Community Strategy
Working together to improve the quality of life of those living and working in East Kent
The Local Government Act 2000 gave local authorities the duty to prepare a Community Strategy for their area, in partnership with other stakeholders. The Community Strategy is a long-term vision and sets out how to improve the quality of life and services in a local area.
Local authorities were encouraged to set up non-statutory, multi-agency Local Strategic Partnerships (LSP), to develop this long-term vision. A LSP brings together at a local level the different parts of the public, private, community and voluntary sectors.
A combination of organisations, and the community, working together as part of an LSP will have a far greater chance of meeting the needs of local communities, improving public services and delivering economic, social and physical regeneration.
The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 extended the duty to develop Sustainable Community Strategies to other public sector organisations, principally including the Primary Care Trust, Police Authority and the Fire & Rescue Service.
The LSP also delivers the improvements in the local area agreement.
A new performance framework, the Comprehensive Area Assessment, will assess how well these key partners work together.
The Dover District is now part of an East Kent Local Strategic Partnership, covering the geographical area of Canterbury, Dover, Shepway and Thanet. The proposal for an integrated East Kent LSP received strong support in a range of consultation activities culminating in a stakeholder conference in December 2007.
The East Kent Local Strategic Partnership was formally established on the 1st April 2008. The partnership brings together the public bodies, businesses and voluntary and community sectors in a voluntary partnership to work towards a prosperous and caring community.
The partnership has appointed an independent Chair, Stephen Kingsman, and Partnership Director, Janet Waghorn.
A management group oversees the day-to-day operations and steer of the partnership. This consists of key partners with a “duty to co-operate”, namely the four District Councils, Kent County Council SEEDA, Kent Police and the Eastern and Coastal Primary Care Trust.
The purpose of the East Kent Local Strategic Partnership (EKLSP) is to promote the economic, social and environmental well-being of the area, improving the quality of life for all.
The EKLSP is responsible for developing an East Kent Sustainable Community Strategy identifying common issues and priorities and clearly supporting the Vision for Kent (Kent County Council’s Sustainable Community Strategy).
It will also oversee the Local Action Plan element of Kent Agreement 2 (Local Area Agreement) for East Kent.
The partnership will be the strategic body under which specific partnerships (such as Community Safety Partnerships) and initiatives will tackle key projects and priorities.
A range of common priority areas for East Kent have been identified:
It will be the role of the EKLSP to reach consensus on the key areas for focus.
The East Kent Local Strategic Partnership will build on the strengths of existing local partnerships and networks to keep a link to local communities and groups and influence wider priorities and resources. The partnership will work to ensure inclusivity of community stakeholders in developing district and East Kent working-groups.
A Stakeholder Forumis being created t o provide an open and inclusive forum where all stakeholders can engage and influence the future direction of the EKLSP and the future of East Kent. This will meet once a year.
Please see the EKLSP website www.eastkentlsp.org.uk
You can also contact Janet Waghorn, Partnership Director, East Kent LSP for more details.
Tel: (01304) 820312 or e-mail: janet@eastkentlsp.org.uk
E-mail: policy@dover.gov.uk