Posted by Editor

Tell Us What You Think

Between February and March 2016, PBC carried out a survey of the community. We had a total of 159 responses:

  • Door-to-door: random houses from 28 different streets across the south side of Peebles
  • Canvassing on Peebles High Street
  • Filled in online via PBC website
  • Local stakeholders, organisations and businesses were also invited to respond

Thanks to everyone who responded! Here’s what we found out…

 

We asked:
“What’s missing on the South Side of Peebles?”
Here are your ideas:

Stuff for youth/kids/families: Play areas for older children; skate park; hang out space for non-sporty children; kid friendly soft play; place for older kids to meet in the evening (dry bar); football pitch; bike racks; parenting group; baby change facilities; mums groups

Stuff for organisations: Meeting space for Brownies; Hall for Scouts; floor space big enough for drama groups; music space; affordable exhibition space; inexpensive halls and meeting rooms; function hall; light and airy hall like St Josephs Neighborhood Centre; venue for clubs

Stuff for older adults: Rooms for University of the 3rd Age;  small shop for older people; lunch and chat equivalent; drop in for older adults; gathering space for older folks; elderly clubs

Community ideas: Community enterprise eg bakery, flower shop, garden centre, breakfast club; vegetable garden; book swap facility; community hub/centre

General facilities: shops (5 people mentioned this); a church (4 mentions); a pub (3 mentions); cash point; space for Quakers to meet

 

We asked:
“How useful do you think the following would be in the proposed church/community building?”

A Meeting place for community groups?
74% people said that would be useful or very useful

A Community Café/drop-in?
87% said useful or very useful

Publically Accessible toilets?
71% said useful or very useful

Attractive affordable space for parties/events?
74% said useful or very useful

Meeting rooms for businesses and services?
69% said useful or very useful

 

We asked:
Have you heard of Peebles Baptist Church before this?

59% of people had heard of us. Of these, when asked what they knew of us:

30% (27 people) said “not much” – they knew we exist but that was all.

13% ( 12 people) used to go to the church in times past.

4 people thought we were still meeting at the Victoria Park Centre.

9 people commented on the Peeblesshire news article.

7 people were members of other churches, and knew about us that way.

2 mentioned Messy Church, 1 mentioned the Big Sunday Festival, 2 mentioned Vicky’s Tearoom and 7 mentioned the Community Garden.

22% (20 people) gave positive comments and feedback:

  • “Welcoming, strong values, work hard for the community.”
  • “A friendly bunch.”
  • “Part of the community.”
  • “A homeless church.”
  • “I know of the pastor.”
  • “Don’t have a building but are relaxed and welcoming.”
  • “Youthful.”
  • “I have friends in the church.”
  • “Small and thriving.”
  • “Like the idea of them building a church nearby – I might come.”
  • “Heard the music on Sundays from VPC.”
  • “They join with other churches.”
  • “A building here would  help the park to be better used, especially if it had toilets and a baby change point.”
  • “I was aware that they ran the tea room and that they are very supportive of people with dementia.”
  • “Minister is actively involved in community and environmental events.”

There were a few less positive comments:

  • 1 person asked “why can’t churches share buildings?”
  • 1 thought we were boring, with an average age of 182
  • 2 were concerned about parking and traffic
  • 3 thought Peebles has enough halls
  • 1 (lives on Cleland Avenue behind our land) was concerned about losing the view
  • 2 thought that the North side has the facilities and we can use them

 

Feedback from Organisations

“We have collaborated with Peebles Baptist Church over the previous 2 Big Sunday Festivals and I know they’re a pleasure to work with 🙂
I’ve also been very impressed with the growing space they’ve set up in Victoria Park and would like to help them establish a link between the food grown there and eating it at a community event.” (Tweeddale Youth Action)

“[Peebles Baptist Church] are very community orientated. They have a community garden and their Minister is interested and active in environmental and community events” (Tweedgreen)

“We would definitely use the meeting space, as finding business like meeting rooms of a high quality in Peebles is actually quite difficult.  There isn’t actually anywhere apart from hotels that offers this at the moment in Peebles, you can rent rooms or halls but somewhere that is set up with tables, chairs, audio visual in a clean and modern space would be brilliant.” (PYT)

“I am involved with Peebles Community Radio. We are looking for somewhere to have a small office/studio. When I heard about your plans I thought it would be good to touch base and see if there would be any long term space available within the new hub from which we could base our Community station.” (Peebles Community Radio)

“[Peebles Baptist Church] is a vibrant Christian presence in the town and actively involved, both as a congregation and in partnership with other churches in the town, in much Christian witness in Peebles. I think that the provision of a place of worship on the ever-growing south side of the town is very desirable.
I think too that a new church building can be a community focus for the south of the town, though ideally a site closer to the Whitehaugh and Kittlegairy estates would be the ideal.  The proposed site is still quite close to the town centre. (Old Parish)