FOREWORD he document you are about to read is the This strategy is not intended to deal with I referred, in the first paragraph, to the Tresult of a great deal of work by a large existing roles and activities of the partners. Its completion and publication of the Community number of people and in some senses is the purpose is more to provide the opportunities Strategy as the first important milestone on a final product of that word. Yet in reality this for the partners to ensure that the concerns and longer journey. The next stage of that journey strategy document should be viewed as a first needs of local people are met and that the starts now. important milestone of a longer journey. future development of the district is as sustainable as possible. When we published the consultation draft it already contained the results of extensive This Community Strategy represents a consultation with people who live and work in commitment by the members of Adur in Adur. Partnership to work together to achieve the objectives, that you, the community have set The draft also contained the following: “An for them. Invitation to have your say”. I am pleased to report that many individuals together with a large number of groups and organisations accepted that invitation. Many of these responses have influenced the changes that Patrick Beresford have been made and included in this the final Chair of Adur in Partnership document. CONTENTS Introduction to the Adur Community Strategy 2 ADistrict of Contrasts 4 One Shared Agenda 6 Our Vision of the Future 7 Bringing People Together- Adur in Partnership 8 Creating a new kind of strategy 9 Key Principles 10 Community Involvement 12 Key Themes and Challenges 13 Health and Social Care 14 Education and Training 16 Housing 18 Transport 20 Young People and Children 22 Environment 24 Community Engagement 26 Crime and Community Safety 28 Business and the Local Economy 30 Culture and Leisure 32 Action speaks louder than words 34 Making sure we stay on course 36 Appendix 1. Public Service Agreement for West Sussex (i) Appendix 2. Quality of Life Indicators-Audit Commission (iii) Glossary (v) 1 INTRODUCTION Imagine an Adur 20 years from now.....What would it be like? ...What should it be like? This Community Strategy, prepared by ‘Adur in Partnership’, begins to answer these questions based on the views and aspirations of local people. WHY DO WE NEED A COMMUNITY STRATEGY? The Local Government Act 2000 gave local authorities, for the first time, the power and duty to prepare a Community Strategy. This will promote the economic, environmental and social well- being of their areas and contribute to the achievement of sustainable development in the UK. In Adur, the Community Strategy is being prepared by ‘Adur in Partnership’, which is made up of public, private, voluntary and community organisations. Community planning, the process of producing and implementing a Community Strategy, represents a new approach to meeting the challenges facing Adur. It is not only about producing a jointly agreed strategy for the future, but also about developing new ways of working between organisations and involving local people to address local issues. It provides the opportunity to tackle key community priorities together. This will in turn shape the objectives and actions in other strategies and plans to ensure that they are ‘joined up’, making the links between, for example, reducing crime, improving health and education and providing better housing, jobs and improving the environment. The Government has made it clear that future funding of public services may depend on being able to demonstrate that key agencies are working in partnership to tackle those issues of most concern to the local community. 2 WHAT WILL THE COMMUNITY STRATEGY DO? Based on detailed statistical evidence and consultation it highlights the issues, which are important for those who live and work in Adur in 2003. It is the important first step in identifying the actions that need to be taken in order to improve the well-being of people in Adur. Crucially, it identifies who can make these things happen and how. The Strategy is not a comprehensive statement of all the actions to be taken by all the partners. Rather it will concentrate on where joint or co-ordinated action by the partners can make the most difference. Individual partners will continue to provide and develop their services for the people of Adur, but guided in the future by the aims and priorities in the Community Strategy. The Community Strategy will be regularly updated to reflect changing community priorities. 3 A DISTRICT OF CONTRASTS A Snapshot The majority of people are happy living in Adur. ◆ Adur has the Crime is lower than the national average, it has a second highest rate of homeless people good clean enironment with close proximity to deemed to be in priority need in West the areas of Brighton and Worthing. However, Sussex. although small, Adur is a district of contrasts … ◆ Adur has five of the six highest ranked ◆ The residential population of the Adur wards for maternal smoking in the county. district is about 60,000, living in 25,000 ◆ households. Ethnic minorities make up Adur has the second highest rate of teenage 1.2%. Almost a quarter of the population of pregnancy in the county. Adur is over retirement age. ◆ Adur has the highest infant mortality rate ◆ The district covers an area of 16 square in the county at 5.4 per 1000 live births miles. Over 66% of this is made up of compared to the county rate of just over 4. downland, which restricts the availability of ◆ Recorded crimes of burglary, violent crime, land for residential and commercial vehicle crime and robbery have decreased development. across the district. ◆ Five of Adur’s wards are ranked in the top ◆ Traffic is expected to increase significantly twenty ‘most deprived’ wards in the county. in Adur in the next 10-15 years- possibly ◆ Adur is the most educationally deprived by as much as 37%. area in West Sussex- four of its wards fall ◆ Car ownership is the second lowest in the within the 10% most educationally County. deprived wards in England. ◆ Only 31.6% of the electorate voted in the ◆ Considerable numbers of people lack basic District Council Elections in 2003. literacy and numeracy skills. Nearly 24% of the population aged 16-60 have poor ◆ 17% of household waste produced in the literacy skills. district is recycled. ◆ 11% of households in Adur receive Housing Benefit. 4 5 challe ssive nge ma a ut A a b ONE SHARED AGENDA simple ide Adur in Partnership and Community What has happened so far? Planning Adur in Partnership was established after Responsibility for leading the community a conference in April 2002, which was attended planning process lies with both Adur district by over 70 organisations. The aim has been to Council and West Sussex County Council. Both ensure that all the key service providers and have statutory responsibilities for producing organisations in the community are represented, community strategies and to this end the two while keeping the board to a size, which still council’s have formally agreed to work in allows effective decision-making. partnership with each other. Both authorities have been instrumental in establishing a local We are confident that the way we have strategic partnership of key public, private, developed ‘Your Community, Your Future’ and voluntary and community sector bodies, which our determination to work together to make it a in Adur is called ‘Adur in Partnership’. reality will with your help, ensure its success. Partnership working is not new in Adur. There are some outstanding examples of real achievement where organisations have worked closely together and in particular, where they have worked closely with individuals, groups and communities. One of the aims of the new partnership is to identify where opportunities exist to work together more and develop ways of working to enable this to happen. 6 The Vision OUR VISION OF THE FUTURE An Adur ◆ Of clean streets; accessible parks and open spaces where people can play, walk or sit; where wildlife is given the opportunity to thrive and add to our quality For the Adur Community of life; It is difficult to look ahead and agree the We believe it is achievable because all ◆ Where inequalities in quality of life are reduced sort of district, town, community or the organisations have agreed it and are united across the district and where Adur’s towns encourage neighbourhood we want to be a part of in 20 in wanting action not words. people with different abilities, cultures and views to years time. When we asked local people to do support each other and live in harmony; this, many referred to the things that are wrong ◆ now and need to change, the sort of day-to-day Adur in Partnership is committed to Where communities are safe and feel safe; things that affect us all such as jobs, local turning this vision into reality. ◆ facilities, schools, clean streets, safety and Where decent, affordable housing is available and public transport. accessible; ◆ Set out here is our vision for Adur for the Where education and learning is supported and next 20 years. These are the things important to encouraged; people in Adur. They contribute towards Adur ◆ Where rewarding employment opportunities exist and being a place where people want to live, work voluntary work is valued; and play, both now and in the future. ◆ Where leisure and recreation facilities are close at Our vision must be both ambitious and hand and accessible to all; realistic.