BUILDING A BETTER BROMLEY 2016-2018
Bromley is a fantastic place to live and do business. As a Council we are committed to continuing the success of the Borough and to build for the future.
As your Council we will continue to reduce bureaucratic burdens, whilst meeting our role in providing key services. We will create an environment where individuals and communities can thrive and where people can lead healthier, more independent and self-reliant lifestyles. This means we can focus on supporting the Borough's most vulnerable residents. Our services will be underpinned by the principles of early intervention and prevention.
We want to create an environment for our children and young people to be successful: by supporting people into work; offering advice and signposting to self-help solutions, and working with partners to minimise crime and antisocial behaviour.
We also recognise this is a job that we cannot do alone and so we will continue our strong support for the voluntary sector as well as working closely with outside bodies in the private and public sector.
Despite the unprecedented financial challenge, we will serve and advocate on behalf of our residents and aim to deliver cost-effective quality services. Working with our strategic partners we will also continue to ensure that we get the fairest deal possible from government on issues that are important to Bromley residents.
We remain committed to providing the leadership and mechanisms to bring Bromley people and partners together so we can stand together to deliver the overall goal of Building a Better Bromley:
In Supporting Independencewe will:
•Through working with partners, ensure the provision of high quality locally relevant information and advice about care and support needs to enable choice and control.
•Enhance the quality of life for people with care and support needs and ensure thatthose whose circumstances make them vulnerable are protected from avoidable harm.
•In line with the Care Act, focus on wellbeing and prevention with our health and other partners, jointly commissioning community services and providingco-ordinated management of patients with long term conditions.
•Assist people experiencing housing difficulties with advice and support aimed at maintaining or securing a home and avoiding crisis.
To support ourChildren and Young People we will:
Ensure the best possible future for the children and young people of Bromley, with a clear focus on supporting the most vulnerable through:
•Safeguarding children and young people within schools and the community.
•Listening to the views of children and young people to influence the decisions that are made about them.
•Encourage excellent educational opportunities from the early years through to further and higher education for all Bromley children and young people including those with Special Educational Needs.
For a Healthy Bromley we will:
•Work with health partners and focus on areas identified within the Health & Wellbeing Strategy in improving health and delivering Public Health outcomes.
•Ensure that health and wellbeing priorities are integrated within all areas of the Building a Better Bromley framework.
•Work with our partners, stakeholders and the public to take responsibility for themselves and their health and wellbeing by adopting healthier lifestyles. This will ensure less reliance on public services.
For an Excellent Council we will:
•Ensure good strategic financial management and robust discipline to deliver within our budgets.
•Minimise bureaucracy to ensure decision-making is efficient and effective.
•Ensure good contract management to ensure value for money and quality services.
•Ensure the voice of residents and service users is routinely sought and where appropriate, take action when we receive feedback.
•Invest in technology to enable greater flexibility and give customers alternative means of accessing our services.
•Continually develop, encourage and empower our staff to do their best and recognise and reward effort and innovation.
For a Safe Bromley we will:
•Continue to work closely with partners and encourage community engagement to ensure Bromley remains, and is known to be, one of the safest Boroughs in London.
•Strive to further reduce levels of crime and antisocial behaviour, including through CCTV and other enforcement methods and implementing the Community Safety Strategy.
•Continue to protect the elderly and vulnerable from scams and doorstep crime.
•Protect consumers through licensing, regulating businesses, and taking appropriate enforcement action.
For a Quality Environment we will:
•Sustain a clean, green and tidy environment .through value-for-money services provided to a consistently high standard.
•Encourage further improvements in recycling and seek to reduce waste to manage costs and protect the environment.
•Encourage Residents Associationsand the expanding network of 'Friends' to contribute to parks, tees andstreets management and work with Snow Friends during winter weather.
•Use our wide-ranging enforcement and regulatory powers in a fair manner to protect people and their neighbourhoods, thereby reducing costs associated with issues such as fly-tipping.
•Identify infrastructure investment opportunities to reduce future maintenance costs associated with maintaining a high quality streetscene, including roads and street furniture.
For the Regeneration of our Borough we will:
•Set out our vision for development in the Borough over the next 15 years in our new Local Plan, guiding development to town centres and built up areas whilst preserving our Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Land.
•Lobby Government and the GLA, and where appropriate other bodies, to support local infrastructure development.
•Promote economic development and investment in the Borough.
•Promote, where appropriate,high quality housing developments, to meet the Borough's housing requirements.
•Ensure good strategic asset management, which will include the disposal ofassetswhich do not provide a reasonable return and investing in assets which will be good long term investments, both in financial and land acquisition terms
For Vibrant Thriving Town Centres we will:
•Drive new business and industrial development to generate new income and employment opportunities with a specific focus on:
- Cray Valley Corridor, Bromley Town Centre and Biggin Hill.
•Support as appropriate, and where resources allow, development in other towns and key locations e.g.
- Penge/Anerley/Crystal Palace, Beckenham and Orpington Town Centres and local shopping centres
•Encourage further development of Business Improvement Districts so our diverse range of local businesses work together to bring improvements to their trading environment.
•Promote the specific opportunities in Bromley High Street to provide a unique shopping experience and serve a quality niche market.
London Borough of Bromley
Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group
London Fire Brigade
Bromley Metropolitan Police
Community Links Bromley
London South East Colleges
Department for Work and Pensions