LETTER: Council raising anxiety levels

According to Experion, Elmbridge, Surrey was the best place to live in England in 2012 using 48 indicators. Horsham was fifth though two years ago it was second.

Now we learn of a government study (Office for National Statistics - ONS) which places Horsham as ‘…the most anxious place in UK’.

Horsham’s planning department is ranked bottom of all local authority planning departments in the country. Are all these linked?

In your paper ( November 14th 2013), you reported that councillor Sue Rogers (Cabinet Member for Safer and Healthier District) has already undertaken ‘an investigation’ and concluded in a week that the study should be ‘ looked at with a degree of caution’.

ONS reference tables - www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/ -

show the average ratings in Horsham for Life Satisfaction, Worthwhile, Happiness and Anxiety.

In relation to anxiety, Horsham had an average anxiety score of 4.11 out of 10 in 2012/13. This was the highest average score for anxiety among the local authority districts for which the data has been published.

A week may be sufficient time to examine in depth why Horsham records the highest average score but to understand the causes must surely need longer?

Councillor Rogers blames the ‘lack of follow-up questions’ but perhaps that wasn’t in the ONS design and after all it was the same for all local authorities and yet we have the highest anxiety score.

Councillor Rogers said ‘people experience anxiety as part of their normal life’ and then goes on to say that we feel anxious when we are ‘worried, stressed, under pressure and when they are in a low mood’.