Barnet Council set out its vision for the next four years at its Policy and Resources committee meeting in Hendon town hall last night (Thursday 29 September).
The council’s corporate plan puts caring for people, our places and the planet at the heart of its vision and sees revitalised community engagement and participation as the way to achieve this.
The vision includes becoming one of London’s most sustainable boroughs with a Net Zero economy; a place where we celebrate our diversity, work to achieve equality and where people earn a living wage and can afford to live.
Barnet Council Leader, Cllr Barry Rawlings, said:
“We are a council that cares for people, our places and the planet, with an ambitious vision for the borough.
“Central to that vision is recognising residents as partners and participants rather than customers and consumers. This will help us ensure the council is effective and engaged with our communities.
“We will work together to become one of London’s most sustainable boroughs with a Net Zero economy.
“Our Net Zero journey will not only protect the planet for future generations; it will bring people together, help with the cost of living by reducing household bills, enable residents to live healthier lives, and create an even more family friendly borough.
“Our plans to build 1,000 council homes will help more people afford to stay in the borough, keeping families together.
He continued: “We want Barnet to be a destination and a fun place to live, work and visit, with flourishing neighbourhoods, arts and culture.
“We will also tackle inequality, ensuring that residents have access to the right support, at the right time, so they thrive, focusing on community wealth building and supporting our communities and voluntary sector.”
The council’s new vision is based on work already taking place to implement the new administration’s manifesto and its five key priorities:
- To freeze council tax in 2022 and keep it low
- To invest in more CCTV, better lighting and community safety hubs
- To protect and enhance green spaces and declare an immediate climate emergency
- To protect weekly bin collections and bring back the community skips service to tackle fly-tipping
- To stand up to developers: build more affordable family homes and counter tower block blight
More details on the corporate plan will be brought back to committee later this year.
Full committee papers including the corporate plan are available online: https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=692&MId=11114External link