In early December 2019 a pilot survey was sent out to every household in Kirkcowan. The survey was very open-ended and encouraged people to write about their ideas for the village and also what they thought the challenges were. People were also asked about what they value most about
Kirkcowan. An identical online survey was also put up on Google Forms to encourage as many people as possible to answer. Survey results for the Pilot survey questionnaire can be seen in Appendix 2.
Some of the ideas people put forward in the Pilot survey questionnaire were then included in the Main Survey in a bid to ensure people’s ideas were put out to everyone and to help create a sense of ownership over the Community Action Plan. The Pilot survey was also a great way of understanding and sensing the community’s response to being sent a questionnaire to fill in.
In January 2020 a drop-in meeting was held at Kirkcowan Village Hall to help people understand more about how the Trust works, give them a chance to meet the Directors of the Trust and to share ideas. Approximately 50 people turned up and ideas and comments were shared which were later collated and used for the Main survey.
A list of the ideas and comments collated at the drop in meeting can be seen in Appendix 3
The Pilot survey was sent out to 267 households within Kirkcowan Community Council area with 47 responses received, which has an answer rate of 18% which is considered good. The survey was written quite openly to allow for different views and perceived challenges to be expressed.
Top 5 things about Kirkcowan
- People/Community
- Quiet rural location
- Lovely surroundings/Scenery
- Post Office/shop
- Park
Top 5 perceived challenges in the community
- Ageing population
- Lack of employment
- Retaining young people in the village
- Ensuring that the whole community gets informed about what is going on with KCDT
- GP shortage
Ideas for using the windfarm money
- Improving play park
- Increase/improve paths
- Improve village hall
There were also a lot of other ideas which were suggested and some of these were included in the main survey as options to get a clearer picture on how the people of Kirkcowan felt about specific ideas & projects.