New Corporate Strategy
July 2019
Cabinet and the management team are currently working on our Corporate Strategy for the next four years. We have now had two meetings facilitated by an external consultant, fortunately funded by the Local Government Association. What I am finding heartening about the process is the quality of the thinking, the level of interaction between Cabinet and officers, and the level of energy.
There is no doubt that the next four years see a combination of challenges and opportunities against a backdrop of considerable uncertainty.
The key issues emerging are:
- How we can communicate with our residents more effectively, particularly to understand their needs and priorities and communicate what we are doing.
- The severe financial constraints on the council.
- The increasing importance of climate change and carbon neutrality. Regardless of the progress that is made towards reducing emissions we will have to adapt to the changing climate. This will affect everyone and is not a short term issue. My personal view is that most people fail to understand the realities of the impact climate change will have and the sheer scale of the response needed.
- The vital importance of working with public sector partners in a more complex and demanding environment. Over the past 12 months we have made significant progress in building stronger working relationships with the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP), the West Midlands Combined Authority and Warwickshire County Council. At central government level we have made our presence felt with Homes England, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). This will be extended to cover our neighbouring districts, Cherwell, South Northamptonshire, Wychavon and Cotswold.
- We need to build on the reputation we are developing with the private sector for being “open for business". This includes developers, where it is a lot easier to get the results we want if we work with them. The University of Warwick, for example, where we are developing a good working relationship on the development of the Wellesbourne campus. We have other opportunities that are at an earlier stage which are potentially significant and exciting. We are very conscious of the need to attract inward investment to maintain our prosperity in a changing and much more competitive world.
- We have started to be much more assertive with other organisations and bodies to get them to deliver what we need. It is utterly frustrating when delivery targets are missed. We are currently attempting to find a way of delivering rural broadband; we had thought we had found a way through then DCMS changed the rules. Nevertheless, having written to the responsible minister twice, we have now built very useful connections that we can, in the best possible way, exploit.
- Reviewing the Core Strategy is becoming ever more significant. This needs to be driven much more by economic development and place shaping rather than just housing numbers. It will also recognise the infrastructure constraints which are of increasing significance. This will set the tone for the development of the district for the next decade.
- The key to our effectiveness as a council will be our review of “Ways of Working" for the organisation. This is already underway.
I am conscious that I have only skimmed the surface of what we are considering; however, I hope that it demonstrates both the seriousness and the depth and breadth of our thinking.
Finally, however good a strategy is, it cannot be seen as rigid. The world keeps on changing and we have to respond. The big advantage we are developing is a feeling that both Cabinet and officers are all on “the same page" and that, together, we have the capability to respond swiftly to challenges.
