Results from our annual survey of residents' satisfaction with Council services and facilities

Residents Survey 2020

The Council carries out a Residents Opinion Survey each year, to seek feedback from residents on their satisfaction with services like water supplies, roads, community facilities and rubbish collection.

The survey helps us to hear community views on how we’re performing, and helps inform our planning processes and service delivery.

The 2020 survey was carried out by independent research agency Research First over a two-week period during July. A total of 400 respondents, sourced through random telephone sampling, were surveyed using a mix of telephone, mobile phone and online channels to ensure a statistically representative sample.

Note: for the Water Services, Waste Management and Community Facilities sections, we survey satisfaction among both “users” of the services, and “all residents” (ie including those who don’t use or receive the service).

The online survey was also promoted through social media, with the aim of canvassing the views of younger residents. A total of 224 residents completed the survey via this method. As this is not a statistically representative sample, these results are reported separately from the main survey.

Key results

  • Overall satisfaction with Council performance was 63% (down from 69% last year)
  • 92% of respondents agree “Selwyn is a good place to live” (down 1% from 2018)
  • 82% of users are satisfied with sewerage and wastewater services, and 76% satisfied with water supply.
  • 52% of residents are satisfied with footpaths, and 50% satisfied with cycleways
  • 94% of users are satisfied with rubbish collection, and 91% satisfied with organic collection
  • 87% of users are satisfied with council-operated swimming pools, and 86% satisfied with playgrounds
  • In Water Services, all measures recorded an increase in satisfaction among users
  • In Land Transport, 2 out of 6 measures recorded an increase across “all residents”
  • In Waste Management, 3 out of 4 measures recorded a decrease among users
  • In Community facilities, 2 out of 8 measures recorded a decrease among users

2020 residents survey stats

Read the full 2020 Residents Opinion Survey report. [PDF, 1200 KB]

Covid-19

A number of Council services and facilities were closed or limited for a significant period during Covid-19 lockdown conditions. The researchers note that the survey was conducted not long after New Zealand exited Covid-19 lockdown, and it is uncertain as to whether this timing may have impacted on the data collected.