Contact: Frances Martin, Ext: 5122 e-mail; [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 To seek comments on The Community Strategy for Eastleigh.

1.2 To enable The Community Strategy for Eastleigh to be submitted to the Leader for approval, with the benefit of this committee's advice.

2. Introduction

2.1 The Local Government Act 2000 (LGA 2000) imposed a statutory duty on principal local authorities to produce Community Strategies with the aim of improving the social economic and environmental well-being of the area. Government guidance makes it clear that the Community Strategy must be produced by a partnership of stakeholders known as the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) for the area.

2.2 The Community Strategy must:

- Be demonstrably "bottom up" based on extensive consultation and research in the community as to priorities of work.

- Take a long term and sustainable view of service delivery

- Have measurable targets with a robust review mechanism.

2.3 Committee is reminded that :

- There is no statutory deadline to producing Community Strategies and guidance states that the process is as important as the Strategy itself.

- Consultation on the Strategy itself should be extensive.

- The Community Strategy must go to improving delivery of services so that these are better targeted to the needs of the end-user.

2.4 In March 2001 the Hampshire Isle of Wight Local Authorities Association (HIOWLA) agreed a framework for developing Community Strategies and LSPs in the Hampshire area. All 11 Districts will have a Community Strategy produced by an LSP for the district. It was agreed that Hampshire County Council (HCC) would be a partner on each LSP and would therefore be a signatory to each Community Strategy. Hampshire County Council's representation is through the Executive Member for Community Development, Regeneration and Internal Communication, supported by a group of cross-party backbenchers and the corporate community strategy group.

2.5 The Community Strategy for Eastleigh supports Aim 4 of the Corporate Strategy (Building Strong and Safe Communities) by developing a long term vision to improve the quality of life for the Eastleigh Community.

3. The Community Strategy for Eastleigh

(Appendix 1 )

Key points of the Strategy

3.1 The Strategy has been prepared as a result of community consultation and in conjunction with a range of partners, which includes the County Council represented by Cllrs Davidovitz and Holden Brown.

3.2 The Community Strategy for Eastleigh has been developed over the past 15 months, starting with a conference for a wide range of community representatives in November 2002. The conference drew on existing consultation work with the community, and a legacy of community planning and area committees already established by Eastleigh District Council.

3.3 During the first half of 2003, Eastleigh established its LSP, (the Eastleigh Strategic Partnership, or ESP) and the membership criteria. This consists of a permanent `core' membership (see appendix 2) and a wider group of partners who may change over time, according to community priorities. To date the ESP has met regularly, discussing the development of the draft Community Strategy document, and its members have shown a strong commitment through reliable attendance at meetings.

3.4 The draft document sets out a vision for Eastleigh, four `cross-cutting themes' and eight topic areas. These were the themes and topics that emerged from the November 2002 conference. They were subsequently developed by small task groups, led by officers from the LSP partners (see the final page of the draft strategy at Appendix 1). The essential elements of content have been well researched by the topic groups, and have therefore provided a sound basis for consultation.

3.5 The draft Eastleigh Community Strategy has now been sent to a wide range of partners and community representatives for comment. This includes the Eastleigh `Viewpoint' citizens panel. Members of the LSP, including an officer from Hampshire have also met to discuss ways in which the draft could be improved prior to the development of the final document. It is clear that the style, language and presentation of the document may change significantly as a result of consultation.

3.6 The main topic areas in the draft strategy are:

· Community Safety

· Employment

· Environment

· Health and Wellbeing

· Housing

· Leisure

· Lifelong Learning

· Transport

3.7 For each topic area the draft strategy sets out the key things the ESP wishes to achieve:

· by 2015 and beyond;

· up to 2015

· up to 2007

It is therefore intended as a document which can set out a long term vision for the district of Eastleigh.

3.8 At its meetings in the spring of 2004 the ESP will be considering how it wishes to monitor and review the plan, and how to ensure that the various partners are taking individual and joint action to achieve the priorities set out. Where relevant the ESP will look to existing partnerships to take forward the topic areas. For example the Community Safety Partnership for the Community Safety topic; the Eastleigh Community Learning Forum for the Lifelong Learning topic and the Health Improvement Partnership Board for the Health and Wellbeing topic.

3.9 Initially it is not anticipated that there will be a need for any additional funding for initiatives driven by the Eastleigh Community Strategy. If initiatives are developed that do require funding the partners will assess these as they arise. There are some pots of money available that can be more readily accessed if working in partnership which otherwise wouldn't be available - one of the strengths of working through LSP's. The aim is to give the individual organisations involved an opportunity to inform their own business plans and to consider where appropriate, alterations to priorities and budgets to meet the objectives of the Community Strategy. In addition the County Council is already involved with the established partnerships that are contributing to the overall strategy.

3.10 It is anticipated that the draft Community Strategy will be revised after the end of the consultation period and the associated action plans firmed up. Any comments this PRC makes will be fed into that revision. After this the lead officers and Members that support the Eastleigh Strategic Partnership will meet to assess any new potential implications for the County Council and will respond accordingly. This information will be fed into the Executive Member for Community Development and the Executive Member for Policy and Resources' approvals processes.

4. General Comments

4.1 Process

Guidance from Government Office makes it clear that Community Strategies must be produced by LSPs and be subject to wide consultation within the Community. The draft Community Strategy for Eastleigh has drawn on the depth of previous research into resident's priorities carried out by Eastleigh, the feedback on previous Community Plans and the consultation at the major community event in November 2002. In addition the draft community strategy is now subject to extensive consultation with a very wide range of individuals and groups which should give all voices in the community the opportunity to comment.

4.2 Content

The content represents significant input from the various topic groups, with involvement from Hampshire County Council officers where relevant. It does not commit the County Council to additional resourcing, but could offer useful opportunities to tailor services to meet local needs.

5. Next steps

5.1 The Eastleigh Strategic Partnership aims to publish a final version of its Community Strategy by early summer 2004. During the spring and summer the ESP will be considering appropriate ways to monitor and evaluate progress against the strategy, and individual and partnership responsibilities for the various key aims.

Recommendation

That the PRC committee advises the Leader to approve the Community Strategy for Eastleigh, subject to any comments made by Members.

Background Information

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1. Published works.

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

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