Thanks to everyone who took the time to complete a pavilion questionnaire.
We had a very satisfactory 165 responses and it has provided the Parish Council with a very clear view on how we should proceed with this project given that 82% of respondents are broadly in favour of the proposal.

THE RESULTS IN FULL
Of the 165 replies, 47% are over 50, 28% between 36 and 50 and 25% younger. This largely reflects the make up of the village population.

FACILITIES
· 68% felt that the village did not have sufficient facilities
· 87% said that they would like a new facility with 85% favouring a multi-use building
· 80% said that they are not currently a member of a club that would make use of a new meeting room. However 49% said they would in the future make use of a pavilion for society meetings and 60% would do so for a club
· Around half the respondents said that they would make more use of the Recreation Ground itself if there were a new pavilion.

HOW MANY IN FAVOUR
· 82% are broadly in favour of a new pavilion
· 79 people also said that they would be in favour of a new pavilion if certain changes where made.

LOCATION
· 80% agreed with the proposed location
· Alternatives suggested included the existing site, the bottom of the Recreation Ground and next to the car park

GETTING INVOLVED
· An astonishing 75 people indicated that they would get involved in some way with the project.
· 64 wanted to be involved in fundraising activity, 26 in a working group to make it happen and 13 offered skills which would be relevant to the project.

WHAT ABOUT THE COMMENTS?
Whilst a very significant majority voted in favour, a minority, but important number of people decided it was not in the best interests of Oving and put forward constructive criticism about the proposed pavilion.
All constructive comments will be taken on board. The questionnaire was designed to tease out residents’ views and it certainly achieved that. A selection of the key themes that emerged from the responses is detailed below.

KEY FEEDBACK THEMES

Children’s Playground
Many people wanted reassurance that the children’s playground will be re-sited in an appropriate and safe location and that we should take the opportunity to upgrade the facilities.

What to do with the current buildings
Some residents wanted to know what would happen to the current pavilion, the old white wooden pavilion and Reading Room. It is anticipated that when the new facility is built we will dismantle the old facilities, but keep the Reading Room as it represents a building with considerable heritage in the village. In any event further consultation will take place on these points.

Design pro’s and con’s
As you might expect some people like and some dislike the building style. Overall people are in favour but want interior detail and design elements to be further considered which will of course be done.

Cost of ongoing maintenance
Many people asked what the ongoing management and maintenance plans are and what the cost would be. This will be developed further but the objective is that the facility will be self funding and as a modern building will benefit from low maintenance costs.

Traffic concerns
Additional traffic and parking requirements featured in many responses with concerns raised about how this would be tackled within the village. As the project develops it is intended that a group consider these issues specifically to strike the right balance for all concerned.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
The Parish Council considered the results of the survey at its March meeting and agreed, in the light of the very positive response, to go ahead with the project.

A full briefing will be given at the next Annual Village Meeting, which will be held in All Saints Church at 8.00pm on Thursday 10th May. This follows the Parish Council AGM, which takes place on Tuesday 8th May in the Reading room.

The Parish Council will follow up the respondents who offered assistance and aim to confirm what level of involvement and experience residents can offer.

The objective now is to formalise the steering group sub-committee of the Parish Council and establish three working groups to drive the project forward.

1. Fundraising
2. Location, design and specification including project management
3. Building implementation

Thanks to everyone who responded and also to all those people who assisted in contributing to the debate and ultimately the questionnaire. Particular thanks must go to Roger Ball, Mark Ryan, David Smith and Chris George.