Four-year plan sets out strong ambitions for the borough

Last night, Councillors approved a Borough Plan for Cheshire West and Chester, covering the next four years.

The plan has been developed with local communities, organisations and businesses from all over the borough who were invited to ‘Join the Conversation’, a project which ran through the second half of last year.

The plan sets out a common vision for the borough, the overarching principles that the Council and partners will work to, and the six missions where the Council will focus the shared efforts to forge a stronger future.

Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of the Council, said:

“Thank you to all of you joined the conversation around the plan, which really has been shaped with local people, for local people.

"We’ve worked with those organisations who deliver services alongside us, as well as local communities and businesses to understand and set out our joint ambition in this plan. I’d encourage you all to look at the vision and the six missions that reflect the things you’ve told us matter most to you”.   

"The six missions are: the best possible start for our children and young people, tackling hardship and poverty, resilient people living their best lives, opportunity in a fair local economy, neighbourhood pride, and greener communities.

"The demand on council services, and on all public services, exceeds the funding that is available, and there is a need to work differently to achieve the ambitions we share for the borough. This will mean working more closely with communities, focusing strongly on prevention, better use of digital solutions and data, developing our workforce and strengthening partnerships."

Councillor Gittins continued:

“This is a plan that starts with what is strong, not what is wrong. We’ve seen amazing things happen when people come together in our borough and everything we do will build on those strengths. It’s a challenging time but we need to remain hopeful. When I look around our borough, I see lots to be optimistic about.”

The plan sets out the opportunities and challenges surrounding each mission, what success will look like, how the Council will make a difference and how we can all play our part.

The Council usually publishes a Council Plan but, this year, following the outcomes of Join the Conversation, the newly branded Borough Plan sets out the partnership approach to tackling the missions, including how each of us can play our part in addressing them, as part of a strong community. 

You can read the Borough Plan here. 

More information on the challenges and opportunities facing the borough are available here: 

State of the Borough dashboard | Cheshire West and Chester Council

Information about the Council’s performance against this plan are available here: 

Performance report | Cheshire West and Chester Council