More than 1,500 people responded to our survey seeking views about life in Suffolk in 2018 – and these are the results.

East Anglian Daily Times: Car driving around a pothole. Picture: PACar driving around a pothole. Picture: PA (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

First of all, thank you to everyone who took part in our Suffolk Says survey – more than 1,500 people.

We know your time is precious, so the fact so many of you were happy to devote 10 minutes to answering all 25 questions was fantastic.

The majority of you did the survey online, but we also received hundreds of responses in the post. We had almost 300 more responses than when the survey was last conducted in 2015.

The whole point of this was to give a snapshot of how people feel about living in Suffolk. We asked questions covering a range of subjects, including roads, crime, the NHS and consumer habits.

Some of the stand out points were:

• There are big concerns about our road network, and the quality of the road surface.

• The road project which you feel would relieve our strained infrastructure the most is the Ipswich Northern Bypass. This was the runaway winner with 52% of the vote. Improvements to the A14 were in second place.

• The majority of people really value and are happy with the NHS care they receive, although it can be difficult for some to get a GP appointment.

East Anglian Daily Times: People voted Suffolk's countryside and wildlife as the best thing about living in the county Picture: GREGG BROWNPeople voted Suffolk's countryside and wildlife as the best thing about living in the county Picture: GREGG BROWN

• This survey doesn’t make good reading for town centres. Shopping habits are changing significantly, and the majority of people say they will shop more online in the future. It suggests town centres are probably right to also concentrate on “experience” rather than just retail.

• Nearly 80% of people feel very or quite safe in Suffolk, but violence/knife crime is the main concern.

• If you discount the issues around roads, the lack of affordable homes and cost of living is a growing concern in the county.

• But, for the second survey running, the ‘beautiful countryside and wildlife’ is the main reason people love living in Suffolk, followed by the ‘quality of life’.

East Anglian Daily Times: Most people in our survey said they would shop more online in the future, a move likely to put more pressure on the High Street Picture: Sarah Lucy BrownMost people in our survey said they would shop more online in the future, a move likely to put more pressure on the High Street Picture: Sarah Lucy Brown (Image: Archant)

We will be passing the results of this survey on to the main decision-makers in Suffolk, and it will also influence the issues we cover in the EADT and Ipswich Star.

Thank you again for taking part, we are grateful for your views. We hope it’s provided an interesting view of life in the county in 2018.