Sustainable Community Strategy
What is a Community Strategy?
Under the Local Government Act 2000, local
authorities have a duty to prepare, with their partners, a
community strategy.
A Community Strategy is, as the name implies,
a plan focussing on the needs and issues of local communities to
improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of an area
and improve the quality of life for everyone.
There are four main
parts:
- A long-term vision (typically 10 – 20 years)
focussing on achievable results (the difference the strategy will
make).
- An action plan identifying short-term
priorities and activities.
- A shared commitment between local partners to
put the action plan into practice.
- Arrangements to monitor whether the plan is
delivering.
As the Community Strategy represents a shared
vision, it should involve local people and organisations as
much as possible, this is usually through a local strategic
partnership. The plan should also ensure the economic, social
and environmental concerns are tackled in a balanced and
sustainable way.
Community strategies can:
- Be powerful for engaging local communities to
discuss their needs and ideas
- Provide direction for joining the work of
local partners
- Provide the potential to secure greater
efficiency and effectiveness in the use of public, private and
voluntary resources
- Provide an opportunity to share and learn
from everyone's experiences
The big issues for the District cannot be
solved by any one agency; therefore partnership working is the most
important element of the Community Strategy. In short, a
community strategy is a practical tool for 'joining things' locally
and tackling issues together.
An East Kent Local Strategic Partnership
(EKLSP) was established in April 2008, covering the Districts of
Canterbury, Dover, Shepway and Thanet. Within its remit the EKLSP
has the responsibility for developing a Sustainable Community
Strategy for the area, identifying common issues and priorities and
clearly supporting the Vision for Kent (Kent
County Council’s Sustainable Community Strategy).
East Kent Sustainable Community Strategy: Lighting the Way
to Success
The East
Kent Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) is now
available on the East Kent LSP website. Community consultation is
pivotal to its success and we undertook wide consultation to
give local people, groups and organisations a say in telling us
what they thought about some of the biggest issues facing the
area. The final strategy has been revised in light of the
consultation responses received - thank you for taking the time to
respond. You can also view the Experian report which was
used to inform the development of the SCS. The partnership
is now developing the action plans to support the
delivery of the SCS and these will be published towards the
end of the year. If you would like to be involved in helping
to develop these action plans, please contact the East Kent Local Strategic
Partnership.
Engaging and involving local people is an
on-going process. The East Kent LSP is keen to know what your
interests are and what you would like to know more about with
regards to the SCS. For example, would you like to learn more about
health inequalities or more about a particular district? The
partnership is currently thinking of putting together a series
of single-topic events and welcome your thoughts on what these
should be. Any comments should link to the Sustainable
Community Strategy and the action plan themes.
Six themes have been identified in the East Kent Sustainable
Community Strategy. These are:
1. Education:
Educational excellence that supports
ambition, achievement and skills, for the workplace and beyond.
2. Economic:
Economic enterprise that is
confident, resilient and with the support of local higher and
further education institutions, innovative enough to
seize opportunities presented new markets and emerging
technology.
3.
Communities:
Fairer, stronger and healthier
communities in resurgent coastal towns, enjoying high quality homes
and an enviable quality of life.
4. Transport:
A high quality integrated
transport network, with reduced congestion and pollution, offering
a wide choice of accessible transport for all sections of the
community.
5. Visitor
destination:
A distinctive profile as a visitor
destination, with a wealth of cultural treasures, sustaining a
thriving tourist economy.
6.
Environment:
The priceless assets of its unique
natural environment and a commitment to protect it for future
generations.
Government guidance on sustainable community strategies
states:
"The purpose of a sustainable
community strategy is to set the overall strategic direction and
long-term vision for the economic, social and environmental
wellbeing of a local area - typically 10-20 years - in a way that
contributes to sustainable development in the UK. It tells
the 'story of place' - the distinctive vision and ambition of the
area, backed by clear evidence and analysis."
The East Kent Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS)
is therefore a fundamentally important document setting out a
clear, long-term vision for the future of East Kent over the next
twenty years, outlining the steps needed to be taken in order to
make the vision a reality.
At a county level, there is a Local Area
Agreement between Kent County Council and central Government. The
Kent Agreement 2 sets targets for the whole of Kent and is linked
to the issues and priorities laid out in the Vision for Kent (Kent
County Council’s Sustainable Community Strategy).
Contact details for the East Kent Local Strategic
Partnership
Contact
E-mail: policy@dover.gov.uk
