Stroud District Local Strategic Partnership Sustainable Community Strategy
2010
Contents
What is a Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS)? o What is a sustainable community? o Vision o Changes since the first Community Strategy Local Community Planning Initiatives in the Stroud District Relationship with other Strategies Results of the 2008 Consultation on the SCS o General o Equality Groups o Children and Young People o Parish & Town Council
Some Key Facts and Figures about the Stroud District Themes •
Caring About the Future Environment
•
Promoting Safe and Inclusive Communities
•
Equality in Health for People and Our Communities
•
Investing and Listening to Young People
•
A Sustainable Thriving Economy
Future Challenges How Will We Make It Happen? Organisations of Stroud District LSP For Further Information
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What is a Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS)? The Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) is a long term plan to improve the quality of life for everyone in Stroud District, both now and in the future. It sets the overall vision for the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the area based on local needs. The SCS is the overarching strategy for Stroud District and provides a tool for guiding the work of all the organisations and thematic partnerships involved in Stroud District Local Strategic Partnership or LSP. Stroud District LSP is responsible for the development and delivery of the SCS; though Stroud District Council has the statutory duty to make sure it is done. At the heart of the strategy is the recognition that social problems are multifaceted and can only be fixed by agencies working together and pooling their knowledge and resources.
What is a sustainable community? Sustainable communities must meet the needs of existing and future generations: provide good quality homes in a clean, safe, green environment with a well-planned infrastructure and be inclusive communities that respect the needs of the wider community, recognise individuals’ rights and responsibilities and provide good services for all. The key to creating this ‘ideal’ is ensuring we build communities where people want to live, work and visit.
Vision The LSP vision underpinning the Strategy is: “We want local people, families, their communities and businesses to be resilient to change and able to thrive in a way that does not compromise the quality of life for present or future generations”.
Changes since the first Community Strategy The original Stroud District Community Strategy, published in 2004, set out an ambitious agenda for improving housing opportunities, access to services and rural transport infrastructure as well as for creating wealth, health and wellbeing, reducing crime and the fear of crime. The new strategy has been re-named the ‘Sustainable’ Community Strategy in order to emphasise the idea of creating a Stroud District that improves the quality of life for both current and future generations. The Principles of Sustainable Development are:
Living within environmental limits A strong, healthy and just society Achieving a sustainable economy Promoting good governance and Creating resilient infrastructure
and these have helped develop our Sustainable Community Strategy Themes:
Caring About the Future Environment Promoting Safe and Inclusive Communities Equality in Health for People and Our Communities Investing and Listening to Young People A Sustainable Thriving Economy
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Local Community Planning Initiatives in the Stroud District
The Stroud District SCS is community planning on a district level. Community planning takes place on a parish level, with parishes developing their own community plans and action plans. Parish plans contain priorities that can be achieved on a local level, but might also contain actions that can only be accomplished on a higher geographical level, like the district or the county. As you can see from the map above a large proportion of the Stroud District has a Parish or Community Plan in place or is in the process of doing so. For more information about developing a Parish Plan and the help available contact Gloucestershire Rural Community Council www.grcc.org.uk
Relationship with other strategies The development of the SCS has not been prepared in isolation of other plans and strategies. The new strategy will integrate a number of important developments since the publication of the first Community Strategy in 2004. This includes the Local Development Framework (formally the Local Plan) being prepared by Stroud District Council and will enable the physical development and land use elements of the SCS priorities where appropriate. County initiatives, particularly the Gloucestershire Sustainable Community Strategy and the Gloucestershire Local Area Agreement (LAA) http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/laa will also need to be taken into account.
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Consultation on the Sustainable Community Strategy 2008 During 2007/08 we undertook a number of consultation events to gather information on what the people of Stroud District said was important. Results from a wide variety of research, surveys and other consultations were also taken into account. General consultation We asked people of Stroud District through various media channels, what their priorities were for the District, with the results being: The Environment Transport Crime and Disorder Unheard Voices We knew that there was a particular need to gain more knowledge about those communities which are harder to reach than those where people may already have responded or engaged in consultation, so a specific piece of research was commissioned aimed at:
People with disabilities The BME community New EU communities Gay and lesbian residents
Out of which the priorities were: Skills and learning Transport and access to services Arts and Culture Stakeholder Event In the summer of 2008 we held a Stakeholder event to which a wide variety of different organisations and individuals were invited. It was an interactive event to discuss 9 themes (now amalgamated to 5) and look at ways to move forward. Young Peoples’ Event We held an event in November 2008 to which all secondary schools were invited to attend. This was run on the same lines as the Stakeholder Event with interactive sessions to try and come up with future solutions to current issues and challenges. Parish and Town Councils Event Parish and Town Councils were also involved in the above Stakeholder Event, however given the importance of Town, Parish and Community Plans a further dedicated event was organised.
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Some key Facts and Figures about Stroud District • Stroud District covers 461 square kilometres (175 square miles) and 28 square kilometres of this is protected for its nature conservation. The District has 42 kilometres of Severn Estuary coastline accessible to the open sea via Sharpness docks • There are 49,000 households in the Stroud District, with a population of 111,700 (2009). Three quarters of residents live in or around Stroud town, Cam, Dursley and Wotton-Under-Edge • The population is growing in number as well as growing older. It is predicted that by 2026 the number of residents aged over 65 will increase by nearly half (40%)1 • Crime levels are low in Stroud District - the highest crime figures are those for violent crime • 15% of Stroud District households are those with pensioners living alone2. • 16% of the population have limiting long term illness2 • Average earnings per week by residence in the Stroud District for men are £538 per week, which are above the national and regional average. This compares with £385 per week for women, which is lower than the south west average of £387 and national average of £427 for full time workers3 • 29.3% of people in the Stroud District are qualified to NVQ level 4 and above, just slightly above the national figure of 29%. However, 9% of residents have no qualifications, although this is below the current national statistic of 12%3 • 5.7% of homes in the Stroud District (2390) are in fuel poverty compared with 10% in England – and this will rise as the price of fuel increases4 • Average annual consumption of electricity per household in Stroud District is 4827 Kwh, above the national average of 4198 Kwh (Kilowatt hours)5. This may be due to the absence of mains gas in some areas of the District • 1 in 10 children are classified as obese, which is in line with national figures6 • 16% of all children aged 5-16 in the Stroud District spend less than 2 hours/wk on high quality PE and school sport, whereas the figure for Gloucestershire is 13%6 • 21% of those employed in the Stroud District work in the manufacturing industry, more than double the national figure of 10%. The largest employment group is the public sector, at 24% (national average 27%) 3. The majority of businesses in the District (72%) employ less than 5 people7 • In 2008/09 waste going to landfill, per household, fell from 561kg to 535kg but with 49,000 households in the District, this is still a lot of waste8
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Office for National Statistics 2001 Census 3 ONS annual survey – NOMIS 2010 4 SDC House Condition Survey 2006 5 DECC – Electricity Consumption Statistics 2008 6 APHO and Dept Health 7 Office for National Statistics – UK Business Activity 2009 8 Audit Commission National Indicator Data 2009 2
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Themes Caring About the Future Environment • Support initiatives in the Stroud District to address climate change and its effects on residential and business communities • Encourage the reduction in the amount of waste created and the amount of waste sent to landfill • Promote sustainable development whilst protecting and enhancing the local biodiversity • Positively encourage the management of our local heritage as an asset for the future • Support the creation of a transport infrastructure that is resilient to climate change Promoting Safe and Inclusive Communities • Support initiatives and projects that will improve the vitality of towns and parishes in the Stroud District • Support the creation of places where people feel they belong to the District’s communities and have a voice and role in shaping the services they receive • Encourage initiatives to improve and maintain safe and cohesive communities by reducing crime and the fear of crime • Support initiatives that increase access to and opportunities for multi-cultural activity Equality in Health for our People and Communities • Support individuals and communities to access care and advice • Encourage everyone to eat and drink healthily, smoke less and take regular exercise • Support independent living with attention on the ageing population • Promote initiatives that improve and provide decent affordable homes Investing and Listening to Young People • Support projects and schemes that enable every child and young person to thrive and achieve their potential • Encourage delivery partnerships to engage with Stroud District Youth Council and adhere to the principles of youth engagement e.g. ‘Hear by Right’ • Promote a coordinated provision for young people to address the growing number of those not in education, employment or training (NEETs) within the Stroud District • Support initiatives that improve how young people may access advice, help, information and services
A Sustainable Thriving Economy • Support businesses to flourish and be able to contribute to the economy of Stroud District • Promote an entrepreneurial culture to support sustainable growth of small business • Encourage market towns and villages to prosper and thrive as social and commercial hubs • Encourage business investment to include training and skills development for today and the future • Help raise the profile of the rurality of the District to meet the need for improved communications (including broadband) • Promote activities that meet the needs of a diverse and multifaceted local economy 7
Future Challenges
Growing but ageing population Land availability for both housing and employment Obese and inactive young people leading to further adult health problems Increasing fuel poverty with increasing fuel prices and reduced income Effects of climate change on our natural and built environment Decreasing skilled workforce Sustainability of procurement and purchasing of local products, especially food How Will We Make It Happen? Stroud District LSP will develop a separate action plan as a means to influence, where appropriate deliver and monitor initiatives, schemes and projects to enable the Themes to be progressed. The LSP will also work to influence the Local Development Framework and plans and strategies produced by other partner agencies and organisations. Organisations of Stroud District LSP Churches Together Stroud District MP for Stroud MP for Cotswold Gloucestershire County Council Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust Gloucestershire Police Sport England South West Regional Development Agency Stroud College Gloucestershire First DH Consulting Federation of Small Businesses National Farmers Union (NFU) Pink Square Renishaw Plc Rococo Garden Parklife Business Parks Project
Silverwood UK Ltd Stroud and Swindon Building Society Gloucestershire Older Persons Assembly / Stroud Older Persons Forum Gloucestershire Rural Community Council Meningitis Trust Social Enterprise Stroud District Youth Council Stroud Market Towns Partnership Volunteer & Community Action (Stroud District) Gloucestershire Association of Parish & Town Councils Stroud District Council Village Inns & Taverns Ltd Cotswold Care Hospice
For Further Information, contact: The Policy Team Stroud District Council Telephone: 01453 754296 Email: Policy.review@stroud.gov.uk 8