On Saturday 1 October Love Hilton, with the help of uMngeni Municipality, began circulating the Love Hilton Perception Survey. When the survey closed on the 2nd November, we received 614 responses, which were fairly evenly distributed across the Hilton area. The aim was to gauge how Hiltonians feel about the five key areas that we’ve identified, as well as general feelings and perceptions.
Safety and Security
Residents appear to feel safe in Hilton, with only 14% of respondents indicating that they’d been a victim of crime in the last 2 years. Hilton has had a significant drop in crime, which is largely due to the success of the Hilton Community Security Initiative.
The monthly spend on security is significant and averages at about R550 per month per household. The aim of the Urban Improvement Precinct will be to allocate a significant portion of the budget to further increase security and safety in Hilton.
General Cleanliness and Tidiness
The survey showed that the majority of residents believe that everyone should share the responsibility for a cleaner Hilton and that it’s important to have clean and well-maintained verges. The stats around cleanliness and tidiness tie in with the analysis of the comments which showed the importance of community, people, and the environment.
The aim of Love Hilton is to continue and expand the fantastic work being carried out by the HRA and CWP (begun by the HBI).
Maintenance and Development of Public Spaces
Most residents believe that there aren’t enough recreational spaces, public walkways, and commuter facilities. There are also notable issues around traffic law enforcement and traffic control mechanisms.
Some of these responsibilities fall on the municipality but our aim is to assist the municipality in identifying priorities and making sure that they are tied to IDP Submissions.
The development of recreational spaces around Hilton is a priority for the UIP, and we have begun identifying projects to cater to the community. An obvious blind spot, echoed by many respondents, is the lack of spaces for teenagers, which is now a top priority.
The Natural Environment and Green Issues
The level of recycling in Hilton is high and it is important that these facilities are maintained. There is strong support for maintaining and managing green spaces in and around Hilton.
There is a need for a garden refuse site, and we have been researching this as an important project.
Residents have expressed a lot of concern about invasive species. Ground Truth is making extraordinary progress with the Hilton Rail Trail Project. This exciting project aims to clear the old railway lines so that they can be utilised for trail running, cycling, and walking. Clear-ups are ongoing and the community is urged to get involved.
We all need to do our part to rid gardens and verges of alien invaders that cause havoc. Programmes are starting to educate residents about which species to get rid of and why this is so important.
Attending to Social Issues
Hilton residents are in favour of supporting and promoting sports, arts, culture, and entertainment. Unemployment is considered the biggest social problem in Hilton.
The development of co-ops and supporting SMMEs will need to be an integral part of the UIP strategy. Assisting in addressing unemployment will have a positive impact on other social issues.
General
The results of the keyword analysis from the comments highlight the importance of community, village atmosphere, environment, and open spaces.
When it comes to what’s getting us down, as expected its electricity. Hot on its heels is the condition of the roads and traffic. People are also concerned about development and there’s the fear that Hilton will turn into Hillcrest. Love Hilton and the HRA have elected Craig Millar as leader of the Infrastructure and Planning Committee and the commitment of Love Hilton is to nurture green multi-purpose community spaces and to engage with the municipality around future development.
The Love Hilton UIP won’t duplicate services that are provided by the municipality. Rather, our focus is partnering with uMngeni Municipality to optimise service delivery, while also providing additional services. These services and initiatives aim to improve the quality of life and increase property value and local tourism. Importantly, the Love Hilton UIP will actively lobby the municipality for investment in infrastructure that will have social and economic benefits for everyone that lives and works here.