Final reporting of annual performance outcomes for the last year of the 2007-2011 Corporate Plan

Project title

Progress made

Comment

Theme 1: Thanet’s Economy

Support the Margate Renewal Programme through the delivery of key developments in central Margate and Cliftonville:

• Turner Contemporary;
• Neighbourhood Plan.

Partially completed

The Turner Contemporary opened in April as planned and has had a very successful first quarter with 156,000 visits in the first three months, in excess of the target for the whole year. A twelve month plan was put in place to ensure Margate was ready for the opening of Turner Contemporary (see project below).

The Margate Renewal Partnership has produced a neighbourhood plan for Margate. This will be reappraised this year in line with the corporate planning process to identify new priorities for the next four years.

Complete the Pathway to Turner Project delivering improvements to the Margate approaches and nearby infrastructure.

Completed

In anticipation of the opening of the Turner Contemporary the Council was able to attract £100,000 of Seaside Funding which it used to prepare Margate in some of the following ways:

• Improvements to the area from the railway station up to Turner Contemporary including:
  • Tackling eyesore buildings, such as the Arcadian and Fort Road Hotel:
  • Working with business owners to help market and animate empty shop premises;
  • Tackling priority areas, such as the railway station forecourt.
  • Putting up new signage;
  • Installing additional litter bins;
  • Repainting railings;
  • Overhauling the town’s seafront shelters;
  • Putting up eye-catching bunting and seafront banners
• Promotional campaigns all about Margate;
• Initiatives in support of local businesses including:
  • Extending the Thanet Ambassadors scheme,
  • Organizing a number of well attended business networking events to help businesses look at the best ways to market themselves.

Produce a response to the Airport Master Plan.

Completed

The response to the Airport Master Plan was approved by Council on 15 July 2010 providing the Council with a policy position on the Master Plan.

Complete Ramsgate Marina dredging and clean up programme and repairs to yacht basin pontoons.

Completed

Successful completion of this project included the following:

• Dredging works completed, greatly improving capacity at the Marina;
• Installation of electricity metering which will result in savings for the Council and a charging mechanism based on usage for harbour customers;
• New breakwater installed, providing better protection at the harbour;
• Through the re-use of the old breakwater, 28 more vessels can now be accommodated.

Develop a business plan setting out the future for Ramsgate Port (and Harbour) to enable the port and marina in Ramsgate to be successful.

Partially completed

The Master Plan is currently in draft and will be finalised this year in line with the new Corporate Plan for 2012-2016.

Deliver the Thanet Works Programme with partners, helping local people find employment.

Ongoing

The Thanet Works Programme has been a key project for tackling work and skills issues locally. The last project of the programme is due to complete in 2012. By March 2011 the following had been achieved:

• Created 37 apprenticeship opportunities;
• Created 119 future job fund placements;
• Ran a number of projects to engage young people who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET);
• Started projects targeting youth offenders;
•  A total of 2,393 contacts through the programme;
• 708 qualifications achieved;
• 200 of those who completed project placements went straight into employment, education or training.

Theme 2: Safe Neighbourhoods

Approve a new business plan for CCTV, exploring options for sharing investment and operating costs with neighbouring authorities.

Deferred

A decision was taken to defer this project until after the Government’s localism agenda had become clearer. A report into the future of CCTV will be considered at Policy Board on 20 September 2011, with a view for recommendations being implemented by June 2012.

Set up and run the SOS bus – mobile police station and A&E centre, to remove vulnerability from the night-time economy.

Completed

The SOS trailer was launched in July 2010:

• Used a total of 13 times;
• Over 200 individuals accessing services on board;
• Used in both day time and night time economies, and for consultations and events;
• Targeting deployments so they employ the right agencies, at the right times in the right locations for maximum impact;
• The project has played a key part in the ongoing reduction of violence in the night-time economy;
• Received positive feedback from members of the public.

Extend KCAP (Kent Community Alcohol Partnership) to Margate and Cliftonville to tackle the availability of alcohol to young people.

Completed

KCAP has been successfully introduced in Margate and Cliftonville:

• Multi-agency visits to licensed premises across Thanet to ensure that license conditions were being adhered to;
• Businesses provided with support to enable them to become more confident with their sales and refusals;
• Reduction in the availability of alcohol to underage drinkers in Margate and Cliftonville, as evidenced by a reduction in the number of confiscations of alcohol;
• Over the long term this will have a positive impact on crime and anti-social behaviour in the area;
• The programme will continue to be monitored and a programme of follow-up visits will be maintained.

Establish the specialist domestic abuse court to improve conviction rates.

Completed

The specialist domestic abuse court is now established and operates out of Margate Magistrates’ Court on a fortnightly basis.

Establish the Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme to reduce repeat incidents.

Removed

This project was removed as the external funding which had been allocated became unavailable.

Introduce an anti-social behaviour noise car where police and Council officers go out on patrol together, to cover out of hours incidents.

Completed

The ASB Noise nuisance car has been very well received by both TDC and Police staff as well as the community it serves:

• Targeted use for specific periods it has proven to reduce the number of noise nuisance calls to both the police and TDC;
• Disputes over noise issues have been resolved swiftly;
• Positive feedback received from the community;
• Interest generated from other Kent areas looking to develop a similar scheme;
• Operation nominated by the Home Office as good practice for tackling ASB noise nuisance.

Implement a support programme for witnesses of anti-social behaviour.

Completed

This year we have established a new service to support those giving evidence in civil cases, which can be quite an intimidating process:

• Assigned a designated officer to fill the role, taking on referrals from services across TDC and partner agencies;
• The officer has given support to many local people who are suffering, need someone to talk to and need assistance at court;
• Prior to this role being established no support would be available to people until their case became criminal, at which point Victim Support would get involved.

Run regular community safety campaigns to improve people’s perceptions of safety.

Completed

Over the course of the year six cost neutral campaigns were co-ordinated:

• Six campaigns:
• Bonfire night;
• Halloween;
• Safer socialising and getting home safely over Christmas and New Year;
• General safety and the SOS trailer;
• Domestic abuse awareness over Christmas;
• Domestic abuse awareness around Valentines day
• Editorials went out in the local newspapers, utilising free editorial space;
• The Thanet Community Safety Partnership, TDC and Kent Police websites promoted the key campaigns;
• Facebook and twitter were also used;
• Linked in with other projects such as the SOS trailer, the Community Pastor scheme and the night bus leading to an increase in visitors using these services;
• Crime figures over Christmas and New Year remained low;
• We will continue to run similar styles of campaigns including seasonal safety messages and promoting partner agency projects.

Run Thanet Community Safety Partnership open forums in Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate.

Completed

The programme was very successful with a forum held in each town and in Birchington:

• Over 120 residents attended;
• The forums enabled us to gain a better understanding of residents perceptions and consult with them as to what the priorities for community safety should be;
• The forums have also been used to dispel some of the myths about crime, and local people have benefited from access to accurate figures about crime in their communities;
• As a consequence of the forums a number of volunteers have come forward to organise residents’ panels and also be part of neighbourhood watch schemes ;
• The positive feedback received demonstrated how much local people appreciate this type of engagement. More forums are scheduled for the current year.

Theme 3: Beautiful Thanet

Deliver the top 10 Environmental Action Projects.

Partially completed

The Environmental Action Programme is an ongoing programme throughout the year, carrying out numerous projects to improve the area of Thanet, not just those on the ‘top 10’ list. A significant proportion of the time of the EAP team in undertaking environmental improvements was devoted to the opening of Turner in April and was a key component on the success of the opening.

This year we have completed the following projects from the list of the top 10:

• Hanging basket trees in Margate High Street;
• Installation of new litter bins in Margate and Ramsgate;
• Completion of ongoing maintenance programme across Thanet;
• Derelict land at Nayland Rock has been completely cleared of all debris and sealed to prevent further deterioration.

The following projects are still outstanding due to planning restrictions and decisions:

• Welcome signs into Thanet on 3 major roads;
• Entry buoy at Ramsgate Port;
• Buoy on roundabout at Margate Station;
• Painting of lighthouse on Margate Harbour.

With regard to Margate Old Town lighting scheme, discussions are taking place with KCC for the implementation of new equipment. Work to St Andrews Passage has been postponed due to KCC engineers needing to carry out a full detailed structure survey with the possibility of a full closure of this passageway.

Improve the public perception of the cleanliness of Thanet by:

• Adjustments to collection regimes and working practices, together with tougher and more focused enforcement;
• A targeted campaign to change public attitudes towards littering, dog fouling, graffiti and vandalism.

Completed

All planned work has been completed:

• Street cleansing crews targeted to areas where there is greater need;
• Two campaigns were delivered to schools, with over 2,500 children signing a pledge promising not to drop litter.
• The further rollout of wheeled bins and extension of seagull proof bag scheme in spring 2011 will improve street cleanliness, helping to improve public perception.

Improve waste containment through a variety of means including wheeled bins, seagull proof bags and education reinforced by enforcement activity.

Completed

All planned work has been completed:

• Wheeled bins were rolled out to a further 3,500 households during 2010-2011, bringing the total number of households with wheeled bins to 51,700;
• A seagull proof bag trial was successfully completed and these have now been rolled out to a further 4,000 households;
• Educational campaigns have also been delivered to schools linked into the ‘Lilly loves…’ campaign and to resident groups;
• There has been significant focus of enforcement activity in high need areas by the new enforcement team;
• Recycling rates have improved and litter in residential areas has reduced.

Develop cost effective works services as a contribution to the East Kent joint waste project, including reengineering the street cleansing service to improve public perceptions.

Ongoing

This project is ongoing until 2013 and good progress is being made:

• The service has delivered over £0.5 million of savings for the Council during 2010-2011;
• A cost report comparing the current costs for Thanet and Canterbury with the tendered contract in Dover and Shepway has been completed;
• The project work undertaken with Canterbury is being developed into a report to Cabinet at both councils in the September, to allow a decision to be made about joining the services together and whether the service will be put out to tender.

Theme 4: Quality Housing

Support the Margate Renewal Programme by developing a programme to change the nature of the housing market in Cliftonville, reducing the number of HMOs and increasing levels of home ownership.

Ongoing

This project will complete in 2012, it forms part of a programme that may continue for 5-10 years. Progress this year has been really positive and a number of milestones have already been achieved:

• Designated a selective licensing area;
• Secured £500K from KCC to enhance the housing regeneration team and increase enforcement activity;
• Appointed 4.5 additional housing improvement officer posts to enable more enforcement action to be taken;
• Increased enforcement activity by 96% from 136 notices served in 2009-2010 to 267 notices served in 2010-2011. This has led to a reduction in the number HMOs in the area;
• Set up the pro-active ‘Your Home Your Health’ project with the aim of attempting to access to every unit of accommodation in the selective licensing area. This has led to the identification and help of a number of vulnerable people;
• Set up the housing intervention approach in partnership with KCC and HCA, identifying sites for intervention and agreeing what approach should be taken;
• Improved engagement with landlords, encouraging more landlords to become accredited through our accreditation scheme.

Deliver 280 new affordable homes between 2008 and 2011.

Completed

The development of affordable housing in the district has been a major success story over the past three years:

• By March 2010, we had already provided 286 affordable homes, meeting the target of 280 over a year early;
• A further 97 were delivered in 2010-2011to bring the total to 383;
• These homes have provided a range of much needed affordable accommodation within the district;
• The mixture of social rent and shared ownership units has helped to develop sustainable communities and housed a number of residents on the Housing Register;
• We have also achieved funding from the Homes and Communities Agency as part of the Local Authority New Build programme to add five new units of family accommodation to the HRA portfolio;
• Despite the current economic climate there has not yet been a negative impact on the delivery of affordable housing and the provision of new supply has been successful.

Review the allocations policy to ensure priority is given to local people, discouraging the inward migration of vulnerable households into the area.

Deferred

As a result of the Government’s proposals for social housing reform, a number of projects which affect the Allocations Policy have been placed on hold (Common Housing Assessment Framework (CHAF) and Kent Agency Assessment). These initiatives will need to be re-assessed as the Localism Bill develops.

Establish a vehicle for the joint management of council housing in East Kent.

Completed

East Kent Housing went live on 1 April 2011, when staff were transferred via the TUPE process. The project is complete, but it will continue to develop over the coming year:

• Services to residents continue as before, but as a client, the Council is now monitoring the organisation’s progress against an agreed delivery plan;
• Over the coming year the Council will also be monitoring progress towards the achievement of a 10% efficiency saving;
• The East Kent Housing management structure is being finalised and monthly meetings with the Council’s client officer will deal with practical matters as they arise;
• The HRA business plan will be reviewed, and the business plan for year 2 will be prepared based on evidence of the experience of year 1.

Theme 5: Healthy Communities

Develop a targeted programme for improving play facilities and events across the district.

Completed

The project had two main targets:
1. Delivery of Beach Play and Doorstep Play programmes:

• There were a total of 2,641 attendances at Beach Play activities and 14,677 at Doorstep Play, significantly exceeding the target figures for the Big Lottery Funding;
• Attendees included people from hard to reach groups and people who live in more deprived areas of the district;
• This work has highlighted the benefits of using the natural coastline for providing play opportunities for local children, families and visitors.

2. Installation of two multi-use games areas:

• The two capital projects consisting of ball courts at Ramsgate and Westgate have proven to be popular in use with their respective local communities;
• The Ramsgate facility is situated in one of the most deprived Ramsgate Wards;
• The Westgate facility was supported by the local community through their fundraising efforts, not only for the ball court but additional on-site play facilities.

Support the Margate Renewal Programme by implementing the Margate Task Force, overseen by a Cabinet Committee, to join up public services in Margate and Cliftonville.

Ongoing

The initial development of the Task Force programme is due to complete in summer 2012.  Over the past year the following has been achieved:

• Improved co-ordination of multi-agency services;
• Started to reduce duplication of services;
• Established multi-agency key contacts and information sharing protocols;
• Identified 34 vulnerable people and referred them to agencies who can help them;
• Referred 22 vulnerable families to agencies who are now providing them with help and support;
• Identified and referred 6 adult protection cases;
• Developed a ‘children out of school notification procedure’ with KCC Attendance & Behaviour to improve swift referral;
• Established joint initiative with Kent Drug and Alcohol Action Team and KCA to improve targeting and delivery of substance misuse services;
• Stepped up enforcement work across agencies including the investigation of 50 cases of anti-social behaviour, the serving of 14 acceptable behaviour agreements, undertaking 600 fire safety inspections and other actions to tackle dumped rubbish and fly tipping.

Over the coming year the Task Force will continue to strengthen multi-agency working, mapping hotspots and increasing enforcement activity. There will also be a particular focus on adults facing chronic exclusion and getting young people and adults into effective substance misuse treatment.

Theme 6: Modern Council

Develop the Council’s finance system and processes to streamline the purchase to pay cycle to improve efficiency.

Completed

The actions agreed for this project in 2010-2011 have all been completed.

• The number of staff designated as ‘originators’ has been reduced, reducing the amount of training required and improving consistency across different departments;
• A successful pilot of POPR63 has taken place, enabling clear lessons to be learned which will inform the future rollout of POPR63 across the authority;
• All incorrect invoices are now being sent back to the originators for correction;
• Since April, invoices are being returned to suppliers if they do not quote an order number. This encourages suppliers and departments to quote order numbers on all invoices, helping to speed up the payment process;
• The creditor process is gradually becoming more automated with less duplicate handling of paperwork.

Review face to face service delivery across Thanet.

Ongoing

This project is due for completion in March 2012. Since the start of the project transactional data has been routinely monitored at the end of each month. This data has been reviewed at quarterly meetings with service managers. This has already led to some changes:  the standard correspondence for the benefits team has been amended; the benefits application process has been reviewed; and the Customer Relations Management (CRM) service forms have been updated.

Over the coming year, subject to the results of evaluation, we aim to start piloting options for self-serve via the website. This is now being taken on by EK Services and the channel shift agenda will be considered by the new management team.

Deliver the first tranche of shared services within the East Kent Shared Service Programme.

Completed

EK Services is now in place and delivering services on behalf of three local authorities:

• Service level agreement (SLAs) have been agreed for the Phase one services (Revenues & Benefits, ICT services & Customer Services);
• The transfer of these services was undertaken on 1 February 2011;
• Service delivery has continued as before;
• The restructure process was extended to allow time for a 90 day staff consultation;
• The Council’s client officer is meeting regularly with EK Services to ensure quality control.

Implement the Accommodation Strategy reducing the number of buildings used to house staff.

Completed

With the completion of the Accommodation Review Project the Strategy is now fully implemented:

• The project has delivered all objectives for both time and money;
• It was completed under budget by more than £16,000;
• The project received substantial assurance level from an internal audit.

Implement the Climate Change Strategy and action plan in line with the national carbon agenda.

Completed

The Climate Change Strategy has been developed into a live document and actions have been devolved to individual departments. Key successes last year include the installation of a voltage optimiser and rationalisation of the office portfolio by optimising the use of space within the main office, both of which have reduced the authority’s carbon footprint.

Develop a communications strategy to improve communication methods with our members, residents and staff.

Completed

The strategy was approved by management team in August, and launched to staff in November:

• Working to this strategy has already delivered a reduction in the communications spend on print;
• The strategy has enabled us to improve the consistency in the ways we communicate internally and externally;
• All communications projects are now fully monitored and evaluated on completion. This is helping us to ensure that all our communications projects add value.

Develop the Council’s priorities for 2011 onwards in the context of new Government initiatives and financial restrictions following the 2010 general election.

Completed

The Interim Corporate Plan has been developed and was approved by Council on 21 April 2011. It sets out key projects and other goals for the Council over the coming year.

Contact Officer:

Adrian Halse, Policy & Business Planning Manager

Reporting to:

Sarah Carroll, Business Services Manager