1 Delivering services people need

Consulting residents is the first step in targetting services to real need and, when the Liberal Democrats were in charge, East Hampshire was well known for its lead in consultation. The government now requires all Councils to do what we had pioneered.

Two years ago the Scrutiny Committee, led by Liberal Democrats, studied ways of supporting community initiatives: Community Development Review. This influential report has changed the way we deliver services to target real needs in the communities. We led the way; we will continue to improve our support for community initiatives.

1.1 Housing

• Target--no families in B & B. (We achieved this last time when in control of EHDC)
• Innovative schemes for preventing homelessness
  • Aim to provide social housing without EHDC money by 2008
  • Increase key worker provision
  • Rural Housing initiatives using government funding
  • Tenancy deposit / rent guarantee scheme
  • Full connected advice and support services
  • Young persons temporary housing
  • Specialist advice and support
  • Mediation services

• Encourage the private rental sector to fill the gap between social housing and ownership
• Encourage schemes that maintain a low purchase price of first time homes through Housing Associations being given a small equity share which would control resale price
• Partnership schemes with Housing Associations and Voluntary Sector organisations
  • Provide support for small voluntary groups who assist vulnerable people

• Review the provision of improvement grants, equity release advice and assistance, especially to the elderly to enable them to stay in their own homes.
• Fuel Poverty & Social Inclusion
  • Increase independent energy efficiency advice for householders
  • Extend Staying Put, Homecheck and React
  • Work with partners, such as CABx
  • Concessionary fares--target better to those in need
  • Welfare Benefit take-up campaigns (increases Government Grant to councils)

1.2 Community

• Community Strategy targets--build a stronger Community Partnership by encouraging partners to set up joint funding to work on actions agreed
• Following our Scrutiny Review of Community Development
  • three year funding agreements and better support for key clients
  • Start a Community Development Foundation to increase grant aid using external and private funding
  • Re-organisation of the Community Development team to provide expertise where needed

• Review Community Initiatives Fund--target communities in need using deprivation indices and parish surveys
• Work more closely with VAEH, not in competition
• Links to community--Area Committees, strengthen by inviting groups and organisations to join
  • E.government, more imaginative approach
  • Support Village appraisals, Village design statements and Town Plans
  • Support and advise arts groups throughout East Hampshire
  • Promote access for all to local leisure facilities

• Community Safety
  • Maintain Domestic Violence Helpline and develop services
  • Identify other funding sources for this work and link to Police, Housing and Community Development

• Developer contributions to be allocated to community development as well as open space and transport

1.3 Youth and Recreation

• Work in partnership with the Hampshire Youth Service with a view to strengthening support for young people in need; we shall monitor outcomes of specific initiatives.
• Improve and build on Citizenship programme in schools by including voluntary sector
• Actively support the youth forum ensuring wide involvement
• Encourage young people to register to vote with road shows at local colleges
• Locate and use external funding, such as the Children’s Fund, to improve local services for young people of all ages
• Seek the appointment from Hampshire County Council Youth Service of a Development Worker for young people age 10 -13 years (as they have in Chandlers Ford)
• To pursue actively the provision of an Artificial Turf Pitch in Alton within the life of the new administration.
• To bring together partners for the provision of new & improved recreational facilities for young people, as appropriate, throughout the district.
• Encourage & support the provision of SNAP discos at strategic points throughout the district.
• Protect & seek to enhance all playing fields & open space recreation areas.
• Encourage not-for-profit sport & recreation clubs and associations to gain access to existing grants.

1.4 Democracy and devolution

• We will offer two seats in Cabinet to members of the minority group; we are serious about using the best ideas from wherever they come and with the minimum of ‘party politics’.
• Increase the power, responsibilities and budgets of the Area Community Committees (ACCs).
• ACCs should review the work of the increasing number of powerful quangos.
• Ensure that as many powers as possible are devolved to the Town and Parish Councils.
• Ensure that Town and Parish Councils are fully consulted in EHDC proposals and projects
• Local Scrutiny of Primary Care Trusts

1.5 Energy

• Encourage local small scale sources such as biomass, combined heat and power (CHP), photovoltaics (pv), wind and solar. Explore distributing energy from big users such as schools, hospitals, large factories, sports centres.
• Complete an environmental audit on Penns Place (to cover all environmental indicators such as energy and waste) and extend to other buildings in our control
• Aim to reduce energy use (as opposed to increasing energy available). Explore means to encourage re-using materials and sustainable consumption, for example through our procurement policy
• Conservation areas--Promote energy efficient materials in planning eg solar panels, pv panels
• Promote Global Action packs and develop for schools, businesses and other large users of energy
• Tackle Energy poverty--Encourage low energy light bulbs, grants for insulation. Promote energy efficient fridges, tv and computers
• Promote tougher energy performance in building regulations for new homes
• Renew partnership with Sustainability Centre
• Promote research and conservation of biodiversity
• Use Fairtrade products in Council buildings where available

1.6 Rural Issues

• Support setting up of locally funded neighbourhood warden schemes. Pay warden and attendance allowance and he/she will report to the local council. Consider part funding of neighbourhood bobby on the beat.
• Boost use of public transport by extending free off-peak local travel on buses to pensioners and people with disabilities and half price travel at all times on local buses for under 19s in full time education. Consider issuing travel tokens to the unemployed and those on low incomes.
• Extend business rate relief to any small scale commercial enterprise which is prepared to host a community access point to IT facilities and government/council information.
• Start up funds for Community Development Trusts (which may be set up to run say the village shop).
• Give local authorities freedom to invest in new social housing. Investigate the 1% share scheme to ensure “affordable” housing remains affordable (as in South Shropshire DC) thus giving the council the final say over a transfer to which they must give their consent. Consent will be given provided original conditions about affordability are complied with.
• Encourage more devolution of power to towns and parishes.
• Promote the red tractor scheme for local farm produce
• Promote local energy schemes on farms and estates such as wind turbines and energy crops for CHP schemes.
• Negotiate space in GP surgeries for other support eg. housing, CAB, planning in rural villages
• Support village campaigns for Broadband Internet access

1.7 Waste and recycling

• We will conduct a thorough review of the management of the waste collection contract and of charges for garden waste collection and large bins
• Strengthen the management of Alternate Weekly Collections including garden waste
• Investigate further separation of recyclables for kerbside collection
• Aim to achieve 60% recycling rate by 2004
• Council to work towards a ”zero waste strategy” for all its activities
• Ensure all council offices recycle as much as possible
• Consider incentives to promote composting & use of Global Action Packs.
• Encourage planting of native species of trees to help tackle global warming
• Maintain the current glass recycling centres
• Extend recycling to plastics currently landfilled.
• Encourage businesses to reduce packaging
• Encourage business recycling by promoting schemes available to them. Investigate Project Integra providing more services for businesses

1.8 Transport

• Review concessionary travel schemes to assist rural areas
• Develop integrated transport with Partners
• Promote Walk and Cycle to school schemes.
• Promote travel to work schemes--link in with incentives if possible and lead by example at Penns Place.
• More linked cycleways and better planning policies to encourage cycling
• Encourage greater use of existing railway corridors in District (eg. Alton to Alresford).
• Consider rapid transport options (eg. Bordon & Whitehill area).

1.9 Planning

• Protect natural environment, particularly the areas outside the South Downs National Park
• Campaign for maximum devolution of planning control to EHDC
• Monitor progress of Local Plan to ensure that reserve sites are not released prematurely
• Develop stronger links with NFU and CPRE
• Hit targets for determining planning applications but improve customer care
• Improve electronic access to planning information
• Ensure the Council has expertise in design, heritage and conservation work

1.10 Economic development and tourism

• Work actively to promote a sustainable and vibrant rural economy
• Monitor the effect of planning policies on employment
• Review work of this department--are other organisations providing the same or similar services? What added value are we providing?
• Create start up workshops for small enterprises
• Work with partners in Bordon/Whitehill to replace jobs lost by military withdrawal
• Embrace the South Downs National Park to help hotels, guest houses, public houses and small shops in and around the park
• Maintain the number of employment sites through planning policy
• Increase business training to provide qualified labour of all ages
• Support the District-wide Chamber of Commerce

1.11 Communicating and consulting

• Build on use of Partners magazine and investigate other Councils joining in one publication
• Improve council website, make it more customer friendly and meet government targets on availability of information and forms 24 hours a day
• Continue with special communications with young people and test other media and formats
• Ensure that the whole community has access to information on Council services, especially those from ethnic minorities
• Extend accessibility of EHDC services via presence offices using Post Offices, GP surgeries, Village Halls