The regeneration service provided by Swale Borough Council is 'fair' and has 'promising prospects for improvement', according to an independent report released today by the Audit Commission.
On a scale from zero to three stars the Audit Commission inspection team gave the service a 'fair', one-star rating. This is because the Council has a coordinated approach to the social, economic and physical regeneration of the area and is determined to succeed. Achievements have been modest so far, but some major new projects that will benefit local people are on the way.
Claire Bryce-Smith, Audit Commission senior manager, said:
'Regeneration is the Council's top priority. It has ambitious plans for the future of the area that will create new homes and better jobs, tackle deprivation on the Isle of Sheppey and revitalise Sittingbourne town centre. The Council's community development work is already showing promising results and other major projects are planned. Partner organisations are on board and funding is in place. But there is still much to do, and the Council now needs to focus on getting results.'
Strengths include:
* The Council is committed to regenerating the area. It is clear about what it wants to achieve in the longer term and has sound plans in place.
* It lobbies hard for Swale at regional and national levels to secure funding. It works with a wide range of partner organisations to make sure that communities benefit from new investment coming to the area.
* Local people are actively encouraged to get involved in shaping the future of the area. This is often in creative ways that include art and culture and through direct work in the community and local schools.
* The Council is targeting its work at areas of greatest deprivation. It works in a coordinated way with partner organisations to provide, for example, new employment opportunities, better access to training, and better housing,
Areas for improvement include:
* With the exception of the Swale crossing, major projects are still at the final planning stage and achievements to date are relatively modest.
* The Council does not know whether its work in regeneration provides good value for money.
* The Council is not yet fully realising the potential contribution of leisure and tourism towards regeneration and there is scope to provide more affordable homes.
To help the service improve, inspectors made a number of recommendations. These include:
* Improve the focus on regeneration by bringing together the different elements of the Council’s regeneration programme within a single, coherent improvement plan.
* Demonstrate value for money by measuring the costs of regeneration, comparing these with others, and assessing them against what the Council is achieving for the area.
* Set realistic but challenging targets for regeneration, and put processes in place to measure how well the Council is performing against these targets
The Isle of Sheppey and the western part of Swale are within the Thames Gateway growth area. This is Europe’s largest regeneration programme, stretching for 40 miles along the Thames Estuary that is projected to deliver 12,000 new jobs and 10,000 new homes. The Council’s regeneration activity is carried out in a group of services that were brought together in 2007 under a single director. These include economic development, cultural services, housing and planning, together with staff from Swale Forward, the local regeneration partnership. The inspection focused on the Council’s strategic work to deliver its ambitions to regenerate the area.