RAPIDLY-growing Kesgrave is enlisting the help of residents to complete a new survey that will guide the future development of the town.More than 1,000 questionnaires have been sent out to households and businesses across Kesgrave, with the aim of gauging local opinion on a number of key issues.

RAPIDLY-growing Kesgrave is enlisting the help of residents to complete a new survey that will guide the future development of the town.

More than 1,000 questionnaires have been sent out to households and businesses across Kesgrave, with the aim of gauging local opinion on a number of key issues.

Questions in the survey have been categorised under a number of broad headings, including roads, residential layout and design, town centre, open spaces and youth activities.

The survey asks people to tick a box to indicate their level of support for certain issues, such as providing a bypass for Kesgrave.

Results from the survey will be used to compile a community plan for Kesgrave, which is currently in draft form.

Henry Ferguson, project manager for the Kesgrave Town Plan, said the survey was vital in shaping the future development of Kesgrave.

He said: "This level of consultation will provide a very reliable measure of public opinion with a low margin of error. Of course, the higher the response rate, the higher the more accurate the results."

He said the council was first alerted to the need for a community plan ten years ago after a spurt of rapid growth in Kesgrave.

Funding for the survey has been partly generated through a grant from the Countryside Agency. The council has hired local research consultants New Perspectives to carry it out.

The return date for completed surveys is October 31. Extra copies are available from the Kesgrave Town Council office, in Ferguson Way, Kesgrave.