The Council Plan 2008 to 2011 has now been agreed by Cabinet and Council.
The plan builds on achievements over the last year in the council’s four key priority areas, prosperity, wellbeing, inclusion and partnerships. These successes have included:
- a higher, and still increasing, recycling rate of over 20%
- the successful reopening of the Haymarket Theatre
- bringing Primark to the town
- returning to manual street cleaning
- exceeding the target for delivery of affordable housing
- among Hampshire’s lowest levels of council tax increase.
Over the next 12 months the council intends to ‘sharpen its focus’ in the following areas:
- leading on the borough’s climate change action – with plans including promoting more locally produced goods, investigating renewable energy projects and reducing the borough’s carbon emissions
- increasing sustainable economic prosperity – including revitalising Basing View and creating a ‘cultural hub’ as part of improvements to the town centre
- acting on local issues such as rural matters and regeneration of town centre estates
- continuing to improve frontline services including housing, environmental services, development control, transport and highways – one example of this a more efficient grass cutting programme.