Bedford Borough’s Sustainable Community Strategy 2009-2021

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Bedford Borough’s Sustainable Community Strategy 2009-2021

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BBP006_09 Sustainable Community Strategy / designed by DSD Design, Borough Hall, Cauldwell Street, Bedford MK42 9AP - 01234 267433 / Printed on 80% recycled paper

Photography: Bob Johns - www.expresspictures.co.uk / Hedj Dollman - www.inrogue.co.uk / David Maxwell LRPS / BRCC Services Ltd / Jordi Lafon - BCA Gallery / Bedford Borough Council PR Photo Library / Copyright © 2009

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Our Vision

We are pleased to present our Sustainable Community Strategy for the new unitary Borough of Bedford.

We believe that Bedford Borough should be a place of opportunity where everybody can fully realise their potential and inﬂuence the decisions that affect their daily lives. People

should feel connected with the Borough and proud to celebrate its rich natural and built environment, diversity and history. We want to improve the quality of life of present and

future generations and ensure that those who live and work in the Borough are supported to lead healthy and fulﬁlled lives. To do this, we need to tackle the real and pressing issues

facing the Borough – around jobs; employment; housing; crime; skills and education – and adapt to the pressures and demands of a growing and ageing population.

We are aware of the burden our way of life places on the planet on which we depend. We know the consequences of already unavoidable climate change are increasing stress on

resources and environmental systems. Therefore, we believe that the

future of Bedford Borough must be founded on sustainable principles. We will ensure that our actions and delivery follow these key principles:

sustainable consumption and production t

reducing carbon emissions and promoting energy efﬁciency t

natural resource protection and environmental enhancement t

sustainable communities t

(see http://www.inspire-east.org.uk/sustainablecommunitiessessions.aspx) We are committed to delivering this vision and will lead by example, but we cannot

make this happen on our own. We hope that all partners, stakeholders, citizens and communities will take responsibility, demonstrate commitment and make practical

contributions to help realise our vision for Bedford Borough.

Dave Hodgson

Mayor of Bedford Borough Co-Chair

John Cross

Chief Executive of bpha Co-Chair

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Bedford Borough Sustainable Community Strategy 2009-2021

A Thriving Borough

Economic Development, Regeneration and Enterprise

A Greener Borough

Environment and Climate Change

An Aspiring Borough

Children and Young People

A Healthy Borough

Adult Health and Well Being

A Safer Borough

Safer Communities

An Inclusive Borough

Social Inclusion, Community Cohesion and Culture

A Growing Borough

Housing and Transport

Annex A

The Bedford Borough Partnership Board

Annex B

How the Bedford Borough Partnership is Organised

A Th i i A

A B h

Introduction

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Introduction

Bedford Borough covers an area of 476 square kilometres. Almost 155,000 people live in the Borough and many more work here, or use the Borough for shopping, recreation or key services.

Over the next ﬁfteen years the Borough’s population is planned to grow by 20,000.

The Borough is home to a large number of distinctive communities, each with its own unique identity. At its heart is the county town of Bedford.

The quality of life for those who live, work or visit the Borough depends on many organisations – the Council, Police, Fire & Rescue and healthcare organisations, as well as Parish and

Town Councils, Urban Community Councils, businesses, voluntary organisations, tenants and residents associations, community, race and faith groups, individual residents, workers and

visitors. Tens of thousands of people have an impact on what it feels like to live and work in the Borough.

Bedford Borough Northamptonshire

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Armed with this knowledge, the Partnership Board has developed a series of goals for the future of the Borough.

These reﬂect our analysis of what needs to be done to tackle the pressing problems that have been identiﬁed.

The goals have been organised around seven themes, which together reﬂect our vision – a Borough which is:

Thriving...

with a stronger local economy delivering higher levels of growth and employment for the beneﬁt of the Borough’s existing and future residents;

Greener...

supporting a high quality natural and built environment which is valued and enjoyed by all;

which encourages biodiversity and supports the development of a low carbon community, including local businesses, capable of adapting to the impacts of climate change;

Aspiring

where all the Borough’s children and young people are able to lead safe, healthy and happy lives and are provided with opportunities to develop their self-esteem, maximise their life

chances and realise their full potential;

Healthy...

where everybody has access to high-quality health and social care services when they need them and the help they need to lead healthy and independent lives;

Safer...

where people live safer lives;

Inclusive...

where all people feel part of the wider community and are proud to celebrate its rich diversity; where inequalities are reduced and all people are able to participate in the

sporting, artistic and civic life of the Borough;

Growing...

where the supply and quality of housing and transport is capable of supporting the needs and aspirations of the Borough’s population now and in the future.

What is the Bedford Borough Partnership and what is a

Sustainable Community Strategy?

Local quality of life is more likely to improve if we can all agree what needs to be achieved and how we will work together to make the changes that are necessary to maintain and improve life for the Borough’s residents, workers and visitors.

The Bedford Borough Partnership is an inclusive confederation of all the organisations and bodies who, in some way, are working to improve the quality of life of people in the Borough.

The Partnership Board brings together representatives from the Borough Council, the Police, NHS Bedfordshire, Parish and Town Councils, schools, voluntary organisations, business and community groups. A list of Board members can be found at Annex A.

The Board is responsible for pulling together the Sustainable Community Strategy for the Borough and securing the buy-in from partners that is necessary to make the goals and aims of the Strategy a reality.

The Strategy sets out the Partnership’s vision for the future of Bedford Borough and the goals that the Partnership is seeking to achieve. The Strategy explains what the Partnership is planning to do (our aims) to meet those goals. The Partnership will keep local residents and stakeholders in the Borough involved and informed of progress.

The starting point for the development of this Sustainable Community Strategy has been an understanding of what things are like in the Borough and how they are set to change, for example, because our population is growing and we are living longer; because of the changing demands of the labour market; or because of the impact of climate change.

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To realise these goals this Sustainable Community Strategy sets out a series of aims which, through their actions, the partners will be seek to deliver. We will tackle cross-cutting issues, such as

sustainability, equality and diversity in a consistent way for all goals and aims.

Of course, having a clear and shared idea of what you want to achieve is one thing. Acting

consistently in a way which delivers the Strategy’s goals and aims and which makes a real difference to people’s lives, is another. The Partnership is committed to making such a difference and, to this

end, has established seven thematic partnerships whose job will be to design and take the actions which will ensure that the goals and aims set out in the Strategy are actually delivered.

The Partnership Board will monitor delivery and will regularly involve and inform Bedford Borough residents and stakeholders of progress. Further information about the structure of the Partnership and how it will report its progress can be found at Annex B.

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Our Goal: A stronger local economy, delivering higher levels of sustainable growth and employment for the beneﬁt of the Borough’s existing and future residents.

1 A Thriving Borough

Economic Development, Regeneration and Enterprise

Why this matters:

Being located at the centre of the Oxford – Cambridge Arc and within the Milton Keynes

& South Midlands growth area, the Borough is potentially well-placed to beneﬁt from the rapid

growth of this knowledge-based economy. To do so it needs clearly to deﬁne its role and

make itself the location of choice for businesses re-locating to the area.

Given today’s uncertain economic climate, we need to focus our immediate efforts on

minimising the impacts of the recession whilst setting ﬁrm foundations for recovery

and growth. In the medium and longer term, an expanding local economy will be important to securing the numbers

and level of jobs that Bedford’ s growing population will need – a population which

is forecast to increase from 155,700 in 2008 to 172,500 in 2021.

The extensive housing growth proposed for Bedford Borough (see chapter 7 – A Growing Borough) will not be achieved

without a strong local economy and the creation of key economic drivers,

including the provision of

infrastructure, to support the local housing market.

Growing the economy also matters if we are to tackle the increasing levels of worklessness that currently exist – 4.2%

of Bedford’s working age population were claiming Job Seekers Allowance in June 2009. The out-of-work beneﬁts claimant rate is currently between 15% and 20%

in Kingsbrook, Cauldwell, Castle, Goldington, Harpur and Queens Park wards.

If new businesses are to be attracted to Bedford, there must be a skilled workforce ready to help grow those businesses.

Currently 27% of working age people have few or no qualiﬁcations and it is important therefore that we improve our skills base, thereby helping both business and Bedford’s citizens.

Retaining existing businesses and attracting new employers also means creating a thriving and vibrant public realm, in which people will want to live, work and socialise. It means improving Bedford town centre and access between it and the surrounding areas; and

enhancing people’s leisure opportunities

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by providing a wide range of activities and facilities.

We believe that economic development must be sustainable if we are to achieve a thriving, low

carbon economy.

What we are already doing:

We are driving forward Town Centre

renaissance through physical redevelopment of the Town Centre and have completed

various improvement works, including Castle Quay.

We are delivering a multi-million pound programme of infrastructure improvements

to bring forward the Growth agenda, attract private sector investment and help

ensure that the employment opportunities available match new housing growth.

We have identiﬁed the need for one or maybe two strategic employment sites

to be provided within the Growth Area (Bedford, Kempston and the Northern

Marston Vale).

We are working to raise the proﬁle of the Borough as a business location

to attract better quality business investment. We are delivering a

series of high proﬁle events to attract visitors to the Bedford area, including the River Festival with its 350,000 attendees.

We have established the Bedford Business Improvement District (BID) and the Blue Caps and worked to enhance our markets to help improve the Borough’s vibrancy.

We are supporting business start up, growth and survival as part of the East of England Development Agency’s Solutions for Business programme, through

Business Link East localised delivery, provision of incubator and business growth space at Bedford i-Lab, Bedford i-Kan and the new Bedford i-Pad for creative industries and have improved business to business networks and events under the Bedford Development Agency, a network of over 500 local businesses.

We are working to raise the skills of our local community, investing in Further and Higher education provision and promoting fuller economic participation for our disadvantaged communities. We are helping people improve their access to local jobs and removing the barriers to work and enterprise.

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What the Partnership will do

To deliver our goal of a Thriving Borough, we will:

Encourage high value added inward investment, the retention and development of local companies and the

establishment of new start-up enterprises.

Create a highly attractive, safe and successful town centre providing a distinctive and excellent range of activities and facilities which can be used and enjoyed by all.

Market the Borough as a prime investment location, raising its proﬁle and image and promoting investment opportunities.

Support and work in partnership with the local tourism industry to expand what it has to offer and market the

Borough as a tourist destination.

Encourage economic participation and support people into jobs within urban and rural communities, by maximising

employment opportunities for local people and promoting skills development.

Improve the general business environment (the supply and quality of infrastructure, premises and services), in order to

foster enterprise, encourage investment and sustain economic growth.

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Our Goal: A high quality natural and built environment which is valued and enjoyed by all; which encourages biodiversity and supports the development of a low carbon community, including local businesses, capable of adapting to the impacts of climate change.

2 A Greener Borough

Environment and Climate Change

Climate change is an issue that affects us all.

Within their lifetime, our children and grandchildren can expect to see average

temperatures rise between 2^o and 3.5^o C, and experience hotter, drier summers, water

shortages and more intense heat waves (with their attendant impact on health). Winters will

be milder and wetter with a greater risk of ﬂooding.

It is important that we all work individually and together to minimise the impact of

climate change by reducing our emissions of those greenhouse gases, which

contribute to global warming; and by conserving our natural assets – land, air

and water. We also need to adapt to the challenges – and the opportunities – that

climate change will present, whether through changes to building design and

building materials; the conservation of water; and the use of renewable

energy; or through the exploitation of new opportunities in agriculture and

horticulture.

The projected increase in population for Bedford Borough between 2008 and 2021 (16,800) will lead to a growth in the number of houses and jobs and

associated infrastructure that will be needed. This growth will inevitably put pressure on our natural and built environment, increasing demand for energy, waste, transport and green space for leisure and recreation. If this is not managed sensitively, the emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants will signiﬁcantly increase and continue to adversely impact on climate change.

Over 89% of the Borough is agricultural land or green space. The extent and quality of our green infrastructure contributes greatly to our quality of life, providing people with opportunities for sport, recreation or just quiet

contemplation. It is also important for local food production, managing ﬂood risk, biodiversity and maintaining an attractive local landscape. The quality of our natural and built environment – both rural and urban – affects the way we feel about our surroundings and our general sense of well-being.

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Biodiversity is fundamental to sustaining human life. It is the basis of our economic success and wellbeing and provides us with many essential

products including fresh food and water, timber, fuel, textiles and medicines. The Borough

supports a rich biodiversity which faces a number of threats, including climate change,

pollution and inappropriate land management.

We are working to reduce our own emissions of carbon dioxide and

undertaking promotions to encourage householders and businesses to increase

environmental awareness and reduce energy consumption as well as adapt to

climate change. Through the LAA we have set a target to achieve a 10.8%

reduction of tonnes per capita carbon emissions from 2005 by 2011.

We are supporting community led action to improve and care for the

local environment including community woodland, allotment, orchard and

heritage projects. For example, the Zero Carbon Castle project is a local

Bedford community action group tackling climate change through

changing lifestyles and the running of local businesses, focussing on

energy, food, schools, transport and waste.

We are improving the recycling and composting of domestic waste for the Borough. We have increased recycling from 8% in 2002 to 32% in 2009.

We have committed to ensure that housing development is based on sustainable principles. We are working with developers to achieve high quality design that takes account of character, local distinctiveness and sustainable design principles, enabling access and promoting community safety. We are also working with developers to protect and enhance the countryside, biodiversity and geodiversity, and the quality and

connectivity of green infrastructure in the Borough with particular emphasis on enhancing the Marston Vale and river Great Ouse valley.

We maintain much of the existing green infrastructure, including six major parks, two country parks, a network of heritage sites, large areas of the Marston Vale Community Forest, a network of wildlife reserves, play areas and public rights of way including footpaths, cycleways and bridleways.

We are working to protect habitats and species in wildlife priority areas including the ancient semi-natural woodlands of north Bedfordshire and the river Great Ouse valley.

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To deliver our goal of a Greener Borough, we will:

Minimise carbon emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change focussing on transport, business and

homes.

Minimise domestic and commercial waste production and maximise reuse and recycling.

Develop a strong green infrastructure network through protecting, extending and linking landscapes, biodiversity

sites, heritage sites, green spaces and paths.

Improve the understanding, enjoyment and care for the natural and built environment.

protect and enhance our natural resources including air, soil and water to minimise the impacts of ﬂooding, climate change

and pollution.

Reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

Protect and enhance the rich biodiversity of the Borough.

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Our Goal: A Borough where all the Borough’s children and young people are able to lead safe, healthy and happy lives, and are provided with opportunities to develop their self-esteem, maximise their life chances and realise their full potential.

3 An Aspiring Borough

Children and Young People

The care provided to parents and child during the antenatal and postnatal period can impact

greatly on the health outcomes for the child.

Good quality care during this critical period helps provide newborn babies with the

healthiest possible start in life.

There are 39,000 young people in the Borough under the age of 20. 1 in 5 of

young people aged 0-15 live in families that are ofﬁcially classiﬁed as living in poverty.

In some local areas this rises to 2 out of every 3 young people.

In 2008, just over 46% of 16 year olds attending Bedford Borough maintained

schools achieved 5 or more GCSEs at A*-C grade (including English and

Mathematics). Whilst levels of educational attainment have risen in

each of the last ﬁve years, there are signiﬁcant inequalities across the

Borough. Individual school

performance varied from 72% to 20%

of pupils achieving 5 A*-C grade GCSEs (including English and

Mathematics) in 2008. Variation in

performance within schools is always a focus for school improvement activity. We also know that between 5% and 6% of 16-18 year olds are not in education, employment or training.

The life chances of too many young people are blighted by low educational attainment, by lack of jobs and by the absence of opportunities for improvement.

There is a pressing need, therefore, to improve the educational attainment of all our young people; to tackle poverty, improve training and skills and create jobs (see chapter 1 – A Thriving Borough).

The quality of life of some of our young people is also affected by mental health problems, alcohol and substance misuse, teenage pregnancy and obesity – over 11% of 4-5 year olds and over 16% of our 10-11 year olds are obese.

But it is not just through school, or work, that we deﬁne ourselves, develop self-esteem and realise our potential.

Access to, and participation in, the arts, culture and sport give young people a sense of purpose, allow them to develop their potential and enrich their lives.

There is evidence, moreover, that

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providing sports and arts activities speciﬁcally to young people, promotes physical and mental

health and wellbeing, reduces the complaint of “nowhere to go, nothing to do” and reduces

youth crime.

We are ensuring a healthy start in life for all our children by promoting early access to

antenatal care, improving smoking cessation services for pregnant women and promoting

the uptake of the Smokefree Homes Programme, and improving support for

women to breastfeed.

We recognise the contribution of early years settings and the statutory sector

to the achievement and attainment of all children and young people. These

contributions have a direct impact on attainment at an important national bench-

mark namely Key Stage 4 GCSE or equivalent. We are supporting efforts

in early years settings and schools to target resources to those in most need

of support and in doing so raise the bar for all and at the same time nar-

row the gap in levels of attainment between those more vulnerable

groups of children and their peers.

Children’s Centres have been rolled out very successfully with

11 operating across the Borough. They have provided the focal point for early identiﬁcation and targeted intervention programmes for children, young people and their families. We are planning the development of four more Chldren’s Centres in 2010.

Our Healthy Schools Programme is promoting exercise, healthy eating and tackling obesity, By March 2009, 63 schools in Bedford Borough (83%) had achieved National Healthy School Status.

We run summer play-schemes for 5-13 year olds, with over 8,000 attendances in 2008.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) services are much improved with better access to assessment, treatment and age appropriate facilities. There have been no admissions to adult wards of under-16 year olds in 2008.

Work to tackle teenage pregnancy has been focussed on those communities with highest need. A contract has been awarded to provide a community integrated sexual health service, improving access to sexual health services for the whole population. It is anticipated the service will be up and running by March 2010.

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To deliver our goal of an Aspiring Borough, we will:

Help all children and young people to achieve their full potential through high quality teaching and learning in

schools that have accessible community activities and facilities.

Prioritise preventative services for children in their early years to help families stay together and thrive.

Ensure vulnerable children and young people at risk of abuse and neglect are safeguarded and supported to a better life.

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Our Goal: A Borough where everybody has access to high-quality health and social care services when they need them and the help they need to lead healthy and independent lives.

4 A Healthy Borough

Adult Health and Well-Being

Generally, people in Bedford Borough enjoy good health. However, life expectancy in the

Borough is lower than the east of England average. There are signiﬁcant health

inequalities across the Borough, depending on gender, income and ethnicity – life expectancy

in Harpur ward is eight years lower than in Bromham ward.

Over the last ten years, rates of death from all causes have decreased in both men and

women. However, the death rates from cancer, stroke and heart disease in the

Borough have not shown the same reduction as across England generally.

Two of the biggest risk factors for poor health are smoking and obesity caused

by poor diet and lack of exercise. One in four adults in the Borough smokes and

around 200 local people die from smoking related illness every year.

Only a third of adults eat healthily and fewer still are physically active. More than one in four adults in the Borough

is clinically obese.

Bedford’s population is set to

increase as a result of the growth in housing (see chapter 7 – A Growing Borough), with older age groups predicted to grow much faster than the average, as people live longer. It will be important to ensure that the opportunities presented by growth are used to create healthy communities.

Pressures on social care and health services are likely to be particularly signiﬁcant in rural areas, where the average age is roughly three years higher than in urban areas of the Borough, and where there are more barriers to accessing services.

Achieving our goal and helping individuals to lead healthy and active independent lives means, of course, tackling a very much wider range of socio-economic issues. Tackling poverty and creating jobs, the availability and quality of

housing, the accessibility of local services and the ability of people to participate in educational, leisure and cultural activities will all contribute to the health and well-being of people in the Borough, including older people. What the partnership is doing to tackle some of

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chapters of this Strategy. The rest of this chapter looks at how we aim directly to improve health

outcomes and help the most vulnerable in our communities.

We are already promoting and integrating a range of activities to promote lifestyles,

focussing on the most deprived wards across the Borough.

Through NHS Health Checks we are

helping to reduce and prevent prevalence of new cases of heart disease, stroke

diabetes and kidney disease.

Health Trainers will work with deprived and vulnerable communities in Bedford

to provide “next door” advice on priority health issues, which will bring people

into more effective contact with services such as smoking cessation, weight

management, opportunities for

exercise, screening and wider health and social care services.

We are improving information and support for older people on healthy eating,

keeping active and general wellbeing.

We support a network of Good Neighbour schemes, staffed by volunteers, which support vulnerable people in continuing to live independently in their own homes.

The Putnoe Surgery and new Walk In Centre are open 8:00am to 8:00pm every day seven days a week, as part of the Government’s programme to increase access to primary care services. The Centre will provide all patients with greater access and choice to receive advice and treatment for a wide range of minor injuries and illnesses, and so is helping to reduce health inequalities, particularly for hard-to-reach groups.

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To deliver our goal of a Healthy Borough, we will:

Increase healthy life expectancy for all across the Borough.

Reduce health inequalities by focussing effort on deprived areas and increasing opportunities for healthier lifestyles.

Improve help and advice to vulnerable adults and older people to enable them to continue living in their own homes and so maintain their independence for as long as possible.

Transform adult social care services by improving access, choice, control and advocacy for users and carers through the provision of self directed care.

Improve dementia services by raising awareness and understanding, and providing earlier diagnosis, intervention and

higher quality of care.

Improve the safeguarding and well-being of vulnerable adults and older people.

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Our Goal: A Borough where people live safer lives.

5 A Safer Borough

Creating Safer Communities

Crime levels in the Borough have been falling over the last ﬁve years. Total crime in the

Borough was just under 12,000 in 2008/9 – down from just over 16,000 in 2003/4.

Serious acquisitive crime fell by 18% in 2008/9. However, we know that domestic

burglary has increased by 29% across the Borough from April to June in 2008 to April

to June 2009.

We know that the level of crime is a big issue for the Borough’s residents – crime

levels ranked as their most important quality of life factor in surveys in 2006 and

again in 2008.

We know that anti-social behaviour, in particular, can have a signiﬁcant impact

on people’s fear of crime and their perception of their personal safety.

Elsewhere in the Strategy we set out the importance of creating a Borough

where people feel part of a wider community and in which they are fully able

to participate in civic, cultural and sporting life (see chapter 6 – An Inclu-

sive Borough). The extent to which

this will be achieved, and the extent to which people are able to maintain a healthy and active

independence (see chapter 4 – A Healthy Borough) will depend, in part, on their sense of personal safety.

Drug dependency and, in particular, alcohol abuse are factors which contribute to crime and anti-social behaviour. Nearly three-quarters of those convicted of disorder offences were identiﬁed as hazardous drinkers and over half

identiﬁed alcohol as a factor in their arrest.

There is a perception that many incidents of anti-social behaviour are committed by young people and as we identify in chapter 3 – An Aspiring Borough – the provision of sports and arts activities can help reduce youth crime and reduce the likelihood that young people will get drawn into such activity.

We know that domestic violence accounts for 25% of all violent crime. Domestic violence will affect one in four women and one in six men in their lifetime. On average, a person will be assaulted 35 times before reporting it to the police.

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Finding ways to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour therefore, goes to the heart of our

Strategy. Ensuring that people are able to live their lives free of crime and the fear of crime

will help create the conditions where we can achieve the wider goals set out in this Strategy

– particularly those for a healthy, aspiring and inclusive Borough.

Bedford Town Centre continues to have a vibrant night time economy with

approximately 40 premises with a

combined capacity to entertain over 11,000 people. Our Bed:Safe and Pub:Safe

projects aims to ensure that people use and enjoy town centre facilities safely and

so reduce alcohol related violent crime.

We are providing intensive supervision and support to a relatively small number

of priority and proliﬁc offenders who we know commit a relatively high number

of crimes. We know this intensive support helps break dependency on

drugs and alcohol for many offenders.

We now use a multi-agency risk assessment approach to dealing with incidents of domestic violence which is already leading to reductions of the numbers of repeat incidents.

Our neighbourhood improvement approach to community safety encourages communities to identify and help tackle local problems.

Our Bobby Van and Neighbourhood Watch schemes provide advice, information and guidance on security measures for households whilst CCTV in public areas both deters and identiﬁes offenders.

We have adopted a Community Safety Design Guide to assist in planning out crime within existing and new

development.

We provide a range of diversionary activities for young people, including street schemes, the NACRO SCORE Project and initiatives aimed at rehabilitating young offenders.

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To deliver our goal of a Safer Borough, we will:

Reduce burglary, robbery and other serious acquisitive crime and criminal damage.

Tackle the issues which increase the likelihood of re-offending and target proliﬁc offenders.

Tackle anti-social behaviour.

Reduce incidents of domestic violence.

Tackle crime and disorder by reducing drug dependency and alcohol misuse.

Tackle the fear of crime.

Increase public conﬁdence in the Partnership’s delivery of community safety.

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Our Goal: A Borough where all people feel part of the wider community and are proud to celebrate its rich cultural diversity; where inequalities are reduced and all people are able to participate in the sporting, artistic and civic life of the Borough.

6 An Inclusive Borough

Social Inclusion, Community Cohesion and Culture

We want everyone to be included in the life of the Borough, to feel that they can inﬂuence

what happens around them, and join in with community-based activities such as

volunteering, sport and the arts.

Bedford can proudly claim to be one of the most culturally diverse boroughs in the East

of England, with over 60 different ethnic groups living within its boundaries. Many

immigrant communities are of long standing. Others are more recent, such

as immigrants from the new EU accession states, and those who came here originally

as refugees and asylum seekers. The relations between these groups appear to

be remarkably good – in a recent survey, around 80% of those who were asked

thought that people from different backgrounds get on well together.

There are other barriers to inclusion, however. Bedford has some of the

highest concentrations of poverty in the country directly alongside areas

of afﬂuence. Tackling child poverty is particularly important in terms of

improving life opportunities in the future.

20% of children in the Borough live in workless families. Many people ﬁnd it difﬁcult to access employment, key services and cultural opportunities due to living in rural areas, or not having their own transport. These issues are likely to loom larger in a period of rising unemployment and may lead to people feeling excluded from, or marginalised by, society.

It is estimated that by 2020, one in three people will be living with physical, sensory or learning impairment. People with such impairments can often ﬁnd themselves socially excluded by society’s attitude to their disability.

Being inclusive is also about enabling people to influence the decisions that affect their lives.We are encouraged that a significantly greater proportion of people in Bedford Borough (31.7%) currently feel they can influence local decisions, compared to the national average of 28.9% for all local authority areas. There is evidence that empowering local people increases well-being and social cohesion, builds people’s trust in civic institutions,

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Bodies such as local councils also need to be as representative as possible of the communi-

ties they serve, so we need a greater number and diversity of people serving as councillors,

magistrates, school governors, and on other decision-making groups.

We know 28% of Bedford’s citizens regularly give up their time to get involved as

volunteers in their community: serving as trustees, running community activities,

helping to improve their environment, or supporting those facing disadvantage.

Communities depend on these volunteers, who, in turn, can gain personal satisfaction,

make friends and acquire skills for employability. A thriving voluntary scene

contributes considerably to community life and the ability of local communities to

take action for themselves.

Another way in which people feel part of a community is by participating in

sport and culture. As well as being fulﬁlling activities in their own right,

sport and culture make up a major part of Bedford’s identity. Bedford

boasts two rowing clubs with national reputations, an international

athletics stadium and a strong network of local rugby, football,

basketball and sailing clubs, competing at various levels. The

recently refurbished Cecil Higgins Art Gallery and Museum houses a

nationally important collection of 19th and 20th Century prints and

watercolours; Bedford Creative Arts has a critically acclaimed

contemporary art gallery, and the Corn Exchange hosts a

residency by the internationally renowned Philharmonic

Orchestra. Libraries across the Borough also help to

foster community and a

sense of place and provide free access to learning, cultural activities and

information.

However, participation and engagement in the arts, at around 42%, is below both regional and national averages. There is a relative shortage of high-quality arts facilities in the Borough – furthermore, Bedford’s arts scene does not fully reﬂect the diversity of cultures within the area.

When it comes to sport, whilst regular adult participation, at just over 22%, is higher than the average, women’s participation in sporting activity is signiﬁcantly lower.

We support Bedford’s parishes to put together their own Parish Action Plans based on identiﬁed community priorities.

We have delivered training to increase people’s conﬁdence and ability to take on civic roles.

We have raised awareness of people’s entitlement to beneﬁts by means of a

“Beneﬁt Take-Up” campaign, and actively encourage beneﬁt take-up, through monthly outreach sessions, helping to remove barriers to people returning to work.

We have run a number of successful local campaigns and initiatives to encourage adults’ participation in physical activities, including people with disabilities, and organised ﬁtness and sports activities for young people, such as a newly

established amateur basketball league.

We run a range of visual and performing arts venues offering high-quality cultural opportunities.

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To deliver our goal of an Inclusive Borough, we will:

Reduce the proportion of people living in poverty and so make a positive difference to communities.

Promote activities that bring people and communities closer together.

Encourage and support more people, particularly from under-represented groups, to take on civic roles and volunteer within their communities.

Create more opportunities, and provide support and advice, to enable people to inﬂuence local decisions.

Encourage and enable more people to participate in local arts, culture and sporting activities.

Ensure that marginalised and vulnerable people receive effective support, advice and advocacy, and can access key

services.

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Our Goal: A Borough where the supply and quality of housing and transport is capable of supporting the needs and aspirations of the Borough’s population now and in the future.

7 A Growing Borough

Housing and Transport

Bedford Borough is at the heart of the Milton Keynes and South Midlands growth area and

has been identiﬁed for signiﬁcant housing growth. This will impact on the economic, environmental and social wellbeing of the

Borough. As a result of the housing growth, the population of the Borough is forecast to increase to 172,500 by 2021. The growing

population will increase the demand for both jobs (see chapter 1 – A Thriving Borough)

and housing. Over 16,000 new homes are planned to be built in Bedford, Kempston

and the northern Marston Vale over the 20 year period to 2021.

But as well as tackling the supply of housing, we need also to ensure that

there is enough affordable housing to meet people’s needs in both urban and

rural areas. Despite the recent downturn in the housing market,

average house prices are still nearly 60% higher than they were in 2001.

With the average price of a house more than seven times the average

salary, buying a home is – and will remain – beyond the means of many

supply of affordable housing is vital if we are to meet people’s housing needs and tackle poverty and reduce inequality. For example, we know we need to increase gypsy and traveller site provision to meet identiﬁed needs.

It is also important to ensure that vulnerable households in the private sector are living in homes of a decent standard and condition; and that, in the light of the economic downturn, that we support families and individuals who are at risk of homelessness.

Economic and housing growth need to be matched by timely and co-ordinated improvements in the fabric and

infrastructure of the Borough. Growth in Bedford and the northern Marston Vale requires improvements to existing transport networks. The historic pattern of roads and bridges means that the town centre experiences significant congestion. Local traffic movement – particularly between the growth areas of northern Marston Vale and Bedford – could also be compromised by the heavy traffic volumes around Bedford caused by the main north-south and east-west regional transport routes.

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As well as focussing on major new infrastructure such as the Bedford western bypass and the

improved railway station for the town, meeting the transport needs of the Borough will require

improvements to public transport and increased opportunities for walking and cycling.

In addition to transport, we also need to ensure that the impact of housing and

economic growth is matched by

improvements to the water, sewerage and green infrastructure of the Borough; and that

schools and health services are equipped to deal with the growing numbers of people

who will live and work in the Borough.

Since 2001, over 4,000 new homes have been built and planning permissions are

in place to deliver a further 8,000. A high priority will be given to the sustainability

of all planned housing growth.

In 2008/09 302 affordable homes were delivered and we aim to provide an

additional 200 affordable homes each year. In response to the economic

downturn, we are putting in place a short-term intervention strategy to stimulate new housing developments.

We are working on an Infrastructure Delivery Plan that will ensure we properly support the growth of new and existing communities – this will include education, health, transport, water and energy and other key elements of infrastructure.

We have started the ﬁrst phase of the Bedford western bypass and are improving the A421 by providing dual carriageway between Bedford and junction 13 of the M1.

We support people with disabilities by providing Disabled Facilities Grants and invest more than £1.2M each year helping disabled people live independently in their own homes.

We have supported 252 households through the Rent Deposit Scheme and we are piloting a Mortgage rescue scheme to prevent people from becoming homeless.

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To deliver our goal of an Growing Borough, we will:

Promote the construction of sufﬁcient energy efﬁcient new homes, transport and infrastructure to support the growing economy and population and which can adapt to climate change.

Improve the transport, community and public infrastructure of the whole Borough to support the economy, population

and housing.

Improve housing and transport for vulnerable people to promote their independence.

Maintain and improve the condition of all existing housing and transport, including it’s energy efﬁciency and adaptability

to climate change.

Tackle the problems of air quality in the Borough.

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Annex A

The Bedford Borough Partnership Board

Dave Hodgson - The Mayor of Bedford Borough (Co-Chair) Bedford Pilgrim’s Housing Association Chief Executive - John Cross (Co-Chair) Bedford Borough Council Chief Executive - Philip Simpkins NHS Bedfordshire Chief Executive - Andrew Morgan NHS Bedfordshire Director of Public Health - Muriel Scott Bedford Hospital NHS Trust Chief Executive - Jean O’Callaghan Bedfordshire Police Divisional Commander - Andy Street Beds and Luton Fire and Rescue Service Area Commander - Tony Rogers Bedfordshire Police Authority Vice-Chair - Penny Fletcher

Bedford College Chief Executive - Ian Pryce Business Sector representative (Bedford Development Agency Chairman) - Peter Hughes Job Centre Plus Senior External Relations Manager - Alison Hunt Wootton School Head Teacher - Tony Withell Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity Chief Executive - Janet Ridge Mid and North Beds Council for Voluntary Services Chief Ofﬁcer - Martin Trinder Town and Parish Council representative - Ann Lovesey

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Annex B

How is the Partnership Organised?

The Bedford Borough Partnership is an inclusive confederation of all the organisations and bodies who, in some way, are working to improve the quality of life of people in the Borough.

At its centre, is the Partnership Board, which is responsible for pulling together the Sustainable Community Strategy and securing the buy-in from partners and from the community that is necessary to realise the goals and aims set out in the strategy.

Around the Board are grouped seven Thematic Partnerships – mirroring the seven themes of the Sustainable Community Strategy. Each of the Thematic Partnerships is responsible for securing the actions that are needed to deliver the Strategy’s goals and aims.

The Partnership aims to publish its Strategy for 2009-2021 towards the end of 2009, following a thorough consultation exercise.

Shortly afterwards, we will publish the delivery plans for each of the seven Thematic Partnerships, setting out the steps which together and individually, the partners will be taking to help make the Strategy a reality.

Alongside the delivery plans, we will publish a “reporting

framework” setting out the measures we will use to judge how well we are doing. This will be the basis for monitoring and reporting progress to the local people through an annual “State of the Borough” report.

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Borough Hall, Cauldwell Street Bedford MK42 9AP Town Hall, St. Paul’s Square

Bedford MK40 1SJ Phone: 01234 267422

Fax: 01234 221606 Web: www.bedford.gov.uk