To support the district's economy to recover then grow
The perfect storm of a pandemic followed by the inevitable economic uncertainty could wipe away years of economic growth and we need to support the district’s economy to recover then help it to grow.
We will focus on providing support that will result in the creation of jobs with a particular focus on those that are well paid and created by new business start ups. We will create as many different opportunities as we can to ensure wealth creation and prosperity.
We will support our brilliant education sector as one of the main drivers of higher wages and using their research work to create new opportunities for local businesses.
Even with our limited resources, there are ways we can achieve this. We will:
- create a new Disposals Policy, to sell those of our assets that are not contributing to our economy or other priorities, and to reinvest the money that generates, with a focus on redevelopment and regeneration
- in the face of increasing car parking charges, we will launch new incentive schemes that make best use of our innovative and cutting-edge technology to stimulate demand at the right times, paying particular attention to our green credentials
- seek money from elsewhere to support business start-ups, advice clinics and/or growth hubs
- use the Local Plan and Transport Strategy to focus on creating commercial opportunities and deliver new infrastructure with a particular focus on green development
- be proud to support private enterprise and encourage it to thrive
We will continue to deliver the infrastructure projects we have already committed to such as the Riverside, Canterbury.
We will invest in future development that benefits the district and our economy. We will also seek money from outside our organisation to support and invest in the delivery of our Climate Change Action Plan.
To deliver a better social housing service for our tenants
Bringing the social housing service back in-house is likely to come at significant cost as we lose the economies of scale of the shared housing service, make up for years of under-investment and false ‘savings’ are uncovered.
Improving the standard and quality of the service we provide is our priority with a desire to find new ways to pay for a growing housing stock in the face of a Housing Revenue Account that is currently stretched to capacity.
Tenants need to be supported through what are often difficult circumstances, with significantly better access to services than they have been getting under East Kent Housing. Their challenges are our challenges.
To deliver better waste collection services for all residents
If bringing housing back in-house was a significant challenge, that pales into insignificance to the council running its own refuse collection and environmental services company.
Collections need to be made consistently and on time while the streets need to be clean. The system residents use to report problems needs to be simple and efficient.
Moreover, flytipping and graffiti needs to be removed and that will also be the responsibility of our new Canterbury Environment Company (Canenco).
To use our enforcement powers to protect the district
When we use our powers, we have to be as quick as we can and ensure the action we take is publicised. This will send a very clear message that our district does not tolerate those who seek to harm it or impact the quality of life of our other residents. We want to make residents feel safer and happier about where they live.
Our enforcement activity runs across planning, parking, licensing, littering, protecting our open spaces and public realm improvements and more. Strong enforcement is important across the entire district.
Wherever possible the cost of providing this service should be made up by those who break the rules, so that the council taxpayers who are good members of our communities and always follow the rules are not punished and hit in their pockets.