Four-year corporate plan proposed

Wiltshire councillors will propose an ambitious four-year plan at a Cabinet meeting on 16 March.

The draft corporate plan, which will go before Full Council on May 18, identifies opportunities and challenges for the period 2010-14 and, in some cases, beyond.

Underpinning the council’s vision to create and sustain stronger and resilient local communities, it is considered to be radical and ambitious.

Once approved, the plan will provide the focus to galvanise the council’s resources and promote new ways of delivering services. There will be a move away from so-called ‘silo working’ where individual services often work in isolation from other services areas. Effective delivery of the corporate plan will depend upon a thematic approach where services will join together to create the right solutions for different needs.

First considered by Cabinet last autumn the plan has been redrafted to include feedback from that Cabinet meeting and reflect input from colleagues across the council. It has retained nine proposed priorities. These are based on what are recognised to be the key issues affecting the county in the coming years and what residents say are important to them, their families and their communities.

They are:


•Working in partnership to support vulnerable individuals and families

•Increasing opportunities to help young people achieve their potential

•Local honest open decision making

•Improving roads and improving road safety

•Supporting the local economy

•Meeting housing needs

•Reducing environmental impact

•Achieving savings, efficiency and value for money

•Customer focus and improved access to services 

A number of challenging outcomes have been identified to be achieved over the next four years. Services are currently drawing up their own action plans which will contribute to the overall successful implementation of the corporate plan.

The council will continue to work with communities, in partnership with other organisations and across departments to deliver action against those priorities during the period of the plan.

Jane Scott, council leader and portfolio holder for policy, research and communications, said:

“I am really pleased to present this ambitious plan to Cabinet and then Full Council. We have achieved huge success in creating the new single Wiltshire Council. The next challenge for us is to move from unitary status to what I call ‘unitary plus’.

Unitary plus challenges us to be different and is a fantastic opportunity to build on what has been achieved so far, transforming our services and building better relationships with our partner agencies and citizens. It is a future where public agencies share resources and focus on people’s lives and not their individual services. Our first corporate plan has been created in a way that reflects this new way of looking at things.  This will push us to the boundaries of what is possible, in changing relationships and cultures. If we’re successful, the benefits will be huge in terms of improved service performance and in developing a meaningful relationship with citizens”.

Versions of the plan will be produced for different audiences, including a short summary for communication to the public and partner organisations.

The corporate plan will be reviewed every year to check progress and refresh priorities in the light of changing circumstances.