Meeting documents

1 THE ISSUE

1.1 This report presents the draft Sustainable Community Strategy for Bath & North East Somerset 2009 - 2026 for consideration by Cabinet. The Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) sets out our high level aspirational vision for the area and provides a framework for how the Local Strategic Partnership will work to achieve that vision as we move towards 2026.

1.2 The existing Sustainable Community Strategy was published in 2004 and has been refreshed to ensure that the current issues facing the area are included and that the strategy sets out a vision for the area and how to achieve it. More detail of how this works in practise is set out in the body of this report.

1.3 Having a Sustainable Community Strategy is a statutory requirement for the Council and provides a long term strategic approach to planning for change. The strategy sits within the Councils policy and budgetary framework and would therefore need to be recommended to Council for adoption.

1.4 This report presents the draft strategy for consideration by Cabinet. The intention is that further work will continue to refine the draft over the summer and that the final version of the strategy will be presented to Council for approval in September. Therefore the recommendation to Cabinet is that any approval should be granted with delegated authority given to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader to approve the final draft strategy that is presented to Council.

2 RECOMMENDATION

2.1 The draft Sustainable Community Strategy successfully captures (1) the long term issues for the area and (2) outlines our approach to meeting the vision for the area.

2.2 The draft Sustainable Community Strategy can be recommended to Council for final sign off and adoption at the 10^th September 2009 meeting.

2.3 Further work is undertaken on the draft strategy through the summer and that delegated authority is given to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader to approve the version that is presented to Council.

3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

3.1 The financial implications relate to the production and dissemination of the Sustainable Community Strategy both internally within the Council and Local Strategic Partnership organisations and externally to the public. This work is being funded under current approved budgets for this financial year.

3.2 Delivery of the Sustainable Community Strategy should be mainstreamed across the Council and other partner agencies, in particular the Public Service Agencies of the Local Strategic Partnership. Delivery therefore will form part of the Council's standard delivery budgets.

4 CORPORATE PRIORITIES

4.1 The Sustainable Community Strategy sits above the Council's corporate plan in the hierarchy of plans and strategies. The strategy takes the Council's vision which the LSP has adopted as the vision for the area and sets out how this is to be delivered by the Local Strategic Partnership, linking it back to the delivery strategies of each of the LSP member organisations. The Council's corporate plan is a delivery strategy for the Council. Therefore the Sustainable Community Strategy indirectly helps to deliver all of the Council's corporate improvement priorities.

5 THE REPORT

5.1 The Sustainable Community Strategy refresh has been conducted with the aims of setting out a longer term vision for a sustainable Bath & North East Somerset, specifically:

5.2 The strategy sets out the current picture of Bath & North East Somerset, and the challenges it faces as we move towards 2026. The strategy looks ahead to 2026 to align it with the Local Development Framework (LDF) and in particular the main document within that framework, the Core Strategy. The Core Strategy will be the spatial interpretation of the vision for the area contained within the Sustainable Community Strategy and will provide the planning framework for the District. The LDF is a key delivery document for the Sustainable Community Strategy. Spatial Options for the Core Strategy are due to be considered at the 10th September Council meeting alongside the final sign off of the Sustainable Community Strategy.

5.3 In refreshing the Sustainable Community Strategy it has been important to capture the key long term issues that are impacting on the area in the next few years. These are seen as the drivers for change. The key issues identified are:

5.4 More detail about the impact of these issues is set out in Appendix 1, chapter 2.

5.5 In order to deliver this Sustainable Community Strategy, we are using 6 themes. The strategy is set out in 6 chapters that each describe how we will address the key issues changing the area and provide an overview of exactly how we will make Bath & North East Somerset a distinctive place, with vibrant sustainable communities where everyone fulfils their potential by having an equal opportunity. The chapters are aligned to the themes of the Local Area Agreement and the Council's Overview & Scrutiny panels to ensure consistency and join up. The 6 theme areas of the Sustainable Community Strategy are:

5.6 More detail on the aims and actions to deliver each of these themes are contained in the theme chapters at Appendix 1, chapter 4.

6 RISK MANAGEMENT

6.1 The report author and Lead Cabinet member will have the opportunity to fully review the risk assessment related to the issue and recommendations, in compliance with the Council's decision making risk management guidance prior to this report being presented to Cabinet.

7 EQUALITIES

7.1 An Equalities Impact Assessment has been conducted on the process of refreshing the Sustainable Community Strategy for Bath & North East Somerset 2009-2026.

8 RATIONALE

8.1 The Council has a statutory requirement for producing a Sustainable Community Strategy for the area. It sits within the Council's policy and budgetary framework and is the top level strategy in the hierarchy of other plans owned by the organisations within the Local Strategic Partnership. It is delivered by the Local Development Framework, Local Area Agreement, Council Corporate Plan plus strategic documents of agencies such as NHS Bath & North East Somerset. Therefore this strategy is recommended for consideration by Cabinet prior to being presented to Council.

9 OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED

9.1 None.

10 CONSULTATION

10.1 Cabinet members; Parish Council; Town Council; Overview & Scrutiny Panel; Staff; Other B&NES Services; Service Users; Local Residents; Community Interest Groups; Stakeholders/Partners; Other Public Sector Bodies; Section 151 Finance Officer; Chief Executive; Monitoring Officer

10.2 The Sustainable Community Strategy refresh was launched in November 2008 at a full stakeholder conference of approximately 80 partners. The conference allowed delegates to identify the key challenges Bath & North East Somerset faces in delivering a sustainable vision for the area and began to identify ways of tackling those issues. Since the initial meeting, a variety of engagement activities have taken place with LSP partners, for example workshops have been held with the LSP Communities Group and the Voluntary & Community Sector.

10.3 Briefings and discussions have been held at delivery partnerships such as the Sustainable Growth Alliance, the Health & Wellbeing Partnership and the Children's Trust. In addition, a Project Review Board with membership from across the LSP, chaired by the Leader of the Council has provided a steer as the refresh of the strategy has progressed.

10.4 The Sustainable Community Strategy is due to be considered by each of the Overview and Scrutiny Panels during July. It is also due for consideration at a meeting of the full Local Strategic Partnership on the 9^th July and will be considered by the governing bodies of each of the public service agencies within the Local Strategic Partnership. This includes the Primary Care Trust, Fire & Rescue Authority, Police Authority and Somer Community Housing Trust.

11 ISSUES TO CONSIDER IN REACHING THE DECISION

11.1 Social Inclusion; Sustainability; Young People; Corporate; Other Legal Considerations

12 ADVICE SOUGHT

12.1 The Council's Monitoring Officer (Council Solicitor) and Section 151 Officer (Strategic Director - Support Services) have had the opportunity to input to this report and have cleared it for publication.