March: What Residents Think About Arnside & Glencoyne Square

By: Cecilia Casadio, Glencoyne Square Project Coordinator

Were you around on Arnside or Glencoyne last summer when we met residents to ask everyone how healthy the area makes them feel?

We conducted a survey in partnership with the Urban Planning and Design department at the University of the West of England (UWE), and many of you met Rachel (smiling in the pic) from UWE who I worked alongside. Rachel also met and spoke with residents at Team Southmead, St Stephen’s Church, Greenway Centre, and in shops and businesses.

The reason for finding out how people currently use and think about Glencoyne and Arnside is so we can compare answers to what people say after the new housing on Glencoyne is built and the pedestrian area on Arnside is extended. We hope that the Glencoyne Square development will have a positive impact on everyone’s experience of our shopping area.

But meanwhile, thank you to the 45 residents who answered our questions about how things are now, and below is what we found out from the survey or by closely observing residents using the area:

1. Most people visit Arnside and Greystoke more than once a week.

2. More than half think that the area is welcoming.

3. More than half felt that the area does not help them to be healthy. But more than a third said it did help them to be healthy – this could be to do with the social nature of Southmead and being able to access fresh fruit and veg at Aldi.

4. The areas with the biggest room for improvement are:

• Residents being listened to and having a say in what goes on
• Care and maintenance
• Feeling safe
• Housing and community
• Work availability, training, and volunteering

5. The aspects that residents are most happy about are:

• Moving around the area
• Identity and belonging
• Opportunities for social interaction
• Facilities and services available

6. By observing how people use Arnside and Greystoke, we found that:

• Seating benches are well used to rest, enjoy the sun, sort out shopping bags, chat, eat and drink.
• Arnside and Greystoke are very social. Early in the morning when there is a gap in traffic noise, we could hear a hubbub of people talking. We saw sizes of groups changing as people stopped to meet and talk. In the evening young people hang out in the area.
• People of all ages drop litter.
• The metal benches get pulled apart.
• The Glencoyne grassed area is not used for picnics, but benches are well used by everyone.
• The afternoon period after school is a busy time.

If you would like to read the detailed report on our survey and observations, please get in touch and we can send you a copy.

Email: info@southmead.org, or call: 0117 950 3335