APPENDIX A
North Norfolk District Council
Corporate Plan 2011 – 2015
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
Introduction from the Leader of the Council
Our values
Our priorities
Delivering the vision
Introduction – Our Shared Vision
North Norfolk is a unique and beautiful place. It is somewhere we cherish and we are proud to be
entrusted with the role of leading our district and contributing to the future wellbeing and prosperity
of the many communities we represent.
The Council faces tough challenges and competing demands. Our new corporate plan is being
launched at a time of national and global austerity. Here at North Norfolk District Council, our
income from government has already been cut, and will be reduced further as the Coalition
Government grapples with a legacy of inherited debt, and the interest received from our
investments is at its lowest for years. We must therefore find ways to run the Council and deliver
services far more efficiently than ever before.
But the need for reform of the Council is not just the result of the tough economic climate. We
believe that the Council has tried to do too much and spread itself too thinly in the process. By
focussing now on the services that really matter to local people and businesses, we will improve
our Council and deliver better value for money for taxpayers.
Our priorities for North Norfolk are:
•
To boost employment and create more jobs.
•
To enable the provision of new homes and the infrastructure that goes with them.
•
To protect our coastline and the character of our countryside and built heritage.
•
To empower individuals and local communities to have a greater say in their own
futures.
•
To reform the organisation to deliver high quality services that achieve our priorities
in an efficient manner that represents good value for local taxpayers.
Success in meeting these aims will involve making some difficult choices. We must ensure that
our spending is focussed on the things that really matter to local people and businesses.
We must create opportunities for parish and town councils and other voluntary groups and
organisations to come forward with their own ideas and plans for their communities, and then help
those communities to realise their ambitions through local initiative and leadership. We will do
everything we can to help the district to modernise, grow and prosper while at the same time
continuing to value and protect our heritage.
This document sets out our plans through to 2015. It summarises our priorities and will guide the
business decisions we will be taking to ensure that the Council is well-run and able to meet our
objectives. The Government has brought forward its localism agenda and we will embrace it fully,
putting it at the heart of all we do – local decisions and local actions for the benefit of local
communities.
Leader, North Norfolk District Council, October 2011
Our Values
We will
ƒ
Empower people and communities to make their own decisions
ƒ
Support people in taking control of their own lives
ƒ
Be innovative and flexible in the delivery of our services
ƒ
Be open and transparent in our decision-making
ƒ
Work with partners in the private, public and voluntary sectors where appropriate for
the benefit of the District
ƒ
Value and respect the roles of councillors and staff and act with integrity at all times
Jobs and the Local Economy
Our priority
A district with a thriving economy offering better jobs and prospects for local people.
What we want to achieve
How we are going to achieve it
Increase the number of new
businesses and support the
growth and expansion of existing
businesses
Engage with the North Norfolk Business Forum, the
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership and our
Town and Parish Councils to deliver initiatives that
will support the diversification of the North Norfolk
economy.
Develop proposals to provide support to microbusinesses and business start-ups.
Encourage business investment in the District by
enabling suitable land and premises to be matched to
the needs of businesses and by providing early
advice and support through the planning system
Improve the job prospects for our
residents by developing a skilled
and adaptable workforce that is
matched to business growth and
development
Work closely with education and training providers
and the business community to co-ordinate training
provision and match skills to future business needs,
including tackling the barriers to work faced by
disadvantaged groups.
Improve access to funding for
local businesses.
Develop and maintain a funding toolkit for local
businesses and encourage greater availability of
finance for small businesses.
Reduce burdens to business by
removing unnecessary red tape
and bureaucracy at the local
level.
Provide businesses with support and guidance in
better understanding and complying with necessary
legislative and regulatory requirements.
Streamline local regulatory processes where
possible.
Promote a positive image of
North Norfolk as a premier visitor
destination.
Market North Norfolk as an attractive all year-round
destination for domestic and overseas visitors.
Maximise the potential of the District’s tourism assets.
Housing and infrastructure
Our priority
Everyone in North Norfolk should have the opportunity to buy or rent a decent home at a
price they can afford, in a community where they want to live and work
What we want to achieve
How we are going to achieve it
Increase the number of new
homes built within the District and
reduce the number of empty
properties
Engage constructively with landowners and
developers of sites allocated for future development
to ensure the timely delivery of well-planned new
residential developments
Increase the number of affordable
homes with a range of tenure
types
Respond to emerging legislation that will empower
local communities to promote additional development
should they so wish and work with those communities
to ensure that they share in the benefits of growth
Introduce more flexibility around the Council’s
requirement for affordable housing to ensure the
viability of residential developments
Secure investment in new
infrastructure
Create a charging framework for infrastructure
development to secure the investment required to
balance population growth with the provision of high
quality local services
Coast, Countryside & Built Heritage
Our priority
A district where the beautiful natural environment and built heritage is valued and
protected for future generations and where the coastline is defended against erosion
wherever practicable
What we want to achieve
How we are going to achieve it
Maintain the integrity of special
landscape designations and
balance the development of
housing and economic activity
with the need to preserve the
character and quality of the
countryside.
Recognise the District’s built
environment as a heritage asset
when promoting North Norfolk.
Design a more cohesive
framework for coastline
management.
Be guided by the land use principles and
designations in the Local Development Framework in
managing the future development of the District
Continue to defend coastal
settlements against erosion
wherever practicable.
Influence Central Government policy on funding
coastal defence
Manage our parks, woodlands and beaches to the
highest possible standard
Apply proportionate and sympathetic planning
controls.
Draw together the main strands of coastal
management activity into an Integrated Coastal Zone
Management Plan (ICZM)
Review and maximise funding opportunities
Review the implied obligations in the Shoreline
Management Plan and the status of coastline defence
management designations.
Consider options for local fund raising for coastal
defence
Localism
Our priority
To embrace the Government’s localism agenda to empower individuals and communities
to take more responsibility for their own futures and to build a stronger civic society.
What we want to achieve
How we are going to achieve it
Recognise the important role that
Town and Parish Councils have
as the democratic embodiment of
their communities
Review the need for partnerships and other bodies
that duplicate and potentially compete with local
councils.
Review all Council activities to identify whether some
might be more effectively carried out by Town and
Parish Councils.
Encourage communities to
develop their own vision for their
future and help them to deliver it
Encourage the growth of the Big
Society within communities
To respond positively to requests from Town and
Parish councils to take over the running of services
within their area.
Encourage the development of neighbourhood
planning.
Maximise the benefits that local communities receive
from embracing growth.
Review services and ensure that the Council’s
activities are not competing inappropriately with or
stifling alternative provision.
Establish a community investment fund, to be known
as The Big Society Fund to invest in local
communities and strengthen civic society.
Delivering the Vision
Our priority
To make the Council more efficient so that we can both deliver our priorities and offer
value for money for local taxpayers.
What we want to achieve
How we are going to achieve it
Strong governance arrangements
Operate an effective audit committee.
Effective Communications
Strong and proportionate
organisational management
Prioritise services and functions in
line with the wishes of our
communities and to deliver our
corporate objectives
Deliver year on year
improvements in efficiency
Update the Local Code of Corporate Governance in
line with the new Corporate Plan.
Develop a communication and engagement strategy
that defines our approach to internal and external
communications and encompasses our approach to
localism.
Review the management arrangements within the
Council, reducing hierarchies and empowering staff.
Prioritise services and redirect resources in line with
those priorities.
Review business processes and create a culture of
challenge.
Invest in new technology where this can support more
efficient ways of working.
Explore opportunities to deliver high quality services
more effectively through new partnerships with public,
private and voluntary organisations.
Encourage and reward our staff for finding innovative
new ways to deliver higher quality services more
efficiently.
CPfinal/PJB210911