Less than half the people in Hertsmere believe the council provides value for money.

That’s according to the latest resident’s survey which showed that people seem to be less satisfied and more concerned about being in Hertsmere than they were three years ago.

Independent researchers carried out 1,000 telephone interviews on people across the borough between February 1 and March 4 of this year, on behalf of Hertsmere Borough Council

It has been three years since the last survey but figures show large drop in confidence on a number of factors.

One of the most significant differences is whether the council provides value for money for its residents. Just 48 per cent said it did, a drop of 17pc from 2014/15.

Satisfaction levels in a number of council services have dropped. Doorstep recycling has decreased by 9pc to 84pc, while satisfaction in street cleaning and grass cutting is 75pc and 81pc respectively.

The proportion of residents who agree that the quality of the council is good has dropped by 11pc while 66pc are satisfied with the way the council runs things, down 8pc. Nearly two thirds of residents are satisfied with the service they received last time they contacted the council, down 9pc.

People reported that fly tipping was one of the biggest issues in the borough, while concerns about young people hanging in streets, rubbish, drug dealing, and vandalism have also risen.

59pc of the people surveyed said police and other public services were “successfully” dealing with issues in the local area, down from 76pc three years ago.

Only 34pc of residents agree that they can influence what happens where they live and only 28pc know who their local councillor is.

More than half of the people surveyed (53pc) want to be more involved in the decisions that affect where they live, up from 44pc in 2014/15.

There were a number of positives to come out of the survey.

83pc of people surveyed said they were satisfied with Hertsmere as a place to live while 88pc are satisfied with the borough’s parks, green spaces, and play areas.

During the day, 96pc of the people surveyed said they feel safe, however this number dropped dramatically to just 67pc which is a 13pc drop from 14/15.

The majority of residents in Hertsmere (85pc) believe the borough is a place where people from different ethnic backgrounds get on together.

Those who responded to the survey were aged from 16-75+ with most aged between 45 and 64. 548 were female and 702 worked, with 168 retired.

Leader of the council, Cllr Morris Bright, said: "A huge thank you to all the residents who gave up some time to give their views when contacted by the independent researchers. This is a very valuable exercise for the council which gives us a good indication of how people feel about living in this fantastic borough and their views on the services we provide as a council.

"We're facing significant challenges in the current financial climate, in common with local authorities and public bodies nationally.

"All these factors help to explain the fall back in figures nationally and in Hertsmere, but we're still doing well and people clearly still feel upbeat about living in the borough which is great news.

For full details on the survey visit https://www.hertsmere.gov.uk/Your-Council/Official-Publications--Guides--Policies/Residents-Survey.aspx