Jevington and Filching are neighbouring village communities in East Sussex located at the eastern end of the South Downs National Park.

In 2017 we began to explore community involvement in the local planning process.

As part of this we developed, distributed and analysed our own opinion survey.

You can scroll through a copy of it below.

Note that in the interim we have had a name change.

This site presents and explains the results of the survey as a short written summary followed by an in-depth slideshow.

Jevington & Filching Opinion Survey Summary

The survey was conducted to measure local attitudes among village residents and visitors, and to form a statement of community opinions and priorities concerning planning issues and guidelines. These will inform future discussions with the South Downs National Parks Authority (SDNPA), and may be drawn on in compiling a Village Design Statement (VDS) and/or a Parish Plan (PP) -- if the decision is taken to proceed with compiling those documents. Their main purpose would be to provide interested parties with local context to planning applications.

The research findings are detailed and revealing, identifying our community’s priority issues, and showing the range of opinions held by different groups. Residents and visitors emerge as home-owners or -renters, seniors or young families, equestrians, cyclists, walkers, nature-lovers and/or motorists.... all groups which have their own view of local priorities.

Issues covered in the questionnaire included our sense of community, local amenities, landscape and wildlife protection, housing, and traffic. We collected 260 completed questionnaires, all filled in anonymously, which yield a reliable and representative spectrum of local opinion. Respondents gave graded answers to around 60 questions.

There was a remarkable level of consensus on the big issues. Those living in or visiting Jevington and Filching emerge as a community of tradition-aware nature lovers who believe in showing people a warm welcome. There is concern about traffic issues in the context of preserving a place for living, working and recreation.

The most strongly-held opinions among those who filled in the questionnaire concerned [1] preserving and protecting habitats for wildlife; [2] resisting development that might change the look of the villages, or interfere with Downland views; and [3] the importance of making visitors welcome. Next came a wish to see safer access routes for local pedestrians and for walkers, ramblers and runners.

When asked to put their most important concerns in rank order, respondents’ number one issue was the preservation of wildlife habitats. Next came preserving the look and feel of each village and its surroundings. Perhaps surprisingly, traffic control and the reduction of traffic speeds only came in at third position – though it was the #1 priority for those actually living in the villages proper.

Verbatim comments collected put a wide range of opinions in focus, contrasting “Stop big property developers” and “Fitting in with local architecture” with “Places and people need to change and progress, otherwise we just stay in the Dark Ages”.

The slideshow consists of five sections:

1 Introduction and Background (1 - 11)

2 Top-line Results (12 - 25)

3 Segmentation into "Opinion Tribes" (26 - 48)

4 Detailed Responses for Individual Segments (49 - 57)

5 Detailed Response Scores for Individual Demographic Groups (58 - 95)

You can navigate through the presentation or jump to individual slides by using the tools at the bottom left.

If having viewed it you would like to make an observation or get in contact you can email us on jevingtonfilching@gmail.com.