Contact: Roger Lawes, ext 6743 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 The Local Government Act 2000 places a duty on all principal local authorities to prepare Community Strategies to promote and improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of their areas. `Hampshire Today, Hampshire Tomorrow', the draft Community Strategy for Hampshire was published for consultation in November 2003. In light of the consultation the draft may be amended. The County Council will then adopt the strategy and the partners that helped prepare it will be invited to commit themselves to the key actions for which they are responsible.

1.2 This report provides the background to community strategies; summarises the main features of `Hampshire Today, Hampshire Tomorrow'; and provides a brief analysis to assist the Committee in deciding how to respond to the specific questions posed in the consultation document.

1.3 The matters dealt with in this report support all the aims of the Corporate Strategy, in particular Aim 4, Building strong and safe communities, by considering how to address community concerns through partnership working.

2. Background

2.1 Community Strategies and Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) are at the heart of the Government's inclusion and delivery agenda. Increasingly they are promoted by Government as the basis for dealing with lifestyle matters ranging from the strategic (eg homes and jobs, waste and land management) to the detailed (eg the evening economy in town and city centres, biodiversity).

2.2 Community Strategies are expected to be dynamic documents dealing with current issues within a long-term delivery framework. Their action plans need to be flexible in order to respond promptly to changing circumstances. Accordingly, the Hampshire Community Strategy provides an opportunity for the County Council and its partners to promote a future

strategic direction for the county, not just in terms of the use of land and how pressures for development and change should be accommodated, but also in terms of accessibility to and provision of the wide range of services for which the partners are responsible.

2.3 A key principle underpinning the preparation of a community strategy is that it should be prepared and implemented by a broad "local strategic partnership" through which the County Council can work with other bodies. The Hampshire Strategic Partnership (HSP) was formed in September 2002. It comprises representatives of the major public, voluntary, community and private organisations in the county. It is that partnership which has produced the draft Community Strategy for Hampshire and the Strategy.

3. `Hampshire Today, Hampshire Tomorrow' the Draft Community Strategy

3.1 The draft strategy is attached as an appendix. It identifies a vision for Hampshire in 20 years' time:

"Hampshire will be a prosperous and attractive county for all, where economic, social and environmental needs are met in the most sustainable way and the quality of life and sense of community of present and future generations is improved".

3.2 Achieving the vision will require coordinated action on four key themes:

(i) Strong and safe communities;

(ii) Health and Wellbeing;

(iii) Economic prosperity and lifelong learning; and

(iv) Environment, infrastructure and transport.

3.3 The HSP considers that the principal purpose of consultation should be for the community in general and the partners in particular to confirm or amend the themes, identify priorities and suggest appropriate actions for inclusion in the final document. Accordingly, consultees are asked to address two questions:

(i) are they happy with the vision, themes and outcomes (ie do they fit with organisational views and objectives); and

(ii) what three cross-cutting actions should the HSP address first?

4. Director of Environment's Comments

4.1 The draft Community Strategy is a first step in building an understanding of the issues that will face the Hampshire community over the next 10 to 15 years. It has been heavily influenced by the existing aspirations and action plans of the partners. It is clear that the partners are still grappling with how to deal with longer term strategic issues relating to social, economic and environmental well-being (for example providing affordable housing, creating job opportunities, improving accessibility, reducing and managing waste and maintaining the diversity of rural areas). The partnership and the draft strategy need to be supported whilst recognising that they need to embrace new agendas and, where necessary, change particular service delivery plans and investment strategies to meet new circumstances.

Vision, Themes and Outcomes

4.2 The vision of a prosperous and attractive county, which is embracing the principles of sustainable development to achieve lasting improvements to the quality of life for present and future generations, is a view that has been consistent in all of Hampshire County Council's strategic planning documents stretching back to the 1980s.

4.3 The themes of strong and safe communities, health and well-being, economic prosperity and lifelong learning, and environment, infrastructure and transport, also chime with the County Council's own key themes. The comprehensiveness of the sub-text detailing each theme relies, however, on the assumption that all the real issues have been properly exposed. As the strategy evolves it may become clear that some current issues have not been identified and, indeed, new issues may emerge. The Environment Department has already noted some possible omissions: for example the impact of demographic change and the failure to reflect particular rural problems. Members may have identified their own omissions that should be reported back to the Partnership.

4.4 At present the outcomes represent more of a wish-list than a clear strategy for achieving social, economic and environmental well-being. As a result the document fails to recognise the potential conflicts and tensions that will exist between various outcomes. Given that the strategy has been developed to manage and address the concerns of the community, it is perhaps surprising that environmental outcomes do not feature more frequently across the themes.

Cross-Cutting Actions

4.5 Community strategies provide the opportunity for both service users and service providers to engage collectively in the debate over the implications of current life-style choices. The HSP has recognised that it needs to promote realistic targets where working together can add value to the day-to-day planning and delivery of services provided by individual members and that it needs to look at matters in an integrated way. The draft Strategy already alludes to one significant cross-cutting action, namely the need to have a better understanding of existing social, economic and environmental issues across Hampshire in order to target resources and actions. There is no doubt that understanding the existing situation is important. However, it is equally important for the partnership to have a view of the future it is aiming for.

4.6 It is quite clear that yesterday's solutions are no longer sufficient for solving tomorrow's problems: building more roads and providing more buses will not remove congestion but may limit it. A skilled workforce cannot simply be parachuted in to meet the needs of local industry - where would they live? Ensuring everyone has the opportunity of a decent home requires more houses to be built, but where they are built will influence the pattern and volume of travel. In a crowded county, recycling has to take place in someone's backyard; the problem is not simply spirited away as soon as the bin is collected.

4.7 Public transport is identified as an issue because of the increasing lack of commercially viable services in a car-based society for those without access to a car. Some acknowledge the contribution it can make towards reducing the need to use the private car for routine trips without necessarily accepting the need for all to contribute to reducing car use. However, it is accessibility rather than transport that is the thread that helps stitch together the three elements of social, economic and environmental well-being and define quality of life. Accessibility is a cross-cutting theme. It is as much about how goods and services are provided as it is about the provision of new and improved transport infrastructure. Ultimately solutions may require restrictions on individual freedoms to travel how, when and where they wish. It may also require service providers, individually and collectively, to consider patterns of service delivery and provision of transport for those without access to a private car.

4.8 The environment is a concern that runs through all four themes. In some it is dealt with in an abstract way, for example reflecting concerns about crime, anti-social behaviour, graffiti and litter. In others it is dealt with in more traditional ways such as land use, protecting natural resources and reducing the impact of traffic. Certain matters, for example biodiversity and the need to reconnect town and countryside, are not mentioned at all.

4.9 Tackled together and in an integrated way, action to enhance the environment, provide homes and jobs and improve accessibility to services and facilities will play a central role in improving the quality of life and range of opportunities for all. Action to address inequality of opportunity and to develop a safe and attractive environment in which to live has been shown to help improve the willingness of people of all ages to learn, develop their range of skills, improve their social contacts and develop the confidence to participate in influencing what happens in their local areas - key aspects of the County Council's Corporate Strategy and the Cabinet's own priorities.

Recommendation

That the Environment Policy Review Committee considers:

(i) whether to support or seek amendments to the vision, themes and outcomes of `Hampshire Today, Hampshire Tomorrow', the draft Community Strategy for Hampshire; and

(ii) what three cross-cutting actions the Hampshire Strategic Partnership should be advised to address first.

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