Archived decisions

Appendix B:

RECOMMENDED CHANGES TO THE DRAFT COMMUNITY STRATEGY

(Agreed by the Changing Lives Partnership 13 May 2004 and recommended for approval by Cabinet 2 June 2004)

1. FOREWORD

Update membership to reflect recent changes:

n Add Lee Whitbread, Youth Forum

n Amend name of New Forest Tourism Association representative

2. INTRODUCTION TO THE COMMUNITY STRATEGY

n Include explanation of how the two themes were arrived at and give greater clarity about those themes.

n Include in diagramatical form how the topics all link together to work towards improving the quality of life.

n Illustrate the integration principle with a real life example eg Dibden Bay.

n Update National Park reference if decision is known in time and demonstrate its impact through significant implications for management of the Forest, land use planning, aspects of local culture (eg commoning), tourism etc.

3. THE CHANGING LIVES PARTNERSHIP

n Update information on Market Towns Health Checks and Vital Villages Scheme (eg funding streams, delete Godshill and include Hale)

n Include reference to work other that the Community Strategy which the Partnership will be delivering over the next 2 - 3 years eg preparation and sharing of data to help inform decision making.

n Include Partnership's commitment to welcoming and valuing diversity and being supportive to those whose quality of lifeis, for whatever reason, less good.

n Include reference to Local Development Framework and its future role in the District, in particular how it will work alongside the Community Strategy with the two processes being integrated wherever possible.

4. THIS VERY SPECIAL DISTRICT OF OURS

n Include stronger reference to District's environment being of national and international importance with greater emphasis on the diversity and quality of its landscapes, extent of wildlife habitats, history, culture, coastline and opportunities for recreation. Add relevant facts and figures for the environment and the economy (as already included for social issues.

n Use some thematic maps either in this section or in the topic chapters to illustrate some of the issues needing to be tackled.

5. OUR VISION FOR 2025

n Use stories to help illustrate some of the principles in the Vision eg the link between `opportunities' and social inclusion.

6. TOPIC CHAPTERS

Children and Young People

_ Action 1.1 replace HCC/NFPCT with Connexions as lead agency.

Community Safety

n Change action 2.2 to read -"provide a drugs co-ordinator for the district to deliver drug awareness and education - Leads NFPCT & NFDC "

Economy

n Expand action point 1.3 to include generic measures for sectors.

n Delete Action 2.4 (Dibden Bay)

n Amend text to reflect that indigenous businesses need to continually adapt to customer preferences and this has effects that are both quantitative and qualitative. There is a need for a baseline view on where we are now and where we ought to be which can better inform a debate involving economy and environment. The two way flow of information between NFDC and business is `the', not a, key issue.

Environment - Built

n Explain the wide ranging role planning has in issues such as designing out crime and helping to make town centres economically viable as well a s environmentally attractive.

n Actions 1.10 & 1.11 add parish and town councils as joint leads

n Action 2.7 parish & town councils to lead

n Action 2.5 add " to public areas" after "improve grounds maintenance".

n Amend objective to read "....understanding of towns and villages and the historic built environment across the whole of New Forest District."

n Action 1.2 - add "Local Plan/Local Development Framework" to the list

Environment - Natural

n Amend priority 3 to read " integrating recreational uses with the need to conserve the special character of the natural environment"

n Add new actions from the Strategy for the New Forest which best meet the priorities and criteria, when available

n Add to text to highlight the importance of the natural environment both within and outside the proposed boundary of the National Park. Include reference to % of the District covered by SINCs many of which support priority Biodiversity Action Plan habitat eg Ringwood Forest. Refer to the Avon Valley and the coast both of which are of international importance.

n Refer to the Local Development Framework

Environment - Quality/Protection

n Include reference to the Materials Resources Strategy/Natural Resources Initiative under waste

n Replace text on page 24 "DEFRA will only etc" with " Under the Coast Protection Act 1949, Land Drainage Act 1991 and Environment Action 1995, DEFRA provides grants to flood and coastal defence operating authorities to assist them with the cost of capital flood and coastal defence projects - the building of new and improved defences, feasibility and design studies into possible works and some high-level investigation studies into coastal processes and for shoreline management plans. Such projects must meet DEFRA's technical, economic and environmental criteria and achieve the threshold priority score for the year". (Coast/Flooding)

n Action 1.8 and 2.3 remove HCC as joint lead agency (Coast/Flooding)

n Include more specific reference to managing and mitigating global warming and climate change (Home Energy Conservation)

n Add to Action 2.4 "and encourage other partners in promoting renewable energy schemes." (Home Energy Conservation)

Health

n Action 2.21 add HCC NF Access Committee as joint lead agency

n Action 1.6 add HCC as joint lead agency

n Action 1.8 replace community First with Forest Bus as the lead agency

Housing

n Include reference to Home Energy Conservation, Affordable Housing Sustainable Development Framework and the Energy Efficiency and Affordable Warmth Strategy. Also to explain that the Council installs small renewable schemes in its own stock and that the HECA officer promotes home renewable energy options to residents.

n Include reference to the Forestry Commission's policy and actions which give priority to key forest workers and practising commoners

n Include reference to Local Development Framework

Leisure

n Add to Current Position section "The District is well blessed with an enormous suite of informal leisure resource ranging from permissive access, freedom of access on foot across the 26,700 ha of Crown lands, and an impressive public rights of way network with the wider Heritage Area

n Reword Action 1.8 to " Within the overall strategic framework, produce and implement a programme of identified works and establish a mechanism to address issues that include information provision, wardening and the provision of support facilities."

Lifelong Learning

Comments still awaited

Older People

n Add new action 1.2 " To improve the opportunities for older people to be more involved in leisure and learning opportunities - lead agencies NFDC, HCC, NFPCT"

n Add new action " continue to improve arrangements for combating poverty through access to relevant benefits and services - lead agencies HCC, NFDC, Community First, NFPCT."

n Amend Action 2.1 "Provide support for older people in their home where appropriate to maintain independence - lead agencies HCC, NFDC, NFPCT."

n Amend Action 2.2 " Improve provision of a range of affordable housing and residential care provision for older people -lead agency NFDC."

n Amend Action 1.1 to read " Ensure people are not discriminated against on the grounds of their age when accessing services."

n Amend Action 2.4 by adding the word "not" before "smoking"

n Amend para 4 on page 45 to start as " All statutory and voluntary agencies continue to provide a significant level of services designated for "older" residents of the District. These services are subject to ongoing reviews taking into account the changing needs of the local population. Hampshire Social Services, New Forest Primary care Trust and New Forest District Council continue to develop strategies together that share....."

Tourism

No change

Transport

No change

7. FUTURE REVIEWS

Include reference to an assessment being done each year of which priorities have been impacted on through action. This will enable specific targeting to take place in year 3 to ensure that all priorities are tackled over the three-year period.

8. QUALITY OF LIFE MEASURES

n Present the measures as a menu from which to start with new ones being developed over time and possibly some dropped.

n Show lead agency that will be responsible for measuring and reporting on individual measures.

n Show the link between each measure and priorities.

n Mention the 1998 State of the Environment Report produced by NFDC which set a baseline from which future trends could be measured.

n Include the absolute and relative levels of weekly earnings as well as a GDP figure at District level