Visitors comment on country parks
Every year Warwickshire County Council’s Country Parks Service carries out a survey of visitors to find out how satisfied visitors are with the services provided at the parks, and what could be improved.
The latest survey saw 128 visitors complete the questionnaire that was handed out at Ryton Pools and Pooley Country Park from early October to late November 2008 and it shows that, generally satisfaction levels with services at both parks were high.
Most respondents (74%) had travelled from within Warwickshire to visit either park. One in five visitors to Pooley were first time visitors, with the majority of respondents at Ryton Pools being return visitors.
Both parks received high levels of satisfaction with services including overall enjoyment of the visit and general site maintenance being rated highly.
Respondents were given a list of 11 priorities and were asked what would be their top priority for improving the parks. For Pooley, more organised walks and events came out top, and for Ryton it was a bigger café.
Paula Cheesman, the county council’s Country Parks Visitor Manager, said: “Even though the survey was carried out later than usual last year and therefore we had less returns, it is still helpful to see that the public are happy with the service we provide.
“All the answers from the questionnaires have been analysed and a report of the results has been published and can be viewed or downloaded from our website, or a copy will sent to any of the respondents who asked for one. Of course we would love to be able to achieve everything people ask for, but financially, it is not always possible. However, we have already made a start on improving the park signage, and this is an on-going project.”
Visitors do not have to wait for the annual visitor survey to give their views; postage paid suggestion and comment cards are available at all of Warwickshire’s country parks. For further information on Warwickshire’s eight country parks and picnic areas, call Kingsbury Water Park 01827 872660 or visit the website at http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/parks.