City of York Council is gathering information from more than 13,000 households about their current housing situation and future aspirations.

The results of the postal survey will help to shape the future of housing in the city and, among other things, residents will be asked for:

· information about how many people live in their household
· their reasons for moving to their current home
· whether their households has any specialist needs.
· whether they plan to move in the future, and if so, where to.

The information will be used to help the council understand what sort of housing is needed by residents in York to help it to plan for the future.

Derek Gauld, principal city development officer for the council, said : “The council needs to understand what sorts of homes are needed now and in the future so that we can plan properly. The more people that reply, and the more they tell us about their situation, the more accurate we can be. I would ask everyone who receives a questionnaire to complete it. It is your city and your future, and the more you tell us the better the job we can do.”

Residents have been selected at random to provide a statistically representative cross-section of the views of the city’s population. The survey will be carried out by Fordham Research on behalf of the council and any personal information about respondents will not be disclosed to the council.

The survey will be distributed at the end of February and any residents who it are asked to return the questionnaire no later than 10 April in the pre-paid envelope provided.