East Cambridgeshire Strategic Partnership

Annual Report 2010-2011

Welcome to the 2010/2011 Annual Report from your Local Strategic Partnership.

This year has been a challenging one, with the financial crisis affecting us all. However, the commitment and enthusiasm of those working within the Partnership have helped ensure that we have achieved many of the ambitions we set ourselves within our Sustainable Community Strategy. The pressure on resources has also helped focus our minds on producing a new longer-term Strategy that really targets what is most important to those living and working in East Cambridgeshire. We are now working together to identify how we can deliver that vision.

This report looks at some of the achievements during 2010 - 11 and also gives a glimpse of some of our plans for the coming year.

I hope you find the articles interesting and please feel free to contact the East Cambridgeshire Strategic Partnership should you have any questions.

Cllr Fred BrownChair, East Cambridgeshire Strategic PartnershipSeptember 2008 - May 2011

Creating Safer and Cleaner CommunitiesThe Community Safety Partnership (CSP) has worked to introduce two Designated Public Place

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The East Cambridgeshire Local Strategic Partnership is made up of representatives from East Cambridgeshire District Council; Cambridgeshire ACRE; Cambridgeshire County Council; Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Association of Local Councils; Council for Voluntary & Community Action East Cambridgeshire; Cambridgeshire Constabulary; Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue Service; Sanctuary Hereward; NHS – Cambridgeshire; Job Centre Plus; The Environment Agency; the market towns and local businesses

Orders in Ely. The first was in 2010 at Jubilee Gardens in Ely and the second in 2011 around the Cathedral in Ely.

The orders give police officers additional powers to confiscate alcohol and are aimed at eliminating anti social behaviour fuelled by alcohol consumption. The order in Jubilee Gardens has been highly successful, with a huge reduction in complaints about drinking and anti social behaviour, along with a reduction in alcohol related littering in the park. It is anticipated that the order around the cathedral will have the same impact.

Promoting Health and WellbeingDuring 2010-11, the Health & Wellbeing Partnership has been focusing on addressing issues of health inequality in the district, with particular emphasis on Littleport. The Littleport Health Plan has delivered several projects that have reduced health inequalities by working with targeted groups of people:

adiZone - A new 2012 Olympic multi Sport & Physical Activity facility was launched in July 2010, providing the people with free access, 24/7, to World Class diverse and mainstream opportunities.

Young Mum’s Project - working with Mum’s to engage them and their children within community based activities, thus developing new social networks, building self-confidence and overall improving quality of life.

Health Checks - delivering specifically to over 55’s, this service has enabled elderly residents to access new opportunities to improve their health and wellbeing. Over 200 Health Checks have taken place within the last year, therefore there are higher numbers of referrals on to programmes such as the exercise referral programme.

Other issues the Health & Wellbeing Partnership is looking at district-wide is stop smoking services and also developing a strategy to help address issues facing older people in our communities.

A partnership between City of Ely Council, Soham Town Council, East Cambs District Council and Cambridgeshire Constabulary has seen the Ely and Soham CCTV service move from being monitored in Cambridge to Ely police station. A volunteer monitoring scheme is in its early stages but will build into being an efficient and cost effective local based service delivered by community volunteers on behalf of their wider community.

There were a total of 30 anti-social behaviour interventions delivered on behalf of the CSP in 2010-11. These included Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs) and Anti-social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs). Recent statistics show that out of 29 ASBOs issued for residents of East Cambs since they were created, there is an almost equal split between age groups: 14 ASBOs issued to adults, and 15 to juveniles.

Over the coming year, the Community Safety Partnership will be focusing on improving inter-generational perceptions and encouraging positive informed opinions and so challenge the stereotyping that can occur between these two groups.

residents using the technologies over two years.

The Sustainable Growth Group has also been supporting the East of England’s ‘Plugged in Places’ funding application that was successful in securing funding for the installation of a regional recharging infrastructure to support the uptake of plug-in hybrid, full battery and range

extended electric vehicles (EV’s). One of the partners in the Sustainable

Growth Group, the Environment Agency, is already leading the way, with the purchase of an electric vehicle that will be used to assess the viability of EVs within the Anglian Region.

Keep a look out over the coming months for more on where the re-charge points will be in our area.

Over the next year or two the Sustainable Growth Partnership will be working within the District to raise awareness on the issues of climate change, and plans to hold an event in Ely to highlight the action that we can all take to make a positive difference. The Partnership will also be running an ‘Energy Doctor’ Project that will provide advice on waste, water and energy.

Encouraging Sustainable GrowthThe Sustainable Growth Partnership has been developing a project called ‘Eco2 Homes’ that aims to determine how the energy performance of existing homes can be increased. With so many different products within the market place that claim to achieve massive reductions in CO2 emissions (which in turn can reduce fuel bills significantly) it can be difficult to ascertain which is “right for you”. The project group is investigating the latest new technologies and has formulated a specification to install a package of measures into four properties across the district.

Part of the project will see the creation of an ‘Eco Homes’ website where members of the public can follow the installation and the experiences of

Achieving Better Outcomes for Children and Young PeopleThe East Cambs and Fenland Area Partnership for Children & Young People has been looking at 3 main priorities – helping children and young people to feel safe and happy in their communities by providing safe places to play and positive activities to take part in; improving achievement for all and narrowing the gap for specific groups of children and young people; and meeting the needs of children and young people in areas of growth or demographic change, as our communities continue to develop.

All school clusters in East Cambridgeshire have transitions programmes in place for vulnerable students. This builds on existing primary to secondary induction arrangements for all students, offering support from many different agencies. Less children are experiencing difficulties on transfer in those areas running the programme for some time.

Phase 1 of a research project between Anglia Ruskin University, schools (Chatteris and Soham) and Locality teams begins in the summer term of 2011. The project will identify pupils with behavioural difficulties in year 6 at risk of not making a successful transition to secondary

school and then follow up in Summer 12 to find out if the predictions were accurate, identify what support was offered and the impact and if other students emerged with issues which were not identified.

Working with young people at risk of becoming ‘not in education, employment or training’ (NEET) is well established in East Cambridgeshire. The referral programme works with individuals in years 10 and 11 to help ensure they have a career or educational pathway. To support this, NACRO and East Cambridgeshire District Council are also providing educational courses and career opportunities with existing NEETs to give them another chance in life.

The Witchford School Sports Partnership are leading the ‘Olympic Ambassador Programme’ to provide opportunities for young people to volunteer within their local communities. Ambassadors have been tasked with inspiring others to take part in sport and physical activity and embrace the themes of the Cultural Olympiad. Work is also underway to deliver the new Child Weight Management course, known as ‘Energize’ due to begin in September 11.

E-space business centres are celebrating their tenth anniversary in 2011 with record occupancy levels over the last 6 months and more and more firms moving on to bigger premises from the centres.

The latest firm to move into e-space north in Littleport is Aldex Software Ltd a company that specialises in the development of high quality, bespoke database applications.

David Saville from Aldex Software Ltd said: “We took this opportunity to upscale our office space as the next step in our business development. To have a professional office space is an important part of any small businesses brand when it comes to attracting and retaining clients. I hope the move to e-space will be the first step in our future success.”

“At e-space business centres, says Kathy Brumpton, centre manager, we pride ourselves on creating a community within the centres. From helping someone with a spark of an idea through

Supporting Business, Skills and Enterprise Development

our private sector led, mentoring and advice service, to the many small start-up firms that rely on us to provide things such as IT infrastructure, reception and postal services, e-pace brings businesses together to share ideas, develop and grow”

“For us it is getting these little things right to help others succeed. e-space is about helping businesses to grow – We are now in our tenth year and have seen over 25 companies grow and move on from the centres, the latest being ST1 Consulting and Addictive Interactive who grew and moved on from e-space south into larger premises on the Cambridgeshire Business Park in Ely.

We hope our next ten years will see more of our firms leave us to go on to bigger things because I know we have done our job and given them the chance to grow.”

For more information about e-space business centres please visit www.espaceely.com or Tel: 01353 644000

Promoting Involved Communities

The Cultural Advisory Group has continued to deliver its Supporting Older Peoples Project throughout 2010-11. Part of this project ‘The Mature and Active Programme’ had 1,536 participants in total. ADEC also held 4 targeted matinee cinema screenings with 511 attendees in total. Digital switchover information was promoted through Ely Cinema and a stewarding and event management training programme was delivered for older promoters (50+).

The group also delivered projects for young people such as the BOSH (Bring on School Holidays) programme. The programme provides Sports, Arts Culture, Community and Heritage activities for around 2,000 young people aged 5-19 years old.

Phase 1 of the development of Ely Country Park has been completed. New paths, a play area, a maze and interpretation boards have been installed. The ‘Planting Parishes’ project was also launched at the Park, which saw the planting of around 500 native and fruit trees. A new project

is just starting to create a wildflower meadow on Ely Common, where the site will be treated over the summer ready for planting later in the year. The Tourist Information Centre (TIC) has had a very successful year, winning the ‘Regional TIC of the Year’ award. Visitor numbers at Oliver Cromwell’s House are up on the previous year with the ‘staycationing’ effect hitting the District. The TIC is expecting another busy year in 2011.

The Cultural Olympiad was celebrated in Ely with two events in 2010: ‘Boogie in the Park’ – an 80’s music event which East Cambs District Council helped to organise and promote, and the launch of the AdiZones. This year the Cultural Olympiad will be celebrated with a ‘Culture Night’ being held in Ely on 22nd July. The event will see free admission to Ely’s visitor attractions, churches and public buildings. There will be street entertainment, a riverside party, tales from the characters that made Ely what it is today, all culminating in Ely turning pink – the official colour of the cultural Olympiad.

Neighbourhood Panels

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In addition to working on themed priority areas, the East Cambridgeshire Strategic Partnership (ECSP) works across the District addressing issues of concern raised at Neighbourhood Panel meetings. Neighbourhood Panels provide an opportunity for residents to come together with their Parish Council, the Police, the District Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Sanctuary Housing and other agencies of the ECSP, to discuss issues causing concern across that area. One of the aims is to give local people and communities more influence over decision makers and priority setting, so as to improve the quality-of-life issues that most affect them.

The next round of Neighbourhood Panel meetings are in June and July 2011. All meetings start at 7pm and aim to finish no later than 9pm. Come along and have your say!

28th June South Panel The Ellesmere Centre, Stetchworth29th June Soham and East Panel Soham Village College (Beechurst)25th July West Panel Witchford Village Hall26th July Littleport Panel Littleport Community Primary School27th July Ely Panel The Council Chamber, ECDC

For more information on the East Cambridgeshire Strategic Partnership please contact the Partnerships Officer, Julie Cornwell, on 01353 6655555 or email: lsp2@eastcambs.gov.uk

Thank you to everyone who helped us decide on the priorities for the ‘Strategy for Sustainable Communities in East Cambridgeshire 2011-2031’. We have chosen to focus our Strategy on things that people are often concerned about and where we feel that by working together we can make a real difference.

Well-served and well-connected communitiesMaking sure that everyone can get to the places they need to go to and that there are good quality, well promoted, local services like shops, post offices, libraries, sports and leisure facilities.

Active and inclusive communitiesCreating safe communities where there are shared community activities and a strong sense of local pride and identity, where everyone feels they belong. Places where people want and are able to make decisions about where they live and are willing to help improve the lives of everyone living in the area.

Greener CommunitiesCreating communities where people make more sustainable choices about the way they travel; spend time in the local area and buy locally produced food. Communities that help to protect our environment, reduce their energy and water use and improve energy efficiency.

You can download a copy of the strategy by going to the ECDC website: www.eastcambs.gov.uk/local-strategic-partnership/communitystrategy

We are now writing our delivery plans which will detail some of the actions we will take to deliver the strategy. These documents will also be available to view online when they are complete.

A Strategy for

Sustainable Communities

in East Cambridgeshire

2011-2031

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