Residents are being asked to have their say on the borough council’s draft action plan to improve services and ensure Basingstoke and Deane is a place where people can live happily and the environment is protected and enhanced.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s decision-making Cabinet last night (Tuesday 8 November) approved the draft Council Plan for consultation.

The new Council Plan 2023 to 2027 will guide the key things the council will focus on. It sets priorities to make Basingstoke and Deane a place where people can live well and the environment can flourish, while ensuring the council provides value for money services for residents.

The publication of the draft plan for consultation comes as the council’s latest residents’ survey shows a 93% satisfaction level with the borough as a place to live.

Carried out by an independent research company every few years with a representative sample of residents, the survey shows clean and safe streets are among the things that make most difference to people.

Feedback from the survey has been used to help draw up the plan, recognising that the council can’t resource every service to the same level.

The survey results show 75% of respondents feel the council is well run and 59% agree that it provides good value for money – higher than the South East average and national averages.

The draft plan commits to continually look for areas to improve what the council does and increase customer satisfaction.

Leader of the Council Cllr Simon Bound said: “We know that getting the basics right and acting on the things that our residents have told us are most important to them is key to making the borough a great place to live.

“For example, we recognise that currently our recycling and waste collections don’t meet the high standards of service our residents deserve. One of our key actions is to focus on doing everything possible to improve these services, which impact on all homes in our borough.

“This is alongside freezing the borough council’s part of council tax next year and not increasing parking charges to help residents struggling with the cost of living.

“We need to ensure that there is a green thread running through all we do. The draft plan commits to tackling climate change to meet challenging carbon neutral targets, supporting communities to be sustainable and protecting and enhancing the environment, supporting the ecological emergency declaration.

“I hope people who live and work in the borough will take the chance to have their say on the plan that sets key priorities to guide the borough council’s activities. We need to understand if we are focusing on the right things for them.”

The final version of the Council Plan is set to be agreed in February 2023, alongside the budget that will fund it.

Consultation on the draft Council Plan and budget, which runs until Monday 2 January 2023, has now gone live at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/councilconsult2023

ENDS