Results from Dartford MP Howard Stoate's recent survey of local people have suggested that an overwhelming number of residents have serious concerns over the town's general appearance and want urgent action taken to improve the area.

The results of the survey reveal that local people are angry about the state of Dartford's town centre, with almost three quarters of respondents highlighting issues relating to appearance in their responses.  Residents repeatedly voiced their concerns over the amount of rubbish and litter found on pavements and the rundown look they felt had increasingly come to dominate the town.

Discussing the findings of the survey, Dr Stoate said, "Firstly I want to thank everyone that responded to me on this issue.  The numbers of responses that I received and the almost universally constructive nature of the comments people made, tell me that residents really care about Dartford and its future and want a town centre that in which they can feel pride.

"The survey reveals two consistent themes.  The first is that people are very concerned about the town's appearance.  People have told me it’s tired, rundown and unfortunately, dirty.”

“We have to address this urgently.  I believe that we must look at a person's entire journey into the town, starting from the moment they leave their house, to their first impressions of the town when they enter it, to how they feel when they walk down the high street.  If people leave a town that was easy to enter, offered good transport and parking facilities, possessed clean and tidy streets and facilities, they will want to come back again.

"The second theme revolves around the lack of people who actually identify with Dartford. Older people seemed to think that there was far too much nightlife aimed at young people, who in turn felt that the shops in the town were aimed at people older than them. Commuters tended to think that the relatively low brow nature of some of Dartford's shops meant that there was nothing in the town for them. People felt that the town was for someone else. Clearly this must to be challenged in order to encourage people to use the town centre in greater numbers, and Dartford needs to establish exactly what it is, and to whom it is marketing itself.”

“One of the things that people repeatedly suggested was the need for the town to rediscover its history and use this as something to attract visitors.  I believe that the council really needs to do more to market the town to potential visitors, using this history as the draw that attracts people.  In this way, hopefully people can begin to identify with Dartford once again.”

Now the results of the survey have been revealed, Dr Stoate is intends to use this information to begin the process of restoring some of Dartford’s former glories.  The MP went on to say, “"Now it is time to begin taking action.  The first issue I will raise is that of general cleanliness levels in Dartford, particularly in relation to pavements.  It is quite clear to me and survey respondents, that the council's current efforts at maintaining cleanliness are inadequate.   This must be addressed, and a far more rigorous and regular cleaning regime introduced."

"In the coming days and weeks, I will be highlighting some of the worst examples of dirt and litter that blight the town centre’s pavements on my website, as well as demanding urgent action from the council to rectify the situation.

"To boost my argument, I would be delighted to receive any comments you have on this matter, or indeed any photos that highlight litter, dirt and grime on the streets of our town centre so I can also add these to my website and ensure that the spotlight remains on this issue.  If you would like to contribute, you can email pictures or comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ."

For more details on the results of the survey, and graphs displaying some of the findings, please visit www.howardstoate.com/dartford-town-centre-survey-2009.html

Notes

The survey, sent to residents across the constituency of Dartford, asked people 3 basic questions about the town centre.  Firstly, did the person use the town?  If Yes why did the like visiting, and if NO what put them off?  Secondly, recipients were asked to suggest three improvements that they would like to see made to the town, and finally people were asked what other town centres they visit, and whether or not these towns could give inspiration to Dartford?

The findings of Dr Stoate's survey back up those of the council's own 2008 Place Survey (Click HERE to view a copy) which reveals that level of public satisfaction in the cleanliness of pavements and public land fell from 69% in 2006, to 55.9% in 2008, 4% below the South East average.  At the same time, the survey suggests that less than 53% of residents surveyed identified with their neighbourhood, placing Dartford firmly in the bottom quartile of towns surveyed nationally.