Interim Corporate Plan 2010– 2013
Foreword
Like many other organisations and businesses Dover District
Council is feeling the full impact of the economic downturn and
uncertainty. We need to take steps and put in place measures to
support our communities and to ensure the Dover District is
well-placed to prepare for recovery.
In the longer term we will continue to be ambitious for the area
and our residents, and aim to become a World-Class District as set
out in our Corporate Plan 2008 – 2020:
Our Vision: ‘A future of strong economic growth within
safe and sustainable
communities’
However, public finances are under extreme pressure, with
central Government’s deficit expected to be in the order of £175
billion – impacting on everyone who lives, studies and works in the
District.
This interim corporate plan helps us put in place those measures
to support our communities, whilst moving steadily towards our
longer-term ambitions for the District.
In a period of recession we will continue to prioritise front
line service delivery within a customer first culture and we will
continue to be a low taxing authority.
The Council’s main budget pressures are coming from static or
reducing grant from Central Government, falling income from
interest on investments and services associated with economic
activity, so for example planning, building control and local land
charges, Council house sales also remain low. The Council also
expects to face increasing costs outside its control, such as free
bus passes, climate change demands and the costs of recycling.
We are taking steps to respond to these pressures and we
continue to create high levels of savings in our operations,
without impacting on service delivery, such as sharing Human
Resources and Audit support across East Kent, reducing the number
of staff we have, and introducing innovative ways of working
through electronic services, reducing the costs of postage and
sharing staff with other East Kent Local Authorities.
Plans are also beginning to take shape to see how much more we
can do to keep our costs down, including continuing to hold pay
awards down in line with national public sector levels, sharing
waste services with Shepway District Council and other partners,
working with Thanet District Council to reduce the costs of
benefits and continuing to re-align staff levels.
However Dover District Council is already a low taxing, low
spending authority with the third lowest Council Tax in Kent, and
one of the lowest like for like levels of spend per resident across
England. Owing to this low cost position, the impacts of public
finance pressures will be very challenging and difficult choices
will need to be made about what we can and can’t afford to do.
Our vision and priorities remain the same over the longer-term
period of the Corporate Plan (2026), however in these challenges
times we must have a clear vision and focus on where we are going
and what interim steps we need to take to steer us through these
changing circumstances.
Over the next 3 years, in working towards this Vision, the
Council will concentrate on the areas of Regeneration, Value for
Money Services and Enabling Others through Partnerships.
Cllr Paul Watkins
Leader of Dover District
Nadeem Aziz
Chief Executive, Dover District Council
Interim Corporate Plan pages:
Contact
Email: policy@dover.gov.uk
