Following the Area Panel meeting on 17th April South Yorkshire Housing Association (SYHA) asked the Messenger to verify the accuracy of their results.
The completed survey forms were brought to the Messenger and we decided to focus on Skinnerthorpe Road because concerns were raised by residents about this street.
After verifying that all 77 forms carried a Skinnerthorpe Road address, the cover sheets were removed to protect the identity of respondents. We compared the database of results, which the SYHA had used to compile the information circulated at the Forum, with the questionnaires.
As far as the Messenger can tell the database accurately reflects the questionnaires we saw. It is impossible to check that each form was completed by a given individual without consulting with them directly. The SYHA state that the survey was carried out in a rigorous fashion with multiple opportunities offered for people to participate. The Messenger cannot of course refute those individuals who claim that they were not given the opportunity to contribute to the survey.
The findings could be analysed more closely but the Messenger is not in a position to do this. However, we did look at the results for Skinnerthorpe Road. Question 20 asked residents ‘If there is demolition should your house be included?’ 57% of Skinnerthorpe Road residents responded ‘Yes’ compared to an average over the whole survey of 37%. This was the highest ‘Yes’ response to this question apart from Owler Lane, where 78% said ‘Yes’.
However, in another question 75% of Skinnerthorpe residents responded that current housing in Fir Vale should be replaced with new houses (Q18), but 81% thought their house was adequate for their household (Q4) and 77% were satisfied or very satisfied with their homes (Q10) and 70% of Skinnerthorpe residents definitely want to remain in Firvale (Q30) if the properties are demolished.