WEST Devon residents are being urged to take part in an online survey about remote working away from town and city centre offices. The survey is being funded by Devon Renaissance, the rural regeneration partnership organisation for the county, and is being carried out by Broadband Access Strategies. The aim is to find out what demand there is for flexible managed workspace in rural areas, to identify potential locations for such places, and to estimate the cost of setting up and running them to make sure they are economically sustainable. There are two surveys accessible from the website, one for employees to gauge whether people would like to reduce the cost and time involved in commuting to and from work, and one for businesses which might have started out as working from home but which now need dedicated office space to expand. Devon Renaissance is funding the £42,000 project. The organisation's Simon Mallett said: 'Flexible managed workspace could address a number of important issues, including reducing travelling between home and office, saving both time and reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and the increasing problem of congestion. 'If we find that people want to travel less and that there is a demand for such facilities, flexible managed workspace could be a sustainable solution.' Ken Singleton of Broadband Access Strategies of Buckfastleigh said: 'We want people to go onto our website at http://www.devonflexwork.co.uk">www.devonflexwork.co.uk and fill in one of the surveys. 'We are also leafleting 500 homes in each of Kingsbridge, Buckfastleigh, Okehampton, Axminster and Holsworthy encouraging people to take part, and we have plans to do a similar leaflet drop in Tavistock. 'Whether you are an employee wanting to work flexibly but having difficulty convincing your employer to allow you to do so, or just don't have the space to work at home; or you are a small company needing some office space, we would like to hear from you.'