Minehead Community Survey 2026: What You Told Us

Earlier this year, we invited local people to take part in a community survey to help us better understand how people feel about Minehead, what matters most to them, and where they would like to see improvements in our work in the future.

The survey forms part of our wider evaluation of our work and helps ensure that local voices continue to shape our work and future projects.

We received 214 responses during March and April, representing a broad range of ages, backgrounds, and lengths of residency in Minehead.

Firstly, thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the survey. Your feedback has provided valuable insight into the strengths of our community, as well as the challenges that many people feel the town faces.

A Community That Cares About Minehead

One of the strongest messages to emerge from the survey was that people care deeply about Minehead.

Many respondents said they feel proud to live here and highlighted the town’s strong sense of community, friendly atmosphere, and connection to the surrounding coast and countryside.

This reflects what we see every day through our projects and partnerships. Across Minehead, there are countless people who volunteer their time, support local groups, organise events, look after community and open spaces, and contribute to making the town a better place to live.

More than half of respondents (53%) said they had volunteered for a local group, club, or organisation within the last 12 months, demonstrating the strong community spirit that exists across the town.

The Challenges Residents Want Addressed

While there is clearly a great deal of pride in Minehead, respondents were equally clear about the challenges they believe need attention.

The issues raised most consistently throughout the survey were:

  • Limited employment and educational opportunities
  • Poor public transport and access to services
  • A need for more activities and opportunities for young people

When asked what would improve Minehead, 85% of respondents identified better local services and public transport as a priority, while 72% highlighted employment and educational opportunities.

Many respondents also spoke about the need for improved health and wellbeing facilities, increased feelings of safety and security, and more opportunities for young people to socialise, learn and develop skills.

These are significant challenges, many of which extend beyond the remit of any single organisation. However, understanding these concerns is an important first step in ensuring that local priorities are reflected in future conversations, partnerships, and projects.

Building Stronger Community Connections

The survey also explored what would help people feel more connected to their community.

The strongest response was a desire for more information about how to get involved in community activities, with 60% of respondents selecting this option.

Many people also said they would value:

  • More opportunities to meet and connect with others
  • More community spaces
  • More volunteering opportunities

This suggests that while there is already a strong community spirit in Minehead, there are still improvements to make to ensure people can get involved and discover what is happening locally.

As a charity, helping people connect with opportunities, projects, and each other remains a key part of our work.

A Strong Connection to Nature

The survey highlighted the importance of Minehead’s natural environment to local people.

An overwhelming 93% of respondents said they feel connected to Minehead’s open spaces and natural landscapes. In addition, 67% expressed concern about the impacts of climate change on the town, while 73% said they would like to do more to support nature and the environment locally.

When asked how they would like to get involved, the most popular activities included:

  • Creating wildlife-friendly gardens and spaces
  • Beach cleans and litter picks
  • Citizen science and wildlife surveying

These findings reinforce the importance of protecting and enhancing the natural environment that makes Minehead such a special place to live and visit.

What People Would Like to See in the Future

Alongside the structured survey questions, respondents shared hundreds of comments and suggestions about the future of Minehead.

Several themes appeared repeatedly, including:

  • Better public transport connections, particularly links to Taunton
  • More events, festivals and cultural activities throughout the year
  • Improved opportunities for young people
  • Better health and wellbeing facilities
  • Support for a community swimming pool
  • Protection of green spaces and the natural environment
  • Improvements to the seafront and visitor experience
  • A stronger sense of community responsibility and pride

Many of these themes align closely with conversations already taking place across local organisations, community groups and public bodies.

What This Means for MCDT

One interesting finding was that over half of respondents (52%) said they had never heard of Minehead and Coast Development Trust.

While we know our projects reach many people, this tells us that we need to do a better job of communicating who we are, what we do, and how people can get involved.

The survey findings will help inform our future work and priorities, as well as our discussions with local partners and stakeholders.

Importantly, they provide a snapshot of how local people currently feel about Minehead: a town with strong community spirit, beautiful natural surroundings, and passionate residents, but also one facing real challenges that people want to see addressed.

Thank You

We are grateful to everyone who took part in the survey and shared their views.

Community feedback helps ensure that local people remain at the heart of decision-making and that future projects respond to genuine local needs and aspirations.

We look forward to continuing these conversations and working alongside the community to help make Minehead an even better place to live, work and visit.