Corporate Plan 2021-2023
A welcoming borough that is clean and safe.
Foreword
We are delighted to present to you Erewash Borough Council’s Corporate Plan which outlines our ambitions and how we will meet them over the next three years 2021-2023.
Our priorities are based upon what you have told us is important to you all.
This is however a plan that has had to recognise the impact of COVID-19 on us all. It has placed unprecedented pressures on budgets and delivery of public services and has affected our lives, businesses, and families and has caused considerable economic and social disruption.
All this is taking place in the context of financial pressures, and with the challenges of maintaining the required numbers of staff with the right skills and experience.
Despite that, this plan aims to maintain a high level of service standards which you have come to expect, and also sets out some areas for growth and innovation. We have identified four strategic themes to drive our service delivery, supported by a range of high level actions:
- A welcoming borough, that is clean and safe.
- Support our communities.
- Planning for the future.
- A well run, efficient council.
Our Service Delivery Plans will add detail, setting out for our managers, individuals and teams what they will do and how we will measure achievements. Every individual’s performance plan will identify their contribution in delivering their part of the Plan.
The coronavirus has accelerated the demand for digital change and has shaped new digital habits, requiring a dramatic shift in the way we use technology to work, play, and stay connected. This Plan will continue to drive transformational change rolling out My Erewash, our digital access platform, across more services making it easier for people to do business with us.
Effective financial management remains key to enable the Council to provide the services our residents expect and we will continue to be cautious and take great care to ensure that council taxpayer’s money is not put at risk.
We will continue to pursue opportunities to improve continuously our processes. Looking ahead, it will be even more crucial for us to work closely with our stakeholders and partners to ensure that we are able to respond to future challenges and to deliver the aspirations set out in this plan.
We will work with and support our communities to encourage more resilience and self-reliance - helping to build a stronger society supporting our vision in making Erewash ‘a first class borough in which people have pride and where they choose to live, work and play.’
Thank you for taking the time to read our plan for 2021-2023.
Councillor Mrs Carol Hart, Leader of Erewash Borough Council
Jeremy Jaroszek, Chief Executive
About Erewash
Erewash is a forward looking borough in the south-east of Derbyshire, a wonderfully rich and diverse community named after the river which flows through its landscape. Most importantly, it is a borough with ambition and the vision to build on its history and its successes.
The borough provides an attractive living environment with a mixture of market towns and villages, relatively inexpensive housing, lower living costs and a strong sense of belonging. Erewash also has a number of available sites to support business growth and future expansion of the local economy.
Historically, the Erewash economy was founded on coal mining, iron working, textiles including lace making and railways. Although the traditional industries have declined, a strong manufacturing base in textiles and furniture has been maintained with Long Eaton recognised as the centre for quality furniture making.
Continued economic diversification has seen many new industries locate within Erewash including; distribution and logistics; the leisure industry; retail, driven by major supermarkets located near our town centres; financial services; information technology services and other business activities supporting nearly 4,000 urban and rural businesses throughout Erewash. The council is currently working in partnership to develop its Town Fund for Long Eaton which could see significant capital investment in the town, along with actively working on a town plan for Ilkeston for when further funding becomes available.
The borough has a population of 115,400 with 51,459 households and covers an area of over 42 square miles. The market towns of Ilkeston and Long Eaton contain approximately 70% of the boroughs population.
Erewash is easy to find with excellent communication links including easy access via the motorway, while bus services link all parts of the borough together with towns and cities throughout the midlands. In addition, we have Long Eaton station, the new Ilkeston station and East Midlands Airport, with its growing domestic and overseas services very close by.
We are proud of our rich environmental and cultural heritage and we look forward to the future; creating local opportunities for young and old, improving the lives of people and making you proud. Erewash is a place where people want to be; either to live, work, visit or invest, ensuring the future prosperity and sustainability of the borough.
Setting our Priorities
The council’s priorities have been informed by consultation both externally and internally and are set within the context of reducing government funding and increased requests for services as Erewash’s residents get older.
As part of the budget setting process in January 2020 we asked our communities what their priorities are for the services we delivered. For the tenth consecutive year, the six most important services identified by our residents are;
- Refuse Collection - 77%
- Community Safety - 68%
- Recycling - 60%
- Street Cleansing - 53%
- Parks and Open Spaces - 48%
- Environmental Health - 37%
Between March 2014 and April 2015 over 45,000 tonnes of household waste, 17,500 tonnes of recycling and 9,500 tonnes of garden waste was collected from properties across the borough. When asked 90% of respondents were satisfied with the service given.
We know from our tracker survey that refuse and recycling collection is recognised by residents as being one of the most important services provided by the council. Kerbside collections are provided to over 51,000 properties every week and each year the council empties nearly 3.5 million bins. Between March 2019 and April 2020 26,000 tonnes of household waste, 10,000 tonnes of recycling and 10,000 tonnes of garden waste was collected from properties across the borough. When asked, 92% of respondents were satisfied with the service given.
Our quarterly tracker survey informs us of our communities’ satisfaction with the services we provide and during April - August 2020 our residents’ satisfaction was;
- General Waste Collection Services - 53%
- Recycling Services - 90%
- Parks and Open Spaces - 78%
- Cleanliness of the Borough - 66%
Residents also told us that they wanted the streets to be clean and tidy and free from dog faeces and graffiti. Recent consultation has highlighted the need for us to continue to work to improve satisfaction with cleanliness of the borough. Our general waste collection and recycling service is performing well in areas that matter to residents and we provide a 24 hour dog fouling removal service.
Of continued importance is working together with partners, residents and our own staff to maintain our quality waste services, whilst at the same time reducing our environmental impact.
Supporting the health and general wellbeing of some of our most vulnerable residents remains a priority. We know that Erewash has a high prevalence of adult smokers and that adult obesity remains high with over 68% of adults classified as overweight or obese, compared to 62% for the rest of the country. Life expectancy is 5.9 years lower for men in the most deprived areas of the borough compared to the least deprived areas and 2.7 years lower for women.
Additionally, in parts of the borough (five wards in Ilkeston), diabetes prevalence in adults is over 10% higher than the national average. In this respect, our Sport and Health Development Team will play a leading role in the healthy lifestyles of residents throughout Erewash by improving physical and mental health, empowering communities and raising aspirations of its residents. The team will continue to work with key partners to create resilient communities in Erewash and provide more opportunities for residents to become physically active.
Utilising knowledge and insight, a number of health priorities have been identified, including increasing physical activity, enabling people with disabilities and long term health conditions to access physical activity more easily, childhood obesity and improving young people’s mental health and wellbeing. The Sport and Health Development team will continue to work in partnership to support the health and wellbeing of our communities including those affected by COVID-19.
Working in partnership a number of health priorities have been identified that include increasing physical activity, reducing obesity and improving young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
This knowledge of our communities and their needs has informed our priorities for the next few years.
Summary of our Corporate Priorities
A welcoming borough, that is clean and safe
In order to achieve this we aim to:
- Build a safe, inclusive and friendly environment, where everyone can access the opportunities the borough has to offer.
- Support the development and protection of our environment and open spaces, making the most of our assets, heritage and landscape, making our open spaces, parks and play areas destinations for activity, recreation and community.
- Support the wider climate change agenda to facilitate a better environment for everyone.
The actions we will take to deliver these aims include:
- Improve recycling performance through the provision of advice and guidance to our residents.
- Target action at unsightly land and empty buildings to improve the borough for all.
- Keep our streets clean.
- Provide and maintain high quality public spaces for all.
- Target crime and anti-social behaviour so that people feel safe and confident to work and play in their localities.
- Commit to reducing net carbon emissions to zero by 2050 in line government targets.
Support our communities
In order to achieve this we aim to:
- Work in partnership to build a safe, strong and cohesive community.
- Support our residents to be healthier and live longer.
- Work with the community and voluntary sector to build a resilient community where people support each other.
- Deliver efficient and effective services that residents need and can access when and how they prefer.
The actions we will take to deliver these aims include:
- Continue to use and support technology to enable our communities to access the services they need at the time they are needed.
- Engage our communities and undertake consultation in ways that find out what residents need.
- Work in partnership to deliver more for less whilst continuing to protect the delivery of frontline services.
- Work collaboratively with partners and our communities to identify shared outcomes.
- Improve people’s health and wellbeing through partnership working.
- Provide help and advice in partnership targeting those most in need and vulnerable.
- Work collaboratively with partners and our communities to identify shared outcomes and foster community resilience.
- Keep our residents well informed and continue to seek their views and involvement when reviewing and designing services.
Planning for the future
In order to achieve this we aim to:
- Provide a clear vision and direction of place shaping for the borough.
- Enable a range of good quality affordable homes for our residents in an attractive environment.
- Build sustainable communities where residents have good access to facilities and transport links for their wellbeing.
- Support the business community to enable a thriving local economy that provides the jobs, services, training and career opportunities that we need.
The actions we will take to deliver these aims include:
- Grow the number of businesses in Erewash by the creation of new businesses attracting and supporting those already established.
- Play our part in supporting the economy through the COVID-19 pandemic and deliver all government funded programmes of business support.
- Support a thriving local economy by working in partnership to increase footfall in our town centres.
- Provide support for our local, voluntary and community organisations through the continued delivery of community grants.
- See new development at the former Stanton Ironworks.
- Secure measures identified in the HS2 Mitigation Plan.
- Target housing and homelessness resources in the communities with the greatest need.
- Ensure future growth meets the needs of the borough and its residents.
- Protect and enhance the natural environment.
A well run efficient council
In order to achieve this we aim to:
- Welcome innovation, technology and new ways of working to continuously improve.
- Optimise the use of our assets, land, property, staff and finances.
- We want our people to be the best they can be and to stretch themselves to achieve even more.
The actions we will take to deliver these aims include:
- Review the property and assets portfolio with a view to increasing rental income from the letting of council property and generating capital receipts from the disposal of surplus assets.
- Respond to the impact of COVID-19 and stabilise the council’s operational and financial position after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
- Support a culture of learning and development both within the community and for our staff.
- Recognise the talent and commitment of our staff, celebrating success and rewarding performance.
