing of dog mess'
'Have more dog mess binds for the area - encourage people to scoop especially Buxton Road'
'Suggest people take responsibility for area of pavement in front of their house for dog mess and litter - especially broken glass. Not as good as prevention but helps stop danger to children'
5.2.4 Trees/allotments
'Keep up the pressure on the relevant authorities to try to preserve the allotment site'
'Plant street trees where possible'
'I think the gardening club should plant more flowers where ever possible'
'We still want the wildlife garden for: good for children, good for older people, good for everyone in Prestonville'
5.2.5 Children and youth needs
'More children's activities - especially a soft room - I would like a huge rubber slide at Dyke Road park'
'After school club'
'Windbreak of trees around children's area in Dyke Road Park. Plus equipment for older children'
'More for older children in Dyke Road Park eg better play equipment and skateboarding'
'More activities for older children in Dyke Road Park'
'Community activities specifically aimed at older children'
'Windbreak tree in Dyke Rd park and things for older children'
'More after school activities/ clubs'
Childminders - a list of local and active childminders needed. Lack of childminders for after school'
'More play equipment for older kids!'
'A xmas Prestonville children's party'
5.2.6 Crime and fear of crime
'Hold a meeting with the police - especially about issues to do with pubs.'
5.2.7 High house prices/high rents
'More social housing and part rent/part buy in area'
'Sadly beyond our control'
'A housing Association'

Appendix 1

Achievements of the Prestonville Community Association since 1998



organised the Prestonville Millennium Festival including dancing, music, children's' activities, street closures, games, open houses and involved residents, friends, businesses, and community groups

campaigned for a wild park/ recreation area on the railway lands

helped produce the Millennium quilt which has now achieved national publicity

produced a video about the area

set up a PCA website

established notice boards around Prestonville area

produced 3 issues of the Prestonville Post each year, delivered free to all 1700 households

organised 3 general open meetings per year for everyone in the area

organised a seasonal sing song at Christmas

organised socials like the summer dance at BHASVIC

delivered welcome packs to new people in the area

organised a sub-group about the Brighton station site and prepared an exhibition for the council backed consultation event

campaigned to save the Stanford Road railings
established a gardening group

supported a rubbish clearance in 'crocodile walk' part of the 'safe routes to school'

taken part in planning & appeals procedures.

undertaken a 'Needs and Wants' survey of the area.