People in County Durham are being invited to have their say on their council’s priorities up until 2029.
Durham County Council is seeking views to help it update its Council Plan – a document in which it sets out how it plans to work and how it will deliver services over the following four years.
The local authority is carrying out consultation as part of its annual review of the plan, with a view to it covering the four years from 2025 to 2029.
Cllr Amanda Hopgood, leader of the council, said: “Our Council Plan is a really important document as it sets out what our key priorities are in terms of the services residents rely on, and how we will deliver them over the next four years.
“Our current plan sets out how we use an annual budget of around £1.3 billion to provide more than 800 different services to more than 522,100 people in County Durham.
“We want people to take part in the consultation and have their say on the current plan and on our priorities for the next four years.
“Specifically, we want to know if people think the current priorities are right, if there’s anything missing and if there’s too many. We want people to help us identify and understand local need, any gaps in our service delivery or any areas requiring improvement.
“All responses will be carefully considered before our officers review the plan and bring it before councillors for approval.”
The Council Plan is the authority’s main corporate planning document.
It is supported by a series of corporate strategies and service plans which detail the actions, major projects and improvements the authority is undertaking to deliver its priorities.
The plan is structured around the following five ambitions:
• Our economy
• Our environment
• Our people
• Our communities
• Our council
Under each ambition, the council has set out:
• Its priorities
• Its achievements
• The issues to be addressed
• What its contribution is in this area
• What its future approach will be
• What major projects it will be undertaking
• Its ‘key performance indicators’ for the delivery of key services which are used to measure progress towards the authority’s ambitions
The council has also, in line with the Equality Act 2010, included equality objectives, which it reviews every three years.
