Wyre’s new Council Plan was approved at full council last night, Thursday 30 November, setting out a clear statement of what the authority aims to achieve over the medium to long term.
The plan was presented following a significant review by Wyre’s Leader Cllr Michael Vincent and cabinet members, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and senior council officers led by Chief Executive Rebecca Huddleston.
The document sets out the council’s vision and priorities and the key projects that need to be delivered to ensure the priorities are met. The agreed priorities are:
- People and communities – carrying out projects that ensure residents live happier, healthier and safer lives.
- Growth and prosperity – developing programmes to ensure a thriving local economy and town centres.
- Place and climate – working towards making Wyre a cleaner, greener and more sustainable place.
- Innovative and customer focused – taking pride in being a well-run, forward thinking council that puts customers first.
Councillor Michael Vincent, Leader of Wyre Council comments,
“Following the elections earlier this year it was important to review our strategic plan to ensure it meets the needs of our residents and businesses. We have expanded on our previous plan to include more detail around how we will achieve our objectives, creating an open and transparent basis from which to report back on. This plan is very much about putting projects into action and providing clear direction for the council over the next few years.
“Our overarching vision is for Wyre to be a place where everyone can prosper. We want everyone to have access to jobs and share the benefits of economic growth, live in thriving, safe, more environmentally sustainable and welcoming communities and be healthier and independent for longer.
“Key projects include delivering £860,000 in Household Support Funding in 2023/24 including energy bill support to low income households, new school uniform grants and supporting charities including foodbanks.
“Working with the police and other partners we will also tackle anti-social behaviour in the borough by increasing council officer visibility through out of hour patrols and targeted visits and diverting offenders into more positive activity.
“We will boost the local economy by delivering a comprehensive business support programme focussing on small businesses in Wyre and address skill shortages through a programme of support for local people to access education, employment or training.
“We will keep Wyre clean targeting illegal waste carriers and develop a community based programme of work to prevent and deter fly tipping. We will develop and deliver a climate change strategy for the borough and complete work on the £40million beach management scheme to protect more homes from flooding.
“Alongside these and the other projects outlined in our plan we will deliver an ambitious transformation strategy to improve our services, develop more efficient ways of working, look at how we embrace new technology and strengthen our workforce to deliver our ambitions.
“Wyre is a well performing council and we have worked hard to remain in a strong financial position. This new plan is about clearly setting out what actions need to be taken going forward to ensure the best future for our borough and our residents.”
The full council plan including details of projects and how success will be measured can be found at www.wyre.gov.uk/council-plan