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Demographics of residents who completed the questionnaire Male Female 11-15 16-17 18-24 025-44 • 45-59 D60-64 E65-74 • 75-84 O85+ Male Female 11-15 16-17 18-24 25-44 45-59 60-64 65-74 75-84 85+ Background The aim of the Parish Plan process was to arrive at a set of proposals for action firmly based on an understanding of what Hopton residents saw as the key issues in the village and the countryside around it. To do this well it was essential to involve as many residents as possible in the process and to gain a wide cross-section of views. A group of interested residents and Parish Councillors designed a questionnaire and obtained funding from Norfolk Rural Community Council to produce the plan. In November 2007 a questionnaire was circulated to every household in the village. Once collected in, and data collated (a mammoth task in itself), an open day was held in the village to display the data collected. There were graphs and pie charts to illustrate local opinion, with a PowerPoint showing the main points highlighted from the data. The parish plan data was displayed together with information and representatives from groups and projects operating within the village, and the plans for the new village hall for every- one to see. The data was then scrutinised and priorities were agreed with realistic time frames. The Questionnaires A total of some 900 questionnaires were distributed and more than 400 were returned. A 44% return rate is very high for this type of survey (10% to 15% is more typical) and gives a high level of confidence in the questionnaire findings and a very strong foundation from which to develop the Plan. The high return rate is due to a high level of community interest in the Parish together with the efforts made by the team in both distribution and collection of questionnaires. The questionnaires produced a large amount of information about all aspects of Hopton, resident's perception and hopes and fears for the future and a good deal more! The results provided a clear and generally consistent picture about respon- dents' attitudes towards the Parish, with some important differences between the age groups. There was the facility for up to 6 members of the households to fill in their individual view of Hopton allowing 949 people to feed into and influence the plan. The results represent 949 people from Hopton-on-Sea, with 52% of respon- dents being male and 48% female, with the majority of those between 25 - 74 years. Local social facilities • Good nReasonable • Poor Children up to Young people People 26-60 People over 60 16 17-25
