A brand new system for mapping the town and bringing together residents, councillors and community groups has been created.
Service provision within Hastings and St Leonards will be organised around four areas, which each contain four wards. Coordinated by the Council's Neighbourhood Renewal Team, this system will work to narrow the gap in quality of life between neighbourhoods. It aims to raise levels of education, health, employment, income, housing, environmental quality and tackling crime across the town, concentrating on the areas most in need of improvement.
Bringing local people and decision-makers closer together is a good way to get services shaped to better respond to the needs of an area.
We are calling this solution Area Co-ordination.
Each of the four quarters has at its heart an Area Management Board or Partnership Board. These bodies allow residents and other parties to work together and make sure everyone's views are heard.
The Area Management or Partnership Boards will bring together all interested parties to help deliver and monitor individual area plans. These plans will set out the work required to achieve the targets within in the Hastings community strategy. They will focus on the problems in the most deprived neighbourhoods and identify what work needs to be carried out.
All the area plans will have a three-year lifespan, with an annual review. Each area will have an Area Co-ordinator. This will be a Council officer experienced in the work of Neighbourhood Renewal and will help develop, support and co-ordinate all area-based work.
Area profiles are currently being drawn up to describe each area in facts and figures with photographs, charts and maps. A special Citizens' Panel survey is underway and the result of this, together with contributions from councillors, community groups and others will help tell each neighbourhood's story.
Area profiles will be launched in November and every resident will have the opportunity to see and comment on them at the Town Hall.
The dates are as follows:
Please come along and have your say and tell us if you think the story fits your neighbourhood.
If you live in Ashdown, Conquest, Hollington or Wishing Tree wards your area is known as North St Leonards.
If you live in Central St Leonards, Gensing, Maze Hill, or West St Leonards wards your area is known as South St Leonards.
If you live in Castle, Braybrooke, St Helens or Silverhill your area is known as Central.
If you live in Baird, Tressell, Ore or Old Hastings your area is known as East Hastings.
For more information contact the Neighbourhood Renewal and Partnerships Manager, telephone 01424 781102.
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This page last updated: 29/09/2005