Perspectives - Autumn 2008

perspectives autumn 2008

news from around the winchester district

inside this edition:

we want your views

christmas in winchester

money for rural areas

anti social behaviour

SEE UT PULL - O FOR

your autumn what’s on

place survey

we want your views This autumn, councils up and down the country are undertaking a ‘Place Survey’ at the request of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The survey, which has been sent to a random sample of 2,500 Winchester residents, is a new consultation taking place nationwide, designed to help local councils and the government understand people’s views and experiences of their local area and local public services. It will help us to find out how well Winchester City Council – and our partners in the District, the police, and NHS – are delivering services and tackling the issues that matter to local people.

Your views are important to us – so if you have received a copy of the survey, please do take the time to complete it and return it in the Freepost envelope provided as soon as possible. The survey aims to cover a random sample of residents so unfortunately we will not be able to provide copies of the survey on request.

The results of the survey will be available in early 2009, and will be published on our website and in a future edition of Perspectives.

committed to providing

customer service

we’re proud of The introduction of our Customer Service Centre in 2005 was the start of a programme to deliver Customer Service we’re proud of.

The Centre has continued to develop since then, taking on more of the Council’s contact points every year; but we don’t want to stop there. Our latest customer

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initiative is to achieve the new government Customer Service Excellence standard accreditation across the Council.

make real improvements to the service we provide by identifying where we are getting it right as well as those areas where we’re not.

This will be a major piece of work over the next three years; we’re not looking to achieve this in one or two carefully chosen areas but in every area of our work. Once achieved, independent external assessors will continually monitor us to make sure that we maintain standards and keep working to improve our customer service.

One of the key aspects of the new standard is about putting ourselves in our customers’ shoes and actively involving them to help us develop customer insight. By using surveys, mystery shopping, focus groups, compliments and complaints - as well as using the knowledge of our staff and elected members - we can design and deliver services in the best way possible for our customers.

What’s important about Customer Service Excellence is that it’s not just a certificate to hang on the wall.

Working towards the accreditation will help us look at how we provide our services and to think about our customers; who they are, how satisfied they are with the services we deliver, and what they expect of us now and in the future. It will be a practical experience helping us

To do this we need your help. If you would like to get involved with some of the activities above - to share your experiences of the Council’s customer service, good and not so good - contact Paul Wood, Head of Customer Service on 01962 848 318 or by email pwood@winchester.gov.uk

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local offices

our services closer to YOU

As part of our continued work to be more responsive to communities’ needs, our Local Offices have now opened their doors in 2 locations across the district with a third opening soon; enabling local people to access services in their communities rather than having to travel to Winchester.

Residents can now choose to contact the City Council at the Local Offices in Bishops Waltham Citizens Advice Bureau, New Alresford Library and at Meadowside Leisure Centre in Whiteley. One day a week there will be general advice available on all Council services and a further half a day each week will see in-depth housing and benefits advice available in Bishops Waltham and New Alresford.

This initiative is part of the Council’s push to provide a better service to residents in the more rural parts of the district. It reflects the emerging findings of the new Local Development Framework, which identifies settlements such as Bishops Waltham, New Alresford and Whiteley as important locations for key services.

Whiteley: general advice available on all Council services every Wednesday from 10am until 4pm.

Bishops Waltham: general advice available on all Council services every Thursday from 10am until 4pm

and in-depth housing and benefits advice every Wednesday from 10am until 1pm.

New Alresford: coming soon - general advice available on all Council services every Friday from 9.30am until 4pm and in depth housing and benefits advice every Monday from 10am until 1pm.

You do not have to make an appointment so just drop in at a time and location convenient to you.

Some of the things you can do at our local offices:

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performance INFORMATION hat did the City Council achieve and how was the money spent in 2007-2008?

Some of the highlights of that year can be found below and full details are available on our website www.winchester.gov.uk

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The City Council is financed through several sources and receives only 9 pence from every £1 of council tax. This accounts for just 8% of your total bill - the rest is distributed to other agencies such as the County Council and the Police Service.

high quality environment The City Council is performing well in many areas according to a recent report from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Our standards for dealing with graffiti, fly-posting and fly-tipping received top marks, whilst our litter cleansing standards also scored highly.

Elsewhere, Winchester’s household recycling and composting rates are continuing to improve and are comfortably ahead of the 30% target set by the Government. Thanks to the help of our residents, we have been achieving monthly recycling and composting rates of up to 39%, which is good news for the environment.

economic prosperity A number of big and successful schemes opened, such as the Discovery Centre and Winchester Stadium.

The percentage of major planning applications determined within a 13 week deadline was 66%; this exceeded the Communities and Local Government target of 60% and reflects the improvements of our Planning Service in dealing with applications.

Visitor numbers at our museums and galleries have continued to grow, with over a 17% increase in the numbers enjoying our museums services in 2007/08 compared to the previous year. This impressive performance has largely

been due to the success of the new exhibition area, City Space at the Winchester Discovery Centre.

safe and strong communities The Housing Landlord Service is well ahead of its programme to bring all Council houses up to the Decent Homes Standard, with only 0.5% of our stock remaining to be improved.

Elsewhere, our Benefits service has exceeded targets in a number of important areas. It continues to improve the speed with which applications are processed. Recovery of overpayments has been a priority in 2007/08 and this is reflected in improved performance figures.

efficient and effective council - over £1.5million saved so far Providing greater value for money and exploring more efficient ways of operating has helped us to, not only achieve our efficiency savings target of £531,000 for 2007/08, but to exceed it by a further £16,406. Over the past three years, the Council had been set a cumulative efficiency savings target of over one and a half million pounds, a figure that we have now exceeded by £351,916. In February, the Audit Commission released the results of its independent inspection of ‘Access to Services’, carried out during December 2007, in which the City Council was rated as “fair with promising prospects for the future”. They said “Customer satisfaction levels with the Council and many of its services are high and continue to improve. Consultation and engagement with the community is effective in most areas and is improving, but the Council needs to manage and use information better to ensure everyone has the same level of access”. Work is now underway on our three year programme to use customer insight to deliver Customer Service we’re proud of.

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&

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financial INFORMATION

Q. How much did the council spend?

A. £74 million

Q. How much is the council worth?

A. £499.7 million

The Council’s gross expenditure was £74 million, while the income generated from Council activities (such as rent from council tenants) was £53 million. The shortfall is funded by other external sources.

These include council tax, grants from Central Government and business rates. The total amount of expenditure funded by council tax was £6.2 million, which is 8% of the Council’s gross annual expenditure.

At 31 March 2008, the Council had assets of £540 million and total liabilities of £40 million, giving a net worth of £500 million.

However, this includes the Council’s housing stock of more than 5,000 houses and flats with a total value of £408 million.

Business rates are collected locally and paid to the Government. The national total is then redistributed

by Government when the grant settlement is announced. Winchester City Council collected £39 million from its businesses, but only received £5.8 million (15%) of that collected in the redistribution.

The Council’s reserves at 31 March 2008 included £8 million, which can be used for financing capital expenditure plus earmarked revenue reserves of £8 million. It is Council policy that the unallocated level of revenue reserves should not fall below £2 million and this amount is kept in a separate reserve known as the General Fund Balance.

Q. Capital spending – how much have we spent on projects this year?

A. £9.4 million The Council’s capital budget finances the purchase of land and equipment that will provide economic benefits over a number of years. Major refurbishment costs and some grants are also included in Capital Expenditure.

Among the most notable capital projects completed in 2007/08 were the Winchester Stadium, a joint enterprise with the University of Winchester, and the Discovery Centre in Jewry Street Winchester, both of which received £1 million investments from the City Council, as well as improvements to council houses to reach the Decent Homes Standard prescribed by Central Government.

changes to the complaints procedure The responsibility for considering complaints that a Councillor may have breached the Code of Conduct has now been transferred from the Standards Board for England to local authorities.

If you want to complain about a breach of the Code of Conduct by a Winchester City Councillor or a parish/town Councillor, you can submit your complaint to the City Council’s Monitoring Officer, Stephen Whetnall. He will then refer the matter to the Council’s Standards Committee for initial consideration.

The Standards Committee can only deal with complaints about the behaviour of a Councillor. It cannot deal with complaints about matters that are not covered by the Councillors’ Code of Conduct (e.g. you cannot complain about a Councillor simply because he/she has taken a particular decision that you do not agree with).

Further information on the Code of Conduct and how to complain is available from www.winchester. gov.uk/codeofconduct or contact Chris Ashcroft, Head of Democratic Services on 01962 848 284 or email cashcroft@winchester.gov.uk

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in christmas winchester The ice rink and market, now in their third year, have already established themselves as two of the most enticing Christmas events in the south of England.

Opening on Thursday 27 November, the market will run for 18 days until Sunday 14 December and the ice rink until Sunday 4 January 2009.

This year, the Christmas season will officially begin in Winchester on Friday 14 November when glittering new lights will be switched on across the city centre, transforming the historic streets into a winter wonderland.

Come to the city over the festive season and you’ll be spoilt for choice for things to see and do. From the cathedral’s Christmas market and ice rink, to the Theatre Royal pantomime, carol concerts and Making Merry Open Studios, there is festive cheer for all in Winchester this Christmas. For more details see our What’s On Guide (enclosed) or visit www.winchester.gov.uk/events

Exclusive discount day for residents at Winchester Cathedral Ice Rink!

To celebrate the opening of this year’s Christmas Market and Ice Rink, Winchester Cathedral is offering residents of the Winchester District the chance to skate for only £5 per person on Friday 28 November.

Tickets are normally priced at £9.20 per adult and £7.20 per child.

Tickets for the ice rink are available now from the cathedral box office, either online at www.winchestercathedral.org.uk, by phone on 01962 857 275/6 or in person at Winchester Cathedral Visitors’ Centre. Booking is essential as there are limited places per session. Please complete the voucher below and present it at the box office when collecting your tickets, at least 30 minutes before the start of your booked session.

For further information about these exciting events visit the cathedral website www.winchester-athedral.org.uk and follow the links.

Name ........................................................................................

House number/name .................................................................

Street name...............................................................................

Postcode....................................................................................

Email .........................................................................................

Tel .............................................................................................

Tick here if you would like to receive further details about events and promotions at Winchester Cathedral.

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The information collected will only be used by the Cathedral in conjunction with this offer, and will not be stored unless you have requested further information.

live your dream Two fantastic events have been held so far as part of the district’s Live Your Dream programme leading up to London 2012.

Over a thousand people enjoyed live screen action from the Beijing closing ceremony at Winchester’s Big Picnic in August, along with sports taster sessions, family activities, and the raising of the official handover flag at the Guildhall.

There is still more to come, with a chance to honour Winchester’s Olympic heroes. The City Council and Hampshire County Council are working together on a special reception in November to honour the returning Olympians and Paralympians from Hampshire, including Winchester’s gold medal-winning sailor Iain Percy, swimmer Julia Beckett and hockey player Rob Moore.

Winchester City Council is currently arranging a conference to take place on 21 January at Winchester Discovery Centre. It will be aimed at all those who work in the culture and heritage sectors and will shape a four year programme for the district’s own Cultural Olympiad in the run up to 2012. If you would like to be involved, email liveyourdream@winchester.gov.uk Meanwhile, the City Council is encouraging businesses in Winchester to look out for procurement, training and development opportunities arising from London 2012.

You can find out all about these on www.winchester. gov.uk/liveyourdream by following the ‘get involved’ tab.

Open Up, Lighten Up Winchester marked the local launch of the Cultural Olympiad in September. It brought hundreds of people into the town centre for five evenings of live music and dance, workshops, guided tours and café culture and culminated in a colourful lantern procession through the High Street. The event marked the first Council-led initiative to boost the early evening economy of the city, transforming the quiet time from 5.30pm to 7.30pm into an opportunity for socializing, shopping and entertainment.

Following local consultations in August and September, the Live Your Dream Framework – which aims to make the most of the opportunities of London 2012 for local people - has now been completed. We would like to thank everyone who responded and we are still keen to hear from people, especially young and older people, who have ideas to put forward for our 2012 legacy. Email your suggestions to liveyourdream@ winchester.gov.uk

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winchester discovery centre a story of

success

The latest figures to be released from Winchester Discovery Centre show that this new community facility is enjoying phenomenal success. In the first year since opening there will have been around 500,000 visits to the Discovery Centre and 7,320 people have become members of the library – almost 7% of the population of the Winchester District.

In July and August 476 children were given library cards.

Many were signing up to take part in the Summer Reading Challenge which this year had a topical Olympic theme.

The colourful new children’s library is clearly making an impact with youngsters as children’s book issues are up 57% on the same period in 2005, the last fully comparable year. Total book issues have increased by 28%, which is another encouraging sign that the Discovery Centre is having a positive impact on reversing the national trend which has seen a decline in library usage.

history and culture of the district. More than 7,000 visitors enjoyed the opening exhibition about Jewry Street, with total numbers to the space nearing 23,000 in the ten months since opening. The programme has included new collaborations with organisations such as UK Butterfly Conservation and Hat Fair as well as longstanding favourites such as Winchester Photographic Society.

Many families and schools have taken advantage of a creative line-up of supporting events and workshops, and these are at a premium for the current exhibition called Out of Egypt which features impressive Egyptian artefacts held by the City Council and Winchester College.

Rounding off the year, Making Merry will be a craft selling event offering the chance to buy unique Christmas presents from local makers.

You can join the mailing list for Winchester Discovery Centre and be the first to hear all the latest news by going online to www.discovery centres.co.uk/winchester or by calling 01962 873 618.

If you haven’t been to the Discovery Centre yet why not give it a try? There is always something going on.

This winter you can catch author Henry Hitchings on 27 November as he shares the secret of How to Really Talk About Books You Haven’t Read. From 29 November to 18 January Crafted – a selling exhibition bringing together hand-picked craft-makers from around the UK – is on display in The Gallery. And, for a fascinating and entertaining insight into the making of the BBC’s Antarctica join photographer Ben Osborne on 4 December for some behind the scenes footage as well as breath-taking photography.

Whilst all the spaces at the centre are well used – from the performance hall to the café - Winchester City Council is particularly pleased by the response to the ground floor City Space which it programmes and manages. This exhibition area features changing displays reflecting the

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supporting

We hope you have heard about our new food waste campaign "Taste it don't waste it" and have seen the adverts on the sides of our 16 refuse freighters, which between them cover 8,000 miles around our district each week.

The council collects around 3,000 tonnes of food waste from people's bins each year - the equivalent of 206 double decker buses. On average, families waste around £610 worth of food each year and we want to help reduce this waste, and help people save some money.

Top Winchester chef, Andy Mackenzie from Lainston House Hotel is supporting the campaign and he recently visited the home of our lucky competition winner Jo Neate and her daughter Lilly, to give them a food and shopping consultation.

Andy gave her some tips about buying fruit and vegetables and created a tasty pasta dish from the leftovers in her fridge.

Mrs Neate said: “It was really surprising. It had bacon, onion, rocket and pasta with porcini mushrooms and a tomato sauce. It is surprising what you can make from leftovers if you give it a little sauce – I had it for lunch and for tea!”

She added: “It has made me think about fruit and veg – I won’t buy the pre-packaged stuff anymore but will only buy what I need, and I will think more about what I am eating.”

Mr Mackenzie, Executive Chef at Lainston House Hotel, said: "I am really pleased to support this campaign. As a chef, you learn about food planning and buying - and they are very important skills for anyone running a kitchen.

“

It doesn't take long to plan a week's menu in advance - but it saves you a lot of time and money in the long run!

For more information on how to cut down on your weekly food bill and the waste you throw away visit www.winchester.gov.uk/tasteitdontwasteit

recognising the key contribution made by tourism to the economic health of the district.

winchester’s

NEW tourism strategy Having kicked off with a major visitor survey and an industry tourism summit at the Guildhall over the summer, the district’s new tourism strategy for 2009 – 2012 is developing fast.

Tourism objectives are being fully integrated into the wider economic development plans for the district,

”

The main reasons for throwing away food can be grouped into "cooking or preparing too much" - for example cooking too much rice or pasta, which gets left in the saucepan or on the plate; and "not using food in time" - for example having to throw out fruit and vegetables because they've gone off in the fruit bowl or in the fridge, or not eating food before it goes past its use-by date.

The Winchester District has a £230 million tourism industry and welcomes around 4.25 million visitors each year. The strategy will support the growth of this and other important industry sectors – such as farming and the creative industries - in a way which is both sustainable and profitable. The new strategy, which sets its sights firmly on London 2012, aims to make the most of the

‘Olympics legacy’. It seeks to enhance the profile of Winchester as a worldclass visitor and business destination.

The next four years offer an unprecedented opportunity for Britain to make up lost ground in overseas visitor markets, but London 2012 is also the perfect catalyst for improving and developing our businesses across the board. In the Winchester District, we need to plan with originality and deliver with quality.

The draft strategy will be available for comment from www.winchester. gov.uk from 31 October.

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follow the LEADER to money for rural areas Winchester and East Hampshire districts, working with a team of volunteers known as the Fieldfare Local Action Group, have successfully bid for £2.25million funding from SEEDA, the regional development agency.

The money will be spent over the next five years across the two districts. However, the money is specifically to help rural areas and so will not be spent in the urban centres of Winchester town, Alton, Whitehill-Bordon, Petersfield and Horndean.

Funding of up to £50,000 per project will be offered to help realise proposals from all sectors of the community. Grants will be dependent on a match with the five key criteria, the amount of competition locally and the ability to secure match funding from other sources, including the private sector. Projects supporting the farming and forestry sectors are a priority, and all project proposals will have to demonstrate long term business viability and environmental sustainability.

The Fieldfare bid picked five themes under which the money will be spent:

helping farming and forestry businesses to grow and develop

regenerating rural communities

helping rural tourism businesses to expand

enhancing enterprise and skills development caring for the natural environment

The Fieldfare Local Action Group is made up of business and community representatives and supported by officers of both councils under the chairmanship of Sir James Scott of Rotherfield Park, East Tisted. The group came together in June 2007 to develop a strategy in support of the bid, setting out priorities which are important to local people.

Sir James Scott, chairman of the Local Action Group, was delighted with the result:

“

The Local Action Group is thrilled to be one of the groups chosen to receive LEADER funding. This has been the result of a great deal of work from a large number of individuals, working together for the benefit of our rural economy. I would like to congratulate them all.

”

If you have a project which fits one or more of the themes above, you might be eligible to bid for funds of up to £50,000. For more information, go to www.winchester.gov.uk/LEADER or email kcrawford@winchester.gov.uk

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l a i c o s i t an

r u o i v a h be

inchester City Council takes a firm stance against anti social behaviour. In order to address the issue, the City Council works in partnership with other agencies which form the Winchester Community Safety Partnership (CSP). Membership of the CSP includes Hampshire Constabulary, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and Hampshire County Council. However, our most important partners in tackling anti social behaviour are our residents, who provide us with the vital information and support needed to take action against those who commit anti social acts.

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How to get involved

What can the Winchester Community Safety Partnership do?

Winchester Community Safety Partnership can tackle anti social behaviour by using a number of tools; some of these are voluntary and others are enforceable through the courts. These include:

What action have we taken so far?

Thanks to the support and information from our residents, Winchester City Council presently has in place:

Anti social behaviour can be reported by:

Completing an online reporting form Calling 101 Calling 0845 045 45 45 Contacting your housing provider or Acceptable Behaviour Co-ordinator: if you are experiencing continual anti social behaviour Taking part in community groups and events in your area

Warning Letters Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC) Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO) Anti Social Behaviour Injunctions (ASBI) Dispersal of Groups Crack House Closure orders

7 Acceptable Behaviour Contracts 2 Interim Anti Social Behaviour Orders 3 Anti Social Behaviour Orders 1 Anti Social Behaviour Injunction We have also successfully gained possession of two properties in which tenants were behaving in a manner that had a detrimental effect on local residents.

None of these actions could have been achieved without the Community Safety Partnership and the support of local residents.

For more information visit www.winchester.gov.uk/communitysafety

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UPDATE The Local Development framework is about to enter its next stage following an extremely high level of input from the local community, key stakeholders and elected members.

Ensuring that the 3000 responses which we received have been taken into account and acknowledged, has been a big task for our Strategic Planners who have been working hard to gather all the required evidence and site information for the next stage.

All this information will be presented to the Local Development Framework Cabinet Committee which will begin to draw up a preferred approach for the district based on all the evidence gathered.

If you haven’t already visited the site you should give it a try as you can do many things online including: finding events and facilities across the district, finding your councillor, looking at our fascinating museums archives, sharing your opinions through our consultations, and also paying your council tax or buying your parking season ticket. All these facilities are available 24hrs a day so you can access our services at your convenience.

Our new Planning Applications website – following feedback from many users we have been developing a new, easy to use planning application site. More than 10% of our website’s visitors head straight to the planning pages and we hope recent users will have noticed a markedly improved experience. The system is far more straightforward, allowing you to view the progress of an application without needing to know all the key details. This is a developing service though, so please give us your feedback.

Do you want to keep up to date with changes to particular areas of interest – if so, why not sign up to our new ealerts system. You can choose from 20 different topics from committee agendas to parking information, events to recycling and waste collection dates. Just enter your email address and choose the frequency of the emails and we’ll do the rest. Go to www.winchester.gov.uk/ealerts to register or find out more.

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These discussions will take place over three meetings on:

October 21

November 12

December 16

Agendas and related documents will be available from our website www.winchester.gov.uk prior to each meeting.

Once a preferred approach has been established, interested members of the public will again have an opportunity to comment when all the information is pulled together in a preferred options document.

Designed by Winchester City Council’s Design, Print & WP Section. Printed by Taylor Bloxham.

Our updated website www.winchester. gov.uk is proving to be very popular.

According to our first poll on the site, over 75% of visitors prefer the new look and functionality.

October 2008

websites

live for the future

PTC0021-28560

polls, alerts and

This magazine is produced by Winchester City Council.

If you would like to contact us about any of the services featured in this issue, please see the contact details given in each article. You can also write to us at City Offices, Colebrook Street, Winchester, SO23 9LJ, call Corporate Communications on 01962 848 504, or email communications@winchester.gov.uk. Telephone calls may be recorded.

Winchester City Council is not responsible for the content of external websites.

75%

This magazine is printed on 75% recycled paper.

Tape versions are available on request from Winchester Talking Newspaper, through our Corporate Communications Unit.

Cover shows residents enjoying themselves at Open Up, Lighten Up Winchester.

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