A COMMUNITY orientated village is so popular that more than half of all residents have lived there for at least 10 years.

In a survey of residents in North Nibley the findings showed that in the main people enjoyed living in village and 21 per cent of residents liked it so much they have lived there for over 40 years.

Results of the North Nibley Parish survey, which was carried out in October last year, were revealed at last week's annual parish meeting and will become the basis of the council’s ‘parish plan’.

Homeowners were quizzed on a whole range of subjects from sports and recreation to traffic and parking issues.

Rex Symons, clerk of the parish council and co-ordinator of the survey, said: "Overall it seems people do like living in North Nibley, people come here and they stay here.

"We had some very interesting comments on the police, a lot of people felt the police are inaccessible, but most people were aware of the mobile police vehicle that comes to the village.

"We also had a lot of comments on the parish shop, most of them positive. People are very happy to have a local shop and they want to keep it, but we need to get the message across that we must use it or we will lose it."

Nearly 40 per cent of those surveyed said they used the village hall for social events and activities, however nearly 70 per cent said they travelled out of the village for recreation, sports and leisure activities.

The main issues residents had were with speeding cars and road surfaces. Over 40 per cent said there was a problem with speeding cars on the Wotton Road and 36 per cent said there was a problem on New Road. A further 51 per cent reported road surface problems and 51 per cent road drainage problems.

North Nibley Parish Council will now use the results of the survey, which had a 63 per cent response rate, to put together a parish plan, which will set out the issues of the village and what needs doing over the next 10 years.

"This is about us working together and trying to get the best out of this information and improve life in the village," added Mr Symons.

"We have always said that the parish plan needs to be realistic. It has to be something that as a parish we can do something about, and not just the parish council but everyone – the whole parish."