Council agrees to floods and freeze recovery plan
Posted: Feb 19 08:58
Cumbria County Council has agreed a Council Plan which makes the county's recovery from the recent floods and prolonged freeze its top priority for the next three years.The Council Plan 2010-13 sits alongside the council's budget and financial plans to ensure that the organisation's strategic priorities match up with the way it allocates resources.
It has been formulated after extensive consultation with both the public and partner organisations and is also shaped by the results of the inspections and reviews which the county council regularly undergoes.
The need for urgent work to repair the county's highways infrastructure is the top priority, and the council plan has been formulated in the expectation of considerable pressures on public sector finances and increasing demands on council services. The Council Plan prepares for this potentially difficult future and focuses on how the council can work more efficiently and effectively while continuing to deliver front line services.
The council recognises that several important areas of work, outlined in the plan, will need to progress over the next three years.
Projects have been started which need to be seen through to completion. The Carlisle Northern Development Route is expected to be ready by spring 2012. This will open up access to the west of the county for businesses as well as cut congestion and journey times through the city centre.
Also included in the council's plan is the continuation of work to transform the county's schools through the Building Schools for the Future programme if the county's bid for Government funding is successful. This is in addition to the transformation of secondary education in Barrow, Carlisle and Egremont with the establishment of state-of-the-art academies thanks to the county council securing investment of £100 million.
To avoid landfill tax the council needs to dramatically reduce the amount of rubbish sent to landfill. To address this council has started construction of a new mechanical biological treatment plant at Hespin Wood near Carlisle which is set to be up and running by 2012, with a second plant in Barrow coming into service a year later. These plants will transform waste disposal in the county.
The next three years will also see the progression of work on Britain's Energy Coast; modernisation of the way we care for our older people; a countywide carbon reduction programme to meet the challenging EU targets, and a major efficiency drive to make sure council services offer value for money for council tax payers.
Partnership working across the county will continue to devolve power and improve the way the council engages with people at a local level.
Cllr Jim Buchanan, Leader of Cumbria County Council, said: "We are living in challenging times, and the county is facing the 'perfect storm' of tightening public sector spending at the same time as needing to rebuild the infrastructure damaged by the floods and recent freeze.
"We need to make sure we have the right plans in place to deal with these pressures and at the same time continue to deliver the essential services and larger projects which are in the pipeline. This Council Plan, alongside our budget and financial plan, does exactly that.
"Our top priority is the same as that for the people living in areas affected by the floods - get life back to normal as quickly as possible. But at the same time we can't lose sight of the fact that we need to continue to safeguard our children and vulnerable people, make sure our schools provide the best possible opportunities for our youngsters, dispose of the county's waste in a way which is friendly to the environment, and ensure that people can get around Cumbria in the safest way possible."
