The Young In English And Welsh Coalfield Communities

More young people living in English and Welsh coalfield communities hope to move from the area than wish to stay, according to new research from the MORI Social Research Institute. The survey was commissioned by Regenerate and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust to ascertain what young people in coalfield areas think of their living environment and of their future prospects.

The survey shows more than two in five young people (44%) want to move to a different area, whilst more than a third (36%) want to stay in the area where they currently live.

When asked if they are actually satisfied with the area where they live, half (49%) say they are satisfied and a fifth (22%) say they are dissatisfied. The things they like best about the area where they live is the closeness of friends and family (34%) and the fact they have lived there a long time, or all of their life (33%). Good transport is named by three in 10 (29%) and parks/green spaces are highlighted by one in five (19%).

Only one young person in the entire sample liked their local area because it offers good jobs/employment opportunities. A fifth (19%) cite better job opportunities for young people as something that needs improving. Other improvements which young people think need to be made include more places to go out in the evening (34%), more or better parks and green spaces (30%) and more attention to the clearance of litter and rubbish (28%).

As far as college or university is concerned, three in five girls (61%) see higher education as very important, compared with half of boys (51%). Young people seem optimistic that they will go on to further/higher education, with 87% of girls and 81% of boys thinking it likely that they will go on to college or university in the future.

• Topline Results pdf, 102KB

Technical details

• Research conducted by MORI on behalf of The Coalfields Regeneration Trust
• Self-completion questionnaire sessions were conducted among 364 young people in school years 10 and 11 (aged 14-16) in coalfield areas in 25 sampling points across England and Wales
• Fieldwork carried out in 25 schools between 18 September and 14 October 2002

At the analysis stage, data have been weighted using target rim weights for the numbers of young people affected by coalfield issues in each region, to adjust for any discrepancies in the coverage of individual sampling points and to ensure representativeness.