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Charnwood Borough Council

ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015

@CharnwoodBC

Our Place to... feel safe and secure

116 targeted inspections undertaken at Licensed Premises (Alcohol and Gambling). 2 Licences were revoked and 1 suspended.

I am delighted to present to you the Council’s annual performance report for 2014-2015 which highlights some of the fabulous work which has taken place across the borough over the past year.

We have now completed the third year of our Corporate Plan and have only one year left of our four year Corporate Plan before we look at setting ourselves some new goals and objectives for making further positive improvements across the borough.

I am extremely pleased with what the Council has achieved over the past twelve months and feel that we are in a very positive position. In particular, the authority has maintained a strong financial position and this has meant that we have been able to deliver a range of positive projects, in turn creating a better borough for people to live, work and visit.

In the year covered by the report I think that we have achieved a tremendous amount.

We have continued to invest in our council properties to improve standards for tenants and we are also continuing to work with partners to create a superfast broadband network in rural areas of the borough.

Significant improvements have been made to Loughborough town centre which looks more inviting than ever before and we have added attractive new road signs around the borough.

We have also made positive improvements for the people of Charnwood by tackling key issues, such as anti-social behaviour and littering, while also working with our partners to ensure that a range of positive activities and opportunities are available to children and young people.

While we recognise there is more to be done, I believe our continued commitment to protecting frontline services and maintaining our pledge to put the customer at the heart of everything we do will help us to improve even more over the next year.

We will continue to promote suitable development across the Borough, including new homes and opportunities for business growth, while protecting the unique identity of our towns and villages and vital green spaces.

We will also continue to make improvements by protecting the character and identity of our individual communities, improving the quality of life for everyone living and working in Charnwood and also by providing continued support to vulnerable members of our communities.

We want to encourage you to become more involved in decisions about your local area and in the development of services so please do contact us here at the Council (contact details on the back of this report). This will help us to create the best opportunities for the people of Charnwood and to make the borough a better place for all.

Leader’s Introduction

Cllr David Slater, Leader of Charnwood Borough Council

You said...“Thank you so much for your help and advice which has assisted us in finding suitable accommodation.” (Sept 14)

“Can I take this opportunity to thank you for resolving my issues and concerns regarding my former neighbour. I thank you for your empathy and your robust measures which helped to bring the situation under control and ultimately bring the matter to a successful outcome…I think everybody has a right to live in relative peace in their own property and I am grateful that I now have that!” (Sept 14)

The Sock Man

reduction in all crime was achieved, meaning

there were 461 fewer crimes in 2014/15

5%

The Police are now co-located in the Customer Service area at the Council Offices for people to visit and report crime.

However, whilst there were significant reductions in violent crime, shop theft and robbery, the rise in vehicle crime continues. An action plan has been developed to tackle this problem. increase

85%

reductionin re-offending

of the 38 young offenders who were

engaged in mentoring projects in 2014/15

(more than twice the target of 15)

238< members of staff received bespoke safeguarding training, helping to protect children and vulnerable adults from abuse.

< We responded to 622noise complaints.

78% were resolved or improved which has

increased from 65% in 2013/14.

Once again there has been a significant reduction in the number of households living in temporary accommodation fromin 2013/14 to 15 in 2014/15.

25

Our Place to... grow and prosper

Our Place to... protect for future generations

Our Place to...grow and prosper

Our Place to...Our Place to...Our Place to...Our Place to...Our Place to...grow and prosper

Our Place to...Our Place to...Our Place to...Our Place to...

You said...“May I say a big thank you for all the help on getting my home sorted. I feel as if I can call it that now, the boys you sent round have been efficient and polite and helpful. I know there are still a few things to sort out and I know I can rely on you to see that the jobs will be done.” (August 14)

“I am writing to thank you for the wonderful, cheerful and quick response from the repair service at Charnwood. Thank you for the excellent job of clearing my guttering on my bungalow. I always receive great service and I would like you to know it is really appreciated.” (Sept 14)

“Thank you for your professionalism in your approach to the planning application to date and for your very balanced presentation at the committee yesterday.” (May 14)

You said...“As myself and my wife like to visit Loughborough for shopping and browsing around the market on a Thursday or Saturday we have found the improvements to the Granby Street car park to be very good and will be of great benefit to all shoppers. We say the people who made this possible have done a good job. Well done”. (April 14)

“I’m so grateful to you for being such a superb exterminator. I feel we are extremely lucky to be able to use your expert services here in Charnwood.” (June 14)

“Senior moment I put the wrong bin out! We have the BEST bin men on Broadway. They knocked to inform me. Thank you”. (March 15)

The 2014 Don’t Muck Around campaign led to:The 2014 Don’t Muck Around campaign led to:

< Decrease in littering across monitoring sites

Dog fouling

Decrease in dog fouling in monitoring sites

Leaflets delivered for dog fouling

Littering

37% 10 Fixed penalty notices issued >

1

Dog Fouling Prosecution

6,500

fixed penalty notices issuedfor dog fouling

67%

4

Fly Tipping

3< fly tipping prosecutions

2,555Leaflets about duty of care delivered

Loughborough In Bloom received Gold for the fourth year running

438hits on videos this year

3,084hits on all Don’t Muck Around videos

51%

48.32%of refuse was sent for reuse, recycling and composting. However, this was slightly below the target of

Average 38% reduction in road traffic emissions (nitrogen dioxide) in Loughborough Town Centre.

723

155new homes built in 2014/15

affordable homes delivered in 2014/15

Highest delivery of affordable homes in Leicestershire and 17th of non-metropolitan districts across England (17/201) for delivering affordable homes.

In 2014-15 we determined

1172 planning applications compared with

1291 in 2013-14.

New & Affordable Homes

PlanningApplications

We have continued to prepare the Core Strategy which will aim to promote suitable development across the Borough.

3%of non- decent council homes

achieved, reducing

from 3.45% at the end of

2013/14.

In 2014-15 610,000 cars parked in our car parks, an increase of approx.

18,000 from the previous year.

1377 food businesses across Charnwood (94%) achieved a rating score of 3-5 on the National Food Hygiene Rating System.

We have secured funding for

5 additional telephony cabinets to deliver super-fast

broadband in the more remote rural areas of the Borough.rural areas of the Borough.

We have developed a scheme to deliver 35 apprenticeship opportunities, working in partnership with local training providers and small businesses.

NEW SPECIALIST MARKETSLoughborough French Market (30/31st October 2014)

Attended by about 95,000 and 93,000 respectively. That was 21% up and 52% up respectively on the previous week and about 20% up on an average week.

Our Place to... celebrate and enjoy

Our Place to... belong

Through the supporting Leicestershire Families (SLF) Project we have worked with

165 families involving

746 individuals

You said...“We had a fantastic time at the Pantomime- it was brilliant! My two boys chuckled away and we laughed out loud. The whole cast should be commended, but the Panto Dame deserved an Oscar…and the costumes were outstanding! Thanks too to all the staff at Loughborough Town Hall who, as usual, were more than welcoming.” (Dec 14)

You said...“Thank you for tonight at the Sports Awards - we loved being able to showcase our club, the lads enjoyed every moment and to come away with our runners up award was fantastic, a great night had and thanks for all your hard work you and your staff put into make such a memorable occasion.” (Dec 14)

“May I thank Customer Services, when I called around 4.45pm last night the lady was very helpful in sorting out which department would be able to help so close to 5pm.” (June 14)

“I can’t praise the Supporting Leicestershire Families team enough. The intensive work with our most challenging families is making a huge difference to my most vulnerable children’s lives. I could give examples of times when intervention has stopped a child being excluded from school, from relationships between families and schools breaking down and has helped prevent child homelessness…” (November 2014)

226 residents attended over 15 guided cycle rides throughout the summer months.(5 additional rides took place this year to meet popular demand)

people came to watch the Panto ‘Sleeping Beauty’

people attended sport and physical activity

programmes

young people attended 0 - 4 physical activity programmes. 4,628 more than last year!

(4,393 more than last year)

26,525

1,170,751 attendances at the three leisure centres – Loughborough, Soar Valley and South Charnwood

Charnwood Museum were awarded:• VAQAS certification for 14/15

• Trip Advisor Certificate of excellence for consistently achieving 4* and above reviews

• Highly commended in the Best Small Visitor Attraction category at Leicester and Leicestershire Excellence in Tourism Awards 2014

21,980

107,760

29 projects took

place (ranging from

specialist support

to open access

youth clubs) that

provided 9,180

hours of activity

for 1,443

young people.

52,198visitors attended

Charnwood museum (6,916 more than

last year)

Charnwood completed

120 Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) across the Borough allowing people to remain living independently in their own homes.

customers attended the 130 shows/events at the Town Hall in 2014/1545,377

In January around 120 people attended free Storytelling sessions.

Over 4,000 people visited Charnwood museum during 2015 Easter holidays.

Over 150 took part in free activities including puppet making, illustration, manga workshops, and storytelling.

‘Ladybird, Ladybird’ project (funded by Arts Council England), successfully delivered in partnership with Sure Start Centres across Charnwood.

During the October half-term

week 1295 adults and 1145 children visited the Ladybird, Ladybird project.

7 Charnwood Sports Clubs have received Leicestershire Legacy Funding totalling

£14,296We awardedsports grants and

Talented GO Gold Awards to local athletes.

Communications have increased again this year so that people are informed about what we are doing:

2624

Council website

3.2 million page views,1.3% more than last year and the number of users was also up

8% to 377,000.We produced 3 residents’ newsletters, 4 magazines for tenants as well as other publications and marketing materials.

The number of Twitter followers increased by 44% on the previous year to nearly

3,300.

44% increase

230media inquiries and 230 press releases and statements.

We awarded 50 Charnwood Community Grants in 2014-15, totalling

£117,424

What’s happening behind the scenes...?

You said...“Can I offer my thanks and congratulations to your staff for their administration of this election. Their help and guidance to candidates/agents, speedy response to questions and requests for postal votes and apparent seamless running of the process is a real credit to the Council.” (Sept 14)

“I would like to bring to your attention and highlight the work of the finance team. Their performance, as exemplified, in the Audit Report from Accountants KPMG is exemplary. It is long overdue that some recognition is given to this team which has steered the Council through the most challenging financial circumstances in its history” (Oct 14)

The Council has maintained a strong financial position and this has meant that we have been able to continue to deliver a range of positive projects.

We are currently implementing our customer service programme which involves:

• Improving the culture of the Council

• Working to achieve the Customer Service Excellence award.

• Making our website easier for customers to use.

• Developing better services online to make it easier for customers to access them.

We are also working on our ‘Our Space’ programme which is looking at:

• Remodelling our customer service area to start sharing this with Department for Work and Pensions.

• Re-locating our Housing Repairs team from Limehurst Depot to our Southfields Offices.

• Making changes to the Council building for more effective and efficient working.

In 2014 we prepared for the General, Local and Parish Council elections (which took place in May 2015). We co-ordinated 83 polling stations and 2 sessions to count the votes, which were managed by 475 appointed staff members in total. In addition approximately 42,300 postal votes were issued. All of which helped us to ensure that everyone who was entitled to vote could.

What’s happening behind the scenes...?What’s happening behind the scenes...?The Council has maintained a strong financial

What’s happening behind the scenes...?

What you can look forward to in 2015/16...• A further Council Tax freeze

• Completion of Riversdale Sheltered Housing Scheme in Birstall

• The delivery of 820 new homes with 176 affordable new homes

• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) co-locating in the Council’s Customer Service Area

• Increased activities (sports and social) for all residents

• Adoption of core strategy

• Improved broadband across the Borough

• Improvements to village car parks

• Opportunities to have your say and influence decision making

• Continued support for the most vulnerable members of our community

• Increased communication about the services we provide, particularly through social media and publications of our residents newsletter ‘Charnwood News’

in 2015/16...

The delivery of 820 new homes with 176 affordable new homes

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) co-