District Matters

Positive and Optimistic views

April 2021

It's been a year since Covid-19 hit. The last year can easily be described as fraught with lots of ups and downs. Now, however, we can I think, see that the end of the worst is in sight. In Stratford-on-Avon District all our metrics looked good before the schools returned:

• Confirmed cases: 7 day rolling average - 53.8 per 100,000
• Confirmed cases aged 60+ - 43.2 per 100,000
• % of positive cases - 2.4%
• Number of people vaccinated, at least 1 dose - 57,695

(Data as published 15/03/20210)

This is a tribute to the hard work put in by everyone involved, and perhaps, especially the volunteers who have played an important role in enabling us to deliver such a good outcome.

The very latest numbers, as I write, indicate that there is a blip developing with numbers increasing. This is almost certainly due to the schools returning. I hope it is short-lived.

Meanwhile, work continues on other issues. The proposed merger with Warwick District is making further progress. We now have five management team posts shared jointly with Warwick District:

• Head of Finance and Section151 Officer
• Head of Community and Operational services
• Head of Customer Services
• Head of ICT
• Head of Assets

I think it is fair to say that a lot has been achieved in a short time, despite having to work under Covid-19 restrictions. We are all aware that there is still a long way to go and a lot of hard work yet to do. Many of the issues were picked up in the intensive debate at the last Full Council meeting. The bottom line is though, whatever the difficulties, is this the best option? Council members, with one exception, appeared to think it was.

Also agreed at the last Full Council was the investment of £8million in a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF), this is a joint enterprise by eight local authorities. The total cost is £58.4 million. The waste and recycling landscape has changed massively over the past few years and we estimated that, had we not participated in this venture, we could have been exposed to extra costs of up to £1million a year.

It is worth commenting that the decisions Councillors and Council have to take are getting increasingly substantial and significant. This is unlikely to change. Indeed, what I see already coming down the track are a whole series of big issues requiring a lot of work. Some of these represent significant opportunities for our District. As we are a relatively small organisation, this means that we have to be very careful how we use our scarce resources. If the expertise and knowledge lies elsewhere, say Warwickshire County Council, then it is best that they do the work, assuming that it has not already been done. There is absolutely no point in reinventing wheels. This has nothing to do with whether an issue is important or not, it is simply about the best use of resources.

There are some exciting opportunities taking shape in the background, which are taking up a lot of time and effort but which will be very positive for our District. As I am sure you will understand, these have to reach a final point of agreement before they can be made public. However, what we are working on in the background gives me cautious optimism, and perhaps even a degree of excitement, for the medium and longer term future of our District.

So, hopefully, in the coming months I will have good news to impart.