Agenda item

Report of the Managing Director

The Leader of the Council introduced the report of the Managing Director (previously circulated) presenting a proposed approach for the Neighbourhood Renewal element of the 2018 Futures Fund.

The submitted report stated that neighbourhood renewal initiatives traditionally sought to ensure that no one was seriously disadvantaged by where they lived; the Council had a Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy, the Borough’s Sustainable Community Strategy One Darlington Perfectly Placed (ODPP), which included a statement of intent to ‘narrow the gap’; the Corporate Plan used the same framework as the SCS; as part of the annual review of the Corporate Plan, it was proposed to prioritise and fully align with the neighbourhood renewal ethos of narrowing the gap, tackling deprivation and maximising social value across the organisation; the actions identified would constitute a partnership multi-pronged approach comprised of three workstreams, which would collectively impact on deprivation; and that a performance monitoring framework focussing on residents’ wellbeing across seven domains was recommended, to measure progress towards ODPP over the next four years.

Discussion ensued on the level of deprivation that still existed in a number of the Borough’s wards and to the improvements that had already been made in other wards.

RESOLVED – (a)  That the proposed approach, as outlined in the submitted report, for the Neighbourhood Renewal Futures Fund theme, be agreed.

(b)  That update reports be received on the progress of Fairer, Richer Darlington programme and the council’s contribution to delivery.

REASONS – (a)  The Cabinet is a signatory to the goals of One Darlington Perfectly Placed, as a statement of intent to narrow inequalities and protect the most vulnerable in our community.

(b)  The financial hardship faced by many people in Darlington is rising and there was public support for the council to take steps to alleviate the problems households face during the 2018 MTFP consultation. ?????