Colchester2020 Local Strategic Partnership

In 2009, Colchester had a population of 177,100¹ people  which makes it the most populous  District Council in Essex, representing 13.0% of the population of the entire County. Colchester's population has increased by 16% since 2001.The main urban areas have a population of about 124,101 and there are many surrounding small towns and villages of which the largest are Stanway, Tiptree, West Mersea and Wivenhoe.

There has also been an increase in the ethnic minority groups since 2001 from 3.82% to 7.9%. This is higher than the Essex proportion of 6.5%. Most of this growth is thought to have occurred in the Asian or Asian British ethnic group.

The population of Colchester is expected to grow by 23.5% to 223,500 by 2021. This is the largest population growth in Essex County by 12.2%. Currently the two largest age groups in Colchester are the 20-24 age group with 16,800 and the 25-29 age group with 13,900 people. 29,900 of our population are above retirement age.

The Borough is a relatively prosperous one ranking 224 out of 354 districts on the Index of Multiple deprivation (1 being most deprived). It is estimated that 5% of the population live in seriously deprived neighbourhoods and people living in these hot spots will have a high level of health and social needs. Moreover, 23% of the workforce has no qualifications and educational attainment at GCSE level varies widely (25.9% to 80.9%).

Colchester's economy is based on a strong SME base. The main employment sectors are tourism, creative industries, construction, manufacturing, retail, public administration, health and education, finance, IT and other business activities. Tourism, for example, is worth around £197m to the borough economy each year. In 2009 the Visitor Information Centre was given a silver award in the National Tourist Information centre of the Year Award. Colchester has a range of Arts venues which make a significant contribution to the economy as well as undertaking community work.

Some statistics:

• 82.1% of the working population is economically active compared with 81.2% for the East of England and 78.8% for the UK.
• The total number of Job Seeker Allowance claimants is 2.5% of the working age population compared to 2.8% for Essex and 3.5% for the UK.
• 27% of the Colchester workforce is educated to NVQ4 or above compared to 23.6% for Essex.

Colchester has the 9th highest results against the achievement of 5 A*/C GCSE passes in Essex (71.1%) and is above the national average attainment (70%). However, this masks significant differences across the Borough with some of the countries highest performing schools and others where attainment is low. Colchester also has a higher than average number of “looked after” children at 59/10,000.

The Borough population is predominately healthy (although poor lifestyle is still a major concern) and life expectancy has been estimated as nearly 78 years for men and 83 years for women, although there are variances on these numbers within the Borough. There is a difference of almost 7 years in life expectancy across the Borough, with there being a three fold difference between the best and worst MSOAs. Some wards have over 15% of residents living with a long term limiting illness, which may be reflective of the high level of unpaid carers in the Borough.

Colchester covers an area of approximately 329 square kilometres and is 62 miles north east of London.

The most recent information available shows that there are 73,571 dwellings of which 62,740 are privately owned. A total of 1,041 new homes were built between April 2008 and March 2009. Under current policies 830 new dwellings are expected to be built in the Borough each year. The current economic climate does present a risk to this and also puts at risk Colchester's ability to deliver the affordable homes target. However, at the moment, delivery is ahead of target with 156 affordable homes at the end of the reporting year against a target of 128. At the end of March 2010 13% of the housing stock was “non-decent” against a target of 25%. Both of these represent excellent performance, particularly in the present economic conditions.

The Borough has a rich archaeological and cultural heritage; there are 22 conservation areas, some 1,555 listed buildings and 45 scheduled monuments. There are four parks within Colchester on the National register of Special Historic Interest including Severalls Hospital and Wivenhoe Park.

The rural landscape of the Borough has a varied ecological character including a substantial amount of coastline. Many sites are recognised for their value and Dedham Vale is designated as an “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty”.

The Borough is connected to a comprehensive network of major roads via the A12 and the A120. The public transport provision includes six railway stations, bus routes operated by ten bus companies and several cycle trails. In 2009 Colchester secured over £2.1m to become a cycling town and aims to increase it’s cycling levels by 75% by 2011. The programme put in place to deliver this has already developed a number of new and upgraded cycle routes in Highwoods, Greenstead and the Garrison, signing, training to government-approved Bikeability standards for children and adults and the promotion and marketing of the benefits that cycling offers. A small grant scheme has been set up to award funding to local community groups.

One of the biggest challenges for the Borough is the growth in traffic which causes significant congestion at peak times. This area for concern is reflected in the priorities for both the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP- Colchester2020) and Colchester Borough Council. Construction has already started on a new junction for the A12 at North Colchester which will help the traffic flow in this area of the Borough.

There are four regeneration projects in the Borough. These projects are managed through a joint partnership board with representatives from Colchester Borough Council, Essex County Council and East England Development Agency:

• North Colchester – at the heart of this is the Weston Homes Community Stadium which opened in 2008 and is not only the new home of Colchester United Football Club but is also able to offer a wide range of facilities for the community. In fact the stadium won Project of the Year at Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors East of England Awards 2009 for its community work. The business model includes at-cost and subsidised prices for community use. This regeneration area also includes a new junction on the A12 on which work has now began, a Business Incubation centre, 1,500 new homes and schools
• Town Centre – includes the development of a new shopping centre, a visual arts facility and a cultural quarter [Case Study]
• East Colchester – development here includes new accommodation for Essex University, a new research park, as well as community facilities and 1,500 new homes
• Garrison - Colchester has been a garrison town for many hundreds of years, since Roman times in fact, and the £1.5 billion development of a new Garrison in the town has shown a further 35 year commitment to Colchester by the MOD. The development includes land for 2,600 new homes as part of an “urban village”. The Garrison supports 5,000 jobs and contributes an estimated £70m each year to the local economy

The University of Essex has its main campus in Colchester, but also has campuses in Southend and Loughton. It was voted 9th in the country in terms of the quality of research, with 22 per cent of the research rated as ‘world-leading’. It was also ranked 15^th in the UK for overall student experience. The University is worth more than £200 million annually to the local economy. Essex is the UK's most internationally diverse campus university, with students drawn from 130 countries. There are now more than 10,000 students, studying at the University’s three campuses. Academic departments span the humanities, social sciences, science and engineering, and law and management. In 2009, Essex won the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its pioneering role in advancing the legal and broader practice of international human rights. . Colchester also has a well respected Sixth Form College and the largest vocational college in Essex in the shape of the Colchester Institute.

The starting point for community engagement in Colchester is the annual Colchester2020 Assembly meetings. These meetings have been in place since the start of the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) and have evolved over time. The Assemblies are open meetings, with a large invite list attracting in excess of 200 people including public sector agencies, the private sector, community and voluntary sector, members of the public and those groups considered ‘hard to reach’.

Following consultation at their Assembly meeting in March, the LSP launched the refreshed Sustainable Community Strategy in September 2009. Five new priorities emerged from that consultation and they are:

• Promoting business, increasing employment opportunities and improving educational and skills attainment
• Reducing congestion, changing travel behaviour and improving the transport infrastructure
• Making Colchester an outstanding visitor destination and celebrating its heritage, culture and leisure activities
• Promoting healthy lifestyles, providing affordable housing and reducing homelessness
• Creating safer neighbourhoods and stronger, inclusive communities

For 2010 Colchester2020 have decided to take a totally new and adventurous approach to their annual community engagement (Assembly) and have an ambitious plan to hold a three day event in June. A marquee will be erected in Castle Park and over the three days there will be five individual events being held in and around the marquee with each one focusing on one of the 5 priorities in the Sustainable Community Strategy. This three day event will culminate with a ‘Colchester2020 One World’ celebration event on the Friday evening which will be held in the High Street during the late afternoon and evening and will feature local bands and various street acts including tightrope walking, buskers and ‘walk about’ acts in the crowds . By taking this fresh approach it is hoped to attract a more diverse range of communities and increase community engagement.

A range of other tools are in place at District level including:

• Statement of Community Involvement
• Community Engagement & Participation Strategy
• Customer Insight Group
• Work with new communities
• Knowing your communities website

One of our key partnership initiatives is Infopoint@Colchester, a first in Essex. Based in the Council’s customer service centre, we are working with our partners including Essex County Council, North East Essex NHS, Essex Police, Essex Fire and Rescue Service and third sector partners to provide a range of public services to our customers in one place. This approach supports a range of opportunities to improve engagement.  The town centre presence which enables our customers to visit us easily. 

To provide extra help to our customers during the economic downturn we took the SOS bus out into the community in March, June and August 2009. The SOS Bus tours were very successful, as our specialist debt advisors were able to book appointments for residents to attend a confidential debt clinic to receive further debt counselling and financial advice. Council Tax debt was also addressed for many residents during their visit to the SOS bus clinic, with new arrangements put in place allowing them to spread their payments from 10 to 12 months.

Our work during the height of the economic downturn has evolved into a strategy for Infopoint@Colchester that all parties support. Following on from the successful events taking place in Infopoint@Colchester and the SOS bus tour to help our customers during the economic downturn, a draft programme of monthly events and key themes in line with the strategic priorities was agreed by all partners within Infopoint starting in May.  There are also more outreach events being planned around the same themes taking place in Infopoint using the SOS bus, mobile police office and the mobile library to go out into the community.  Mosaic and customer insight will be used to identify the areas of greatest need for each key theme.

Underneath all these formal mechanisms is a web of informal networks, with people at all levels across partner organisations talking and working together and making connections in communities.

A significant amount of stakeholder engagement is undertaken, from the generic, to the very specific:

• Within the NHS, Patient and Public Forums have been replaced with Local Involvement Networks (LINks). These form part of new arrangements to strengthen the voice of local people through open, honest, two-way communication about issues and decisions relating to local health services.  In addition: patients with long-term conditions are invited to join Patient Groups; the public is invited to Open to Question sessions at NHS North East Essex Board meetings; and patients and public are regularly invited to participate in surveys and consultations.
• Crime and Disorder – one of the key changes in the last few years has been the introduction of the Neighbourhood Action Panels (NAPs) to help address local priorities around crime and disorder. Colchester was one of the first Boroughs where this was introduced. 15 NAPs operate across the Borough and an action plan is in place in each NAP following engagement with the local community.
• Colchester Borough Homes residents involvement. Every year a range of different events are held, with 1064 people attending. These include annual events such as a Housing Forum, and the Annual General Meeting, regular forums such as Leasehold Forum (twice a year), new tenant’s workshop (3 times a year). Focus groups are also used to look at specific issues such as; safer neighbourhoods, environmental improvements, disability access action group, customer service mystery shoppers. There are also opportunities for residents to get involved such as through the association of tenants and leaseholders, “Village Voice” and the tenant inspector
• Parish Plans encourage smaller communities to take ownership of their areas. As an example, Wivenhoe Town Council has recently been accredited with Quality Parish status.
• All public Council meetings and committees include an open slot called “Have your say” where members of the public can ask questions on any topic. All questioners receive a written response. All PCT Board meetings also include an open question session for the public.
• Colchester Community Voluntary Services (CCVS) offer opportunities for the voluntary sector to work together. CCVS Community Forum has had two conferences over the past two years and a number of mini forums with voluntary and community groups. Networks are also facilitated by CCVS on an ongoing basis.
• CVVS actively promotes co-operation and partnership work within the voluntary sector. In the last year, CCVS has facilitated major events to bring the sector together as well as themed groups focusing upon LAA target areas. The CCVS annual conference in October 2009 focused on the credit crunch with guest speakers addressing fundraising and financial concerns.
• The Colchester Youth Council is a group of young people aged 12 – 19 who meet regularly to represent the voice of young people in Colchester.
• The NE Local Children’s Trust Board is a multi agency partnership involving the responsible statutory and voluntary agencies that commission and/or provide services to children and young people aged 1 – 19 (up to 25 for those children and young people with learning difficulties of disabilities). The partnership consults on a regular basis about its priorities and its performance.

In addition there are a number of stakeholder engagement activities specifically for more vulnerable groups, Including:

• Housing and Homelessness – the Housing Forum meets every month, with membership including Citizens Advice Bureau, Night Shelter, Family Mosaic and Colchester BC. These agencies represent supported housing services to vulnerable people in the Borough. The group is responsible for the rent and deposit guarantee scheme and co-ordinate the Winter Reserve Accommodation Project. They are a key mechanism for engagement with a vulnerable group and were fully involved in the development of the latest Homelessness Strategy, agreed last year. There is also a Youth Housing Forum made up of stakeholders who work with vulnerable young people. This group has worked to produce a Youth homelessness guide. At a strategic level Colchester participates in the Supported People Partnership, led by County, a commissioning group that is also responsible for development of the core strategy. The partnership again includes a range of stakeholders including the Probation Service and PCT
• Hate crime panel – includes membership from both Colchester and Tendring Councils, the Police, County and critically, Tendring and Colchester Minority Ethnic Partnership (TACMEP)
• Colchester Domestic Abuse Forum – with membership from CDRP, Police, Women’s refuge, A range of voluntary sector organisations (HEAL, Ark Centre, Open Road), PCT. This group was successful in gaining PRG money for a sanctuary scheme.
• A Young People’s Forum was organised at the University of Essex to consult with them about how the NHS can best engage and keep young people informed. The PCT’s Young People Forum has now been launched as a result

During 2009/10 a number specific consultations have been undertaken resulting in changes to initial plans:

• Waste Prevention and Recycling

Well over 1,000 people responded to the survey and the majority made constructive comments. Although only one of the four options looked at the potential use of wheelie bins for waste collection, a total of 344 comments were received on the subject; 29 respondents ‘for’ and 315 ‘against. As a result the decision that wheelie bins will not be introduced to the Borough now or in the foreseeable future has been made. 83% of respondents stated that they would be satisfied or very satisfied with a weekly food collection service and plans are being made to see how this collection can be piloted within the Borough.

•  adiZone

AdiZone has been facilitated through joint funding from Colchester Borough Council, Colchester2020 (PRG funds), NHS North East Essex and Colchester Blackwater Schools Sports Partnership.

Consultation was undertaken to consider the range of activities that should be provided. As a result of the consultation a programme of activities was organised for the school Easter holidays. Organised activities included street dance, basketball, football, 50+ and parent and toddler sessions, yoga, pilates, tennis and outdoor gym equipment guidance from qualified instructors. Over 200 people attended the sessions. The attendance at these sessions is being reviewed and this information will be used when planning future activities.

Better Town Centre

The Colchester ‘better town centre’ programme (Case Study) is a compelling 9 piece jigsaw aiming to make a clear and vibrant picture for local people out of the many different and often confusing pieces of work and projects taking place there. An engagement programme has started which consists of having a recognisable brand, an event for all the key players where over 70 people from residents to taxi drivers, from shopping centre managers to local vicars to disabled access groups attended to share their hopes and aspirations for the future and to understand the part they need to play, a week long series of town centre road shows to see what people think and where they think the priorities should be across the 9 themes where over 700 people gave their views.

As a result of this engagement programme:

• Work has been undertaken on the restoration of one of Colchester’s most historic buildings the Essex and Suffolk Fire Offices which was built in 1820 as the Corn Exchange
• A facelift for St. Botolph’s Priory aimed to improve the public realm in the grounds of St. Botolph’s Churchyard and the grounds around the Priory
• A town centre church dating back to 1086 being adopted by the Garrison strengthening ties between the Garrison and the local community even further
• After working closely with businesses a range of parking deals have been put in place to encourage the use of car parks outside of peak times while tackling the perception of Colchester being  too expensive to parkNeighbourhood Action Panels

Each Neighbourhood Action Panel (NAP) has identified their own priorities for action, these are based on local intelligence and consultation with the local community. Each NAP has an underpinning Action Plan for the delivery of these priorities with some tangible results achieved or pending; for example installation of a combination of new /and enhanced lighting at Queen Elizabeth Shopping Parade - this has been problematic for a number of years and the parade subject to anti-social behaviour; and erection of warning signage on the Hilly Fields; “no camping” and “danger of fires” posters – Hilly Fields is an area continually suffering from ASB and inappropriate usage .

We have an enormous amount of information available to us which helps us to identify and target priority areas for improvement:

• Local Development Framework including an Annual Monitoring Report
• Index of Multiple Deprivation 2001 Census data (with updated mid year estimates)
• Joint Strategic Needs Assessment
• Children and Young People Strategic Partnership (CYPSP) “report card”
• Crime and Disorder – the strategic assessment of crime is an annual assessment of crime rates and trends.
• Local Area Agreement performance information
• Place Survey
• Use of Mosaic – helping us to identify specific communities in need of support.
• Tenant survey
• Life opportunities – a mini LAA for Colchester.
• Equality Impact Assessments give us a framework to ensure diversity is taken into account
• District Profile - these have been commissioned for each of the Essex Districts to inform the Integrated County Strategy and are an independent assessment of local conditions.

This information is used to inform a range of activities including identifying priority areas for action; target setting, identifying communities for support, risk management – identifying where the high risks are and then taking action, jointly with partners to try and address areas of concern.

The Sustainable Community Strategy was refreshed last year, as described earlier. This sets the core priorities for Colchester2020 and links well to the Council’s Strategic Plan.

The refreshed Sustainable Community Strategy and the CBC Strategic Plan set the scene for political and community leadership. There are also a range of other activities and involvement:

• The establishment of the NE Local Children’s Trust Board (replacing Colchester’s CYPSP) following the wide ranging review of Children’s Trust approach by all partners contributing to well being of children, young people and their families
• Life Opportunities work – our more local area agreement
• Neighbourhood Action Panels have involvement from the Council including Councillors and representatives from communities. They help to identify and address local concerns
• The Local Development Framework is a major piece of work that is led by the Council and includes significant amounts of consultation and engagement
• Introduction of policies for the Council to set a leadership example e.g. a commitment to the Nottingham Declaration around climate change as a Council, LSP carbon Reduction challenge
• Regional Cities East is a major partnership for the Borough in helping to influence and deliver on the urban growth agenda
• Integrated Development Programme for the sub-region.  ECC provides the accountable body role for both the Partnership and its funding, securing comprehensive regeneration in Colchester and Tendring, including Colchester Town Centre, a new A12 Junction, Harwich, Clacton and Jaywick'.
•  Arrangements for Councillor Call for Action have been put in place and the first was heard in December 2009. The issue was parking problems in the Mile End ward. The Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Panel decided not to evoke the CCfA but to give consideration to it once the new parking enforcement procedures had had time to settle in, in the autumn.

Colchester2020 has led on the establishment of the Colchester2020 Travel Plan Club. This provides context and clear strategic direction to organisations and individuals in Colchester about the responsibility for advocating the messages around the changing habit agenda. Clear targets have been set to ensure that the membership of the Colchester2020Travel Plan Club expands on annual basis.

More than £700,000 has been awarded to a range of projects to help improve quality of life for people in Colchester through Performance Reward Grant.  From getting more Police Community Support Officers on the beat through to offering grants to small businesses in their first year of trading, the projects are all targeted to help make a real difference to the lives of residents in the borough. Colchester’s Public Service Partnership, a sub group of Colchester2020, worked with a range of organisations to identify how to use this cash to gain the biggest benefit for the community.  The group was made up of representatives from health, police, the voluntary and community sector, the Learning and Skills Council, Essex County Council and Colchester Borough Council. Together they have identified 17 projects to share the funding which has been awarded by Government to help achieve the priorities for Colchester set out in the Local Area Agreement (LAA). Outcomes are now being monitored by the PSP at each of their meetings.

The Colchester Olympic Partnership, chaired by the Registrar of the University of Essex Registrar, meets 3-4 times a year and has the aim of securing the best possible legacy for Colchester from the 2012 Olympic Games. The key organisations on the Partnership are CBC, University of Essex and Colchester Garrison with others attending as appropriate. In addition to pursuing external funding to help develop new facilities in the Borough, it is hoped that the biggest legacy will be around behavioural change i.e. inspire local residents to take up physical activity.

Recent key achievements from the Partnership include:

• Launch of Colchester Sporting Champions, athlete support scheme
• Application made for 2012 Inspire Mark for Free Swimming Programme at Colchester Leisure World
• adiZone installed in Monkwick and comprehensive programme of events set up
• Tour Series cycle event staged in Colchester town centre in 2009 with leg of Tour of Britain planned for 2010
• 4 venues included in LOCOG official Pre-Games Training Camp Guide

Colchester has been successful in gaining funding from Homes and Communities Agency for affordable homes.

The council supported 32 Continuous Market Engagement (CME) scheme bids for grant amounting to £33,575,793 during the year. A total of 10 CME bids supported by Colchester succeeded in attracting a HCA grant allocation. The total amount allocated to these scheme bids was £8,739,497 with an average grant rate of £48,285 per affordable unit.  This grant funding will enable 181 new affordable homes to be delivered in Colchester over the next two years and will also facilitate a restart of work on three previously ‘stalled’ sites.

Of particular note this year is the scheme in Hythe Hill, Colchester where £2,207,500 of HCA funding together with £455,000 of council grant has secured a much improved affordable housing contribution.  The s106 signed in February 2003 agreed to 11 affordable homes for a 12% affordable contribution.  Work on the site stalled later on but recent negotiations with the developer and HCA succeeded in securing funding and an anticipated restart of work in June 2010 and an increase in the affordable unit numbers to 52 representing a 55% affordable contribution.

NHS North East Essex (NHS NEE) has Reducing Health Inequalities as one of its five strategic goals and works in partnership with Colchester Borough Council and other partner organisations to deliver on local inequalities targets through the Colchester Life Opportunities plan.  This aims to reduce inequalities within the key LAA target public health priority areas of smoking, childhood obesity and teenage pregnancy, and also has action plans for improving the wider determinants of health such as housing, education and community safety.

Colchester Borough Council and NHS NEE have appointed a joint Senior Public Health Specialist post to deliver on the shared health inequality targets though the delivery of a partnership workplan, with a Memorandum of Understanding and agreed governance arrangements for monitoring performance.  In addition, Colchester Borough Council adopted a Health Inequalities Strategy in early 2010, giving strategic endorsement and direction for all health inequalities work.

Much of the work to tackle health inequalities in Colchester has an impact on more than one health issue, but the following account of initiatives and achievements will be divided roughly into the three Life Opportunities public health priorities of obesity, smoking and teenage pregnancy.  This will be followed by a summary of some of the other work that is taking place to tackle health inequalities.

Childhood obesity remains a major challenge and further work is required to ensure that the LAA target of 15.8% Year 6 (10-11 year olds) pupils obese by 2010 is met. In 2008/09 the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) showed that 16.2% Year 6 pupils were obese compared with 16.2% in 2006/07 and 14.8% 2007/08.  However, the Life Opportunities target for reducing inequalities between schools showed that the worst affected schools in 2006/07 did show significant reductions in obesity rates by 2008/09.  The new Life Opportunities Action Plan aims to “achieve annual reductions in the proportion of children who are overweight or obese in the primary schools within the 20% most deprived Medium Super Output Areas (MSOAs), so many of the school-based activities mentioned below will be targeted at the schools in these areas.   

Measures to reduce obesity include extension of the MEND programme and the employment of a children’s nutritionist.  Both were made possible through the PRG funding from Colchester 2020 LSP.   MEND is a holistic programme covering healthy eating, activity and psychological issues relating to being overweight, and it involves parents as well as children. Results, in terms of children’s BMIs and families’ feedback, have been consistently positive. The nutritionist supports MEND delivery and also works in other venues and programmes, including Children’s Centre’s, to promote healthy eating and lifestyles amongst families with young children.  3 MEND programmes have already been run with 22 out of the 31 children who started on the programmes losing weight. In addition, Children’s Centre staff are being trained in health promotion, and giving support to mothers who breastfeed. 

Breastfeeding is associated with reduced incidence of childhood obesity, as well as having other positive health benefits.  Breastfeeding initiation rates 2008/09 were 75-80% but at 6-8 weeks only 25-30% babies were being totally or partially breastfed.  During 2009/10 this increased to 40% at 6-8 weeks, and the aim is to increase this to 50% in 2010/11.  Recent and current NHS service developments include provision of specialist peer support services in hospital and community, and social marketing interventions to promote breast feeding initiation and continuation rates.

Further obesity tackling measures are taking place in schools, particularly those schools with the highest overweight and obesity prevalence amongst pupils, as shown by the NCMP (see above).   The majority of Colchester schools are part of the Healthy Schools programme, and there have been extensions recently of projects such as Bodycare and the Youth Health Trainer programme, which will soon cover five secondary schools.  Indoor rowing and mountain biking projects are also taking place in secondary schools.  Free swimming for under 16s has been jointly funded by Colchester Council and NHS and through the new Life Opportunities plan (see above) this will be promoted in target schools.  The Council and NHS NEE also work with other partners, for example Colchester United Community Sports Trust, to ensure that their projects are targeted at the most disadvantaged schools and areas of the Borough.

Other partnership initiatives which will support achievement of our obesity targets include:

• Cycle town funding which will increase the number of cyclists
• adiZone which aims to inspire the local community to get involved in sport and generally get more active. 
• A new weight management programme for adults, delivered by NHS NEE and promoted through the Council and other services. 

In terms of outcomes, results from the latest annual ‘Active People Survey’ (APS3) released in November 2009 by Sport England show that the number of adults in Colchester participating in sport and active recreation is the 9 highest in England (out of 354 Local Authorities). 28.9% of adults in Colchester participate in 30 minutes sport or active recreation 3 times per week, which exceeds the national average of 21.6% and regional average of 20.7%. The result places the population of Colchester as one of the most active in England and is an increase of 6% in participation on the first Active People Survey (APS1) carried out in 2006.  The published statistic for NI8 for Colchester is 26.60%. This is an increase of 3% on the baseline for NI8 in 2005/06 and is based on responses to the APS2 and APS3 surveys combined.

Smoking is strongly linked to poor health and health inequalities.   Estimated smoking prevalence in Colchester is above 20%.  Services have been developed to reach smokers in the most deprived areas of the Borough and the Life Opportunities plans set out targets for increasing the number of smokers from these areas accessing the NHS Stop Smoking Service and becoming “four-week quitters”.   In 2009/10 the targets were for1,963 to access the service and 909 of these to quit.  These targets look likely to be achieved, as well as the overall NHS NEE quitter target of 2,660, making NHS NEE one of the top performing PCTs in the region, and – in conjunction with Colchester Borough Council – one of the first to set specific inequality targets.

One of the key health inequality issues relating to smoking is smoking in pregnancy, as this is strongly associated with low-birthweight and increased  risks of childhood illness and infant mortality.  So extra measures are being taken to ensure that pregnant smokers in Colchester get all the support they need to quit.   NHS NEE has commissioned specialist services, including two midwives working as Stop Smoking in Pregnancy advisers, and a comprehensive training and social marketing initiative involving hospital and community staff.

Other Colchester based initiatives to help achieve the targets include: 'Stop Before Your Op'; workplace clinics; the provision of at least one adviser in each GP surgery ; promotion of smoking cessation service to Children's Centre staff and in-house clinics or referral processes for families; stop smoking services in pharmacies; the delivery of Personal Social and Health Education input to schools by an Education Coordinator;  and LEAP – the exercise referral programme run by Colchester Borough Council..  In addition, joint working between the Council and NHS NEE takes place on a regular basis, linking enforcement activities - for example relating to smoking in commercial vehicles - with referrals to the Stop Smoking Service.   Referrals are also being taken from the NHS Health Checks programme (see above).

In 2010/11 Colchester is planning to deliver the SmokeFree Homes project to reduce the number of children exposed to secondhand smoke by raising awareness of its dangers and encouraging parents to make some level of commitment to maintaining smokefree environment for their children.  This project will be by the Council, NHS NEE and Essex Fire and Rescue Service and will target deprived areas.

Unplanned teenage pregnancy is also strongly associated with poor health and social outcomes, for mothers and for their children.  Colchester has seen a reduction in teenage conceptions from 40.5 per 100015-17 year olds in 1998 to 34.9 in 2006-08.    However, the National Teenage Pregnancy Strategy had an aim of halving the 1998 rate by 2010 and this will not be achieved.  So this issue remains a key local priority and is addressed through several Life Opportunities action plans (e.g., Worklessness, Education and Skills) as well as the specific Teenage Pregnancy plan which aims to reduce the inequality gap in conception rates between wards.

NHS service provision includes free contraceptive services and pregnancy testing through pharmacies across the Borough,  and specialist young people’s sexual health clinics, which increased capacity during 2009/10. There has been development of the ‘APAUSE’ programme in Colchester schools and support for secondary schools to deliver accredited programmes to increase 13-16 year olds’ knowledge and understanding of relationship issues.  Access to Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC), through GP or dedicated young people’s services will continue to increase.  A new teenage pregnancy advice/counselling service was introduced in 2009/10, and there are local support groups for young parents.

Young people at risk of unplanned pregnancy are also at high risk from sexually transmitted diseases. To address this the Chlamydia Screening Programme continues, delivered by NHS with support of community partner organisations and businesses e.g. schools, pharmacies, to target 15-24 years olds with aim of detecting, treating and preventing further spread of Chlamydia.  Special efforts are made by the screening team to reach people who may not otherwise come forward for testing by delivering outreach testing in pubs and other social venues.  The prevalence of Chlamydia amongst target group tested 5-6% in 2008/09.  Planned improvements include an extension of the Chlamydia screening programme to reach 35% of the target population in 2009/10.

There are many other healthy inequality projects which operate within the Borough, working with people who are known to have the highest risk of poor health.  Examples of some of these are summarised below.

Low incomes are associated with poor health.  NHS NEE has commissioned Essex County Council to deliver a training programme for health and social care staff so that they can advise and help their patients and clients on low income and/or with health problems to claim all the benefits they are entitled to.  This is supported by Colchester Borough Council’s Welfare Rights Service, which provides training and ongoing support and advice to other organisations across the Borough with the aim of maximizing income amongst vulnerable groups. The service has also initiated a child poverty project to train a worker in each of the eleven Children’s Centres, with the aim of increasing families’ incomes.

The Council delivers a Warm Homes Project to help vulnerable local residents stay warm and safe in their homes by helping them to access benefits and home improvements and making referrals to other services, for example Primary Care or Falls Prevention.  To complement this, NHS NEE funded a Fuel Poverty pilot project in 2009/10 to target residents with cold-related medical conditions through a local GP surgery.  Those on low incomes were eligible for extra help and home improvements.  In addition, the work of the home improvement agency, and the Council’s disabled facilities grant programme, aim to promote independence and improve home safety amongst older people and people with disabilities.

 Within the NHS, GPs are delivering a Local Enhanced Service (LES) designed to detect or prevent cardiovascular disease in people living in areas of social deprivation.  In addition, NHS NEE, in partnership with the Council, is delivering an outreach programme of health checks, designed to reach people who may not otherwise come forward for them, and to provide them with referrals, treatment and general support afterwards.   Successful pilot projects, which found a high proportion of people with poor health and lifestyle problems, have been delivered in Job Centre Plus and the Council’s temporary accommodation.  More checks are planned for both venues.

People with poor mental health or with learning disabilities may be particularly vulnerable to poor physical health.  For this reason NHS NEE works with partners to ensure that extra preventive services are delivered within and outside the NHS for these groups.  For example, there is a LES to improve access by people with learning disabilities to primary care services, and NHS NEE commissions the Council to deliver the Big Garden project which enables people with mental health problems or learning disabilities to participate in gardening activities.

A Case Study sets out a specific programme run in conjunction with the Job Centre. 

Safeguarding children has been at the top of the agenda for all partner organisations over the last year.  At Colchester Borough Council a Head of Service has been appointed senior named officer for safeguarding and has clear accountability.  The Council has also appointed a corporate safeguarding coordinator to support the work across the organisation.  The work is also being supported by direct financial resource and is one of only three areas to get additional funding in a very difficult financial situation, reflecting the importance placed on this work. 

Cabinet and full Council have approved a revised Safeguarding Children Policy which is now part of the Council’s policy framework, and we have used the Essex Safeguarding Children Board (ESCB) self-assessment tool to audit our compliance with the provisions in the Children Act 2004. 

This process has included an audit of all job roles throughout the organisation, managed through the service group management teams, aimed at establishing which roles have direct or indirect contact with children and young people.  The results of this audit have enabled us to establish a training needs analysis and to begin the rollout of a corporate safeguarding training programme which will impact all staff in the organisation according to need and job role.

Each of the five Local Children’s Trust Boards (LCTBs) in Essex formed a “task and finish” group to consider how the LCTBs can fulfill their new role in safeguarding children and young people.  As proactive members of the North East Local Children’s Trust Board (NE LCTB), the Council, along side a range of partners, have played a leading role in scoping the terms of reference and functions of the Stay Safe sub-group of the Board – these were approved at the April NE LCTB meeting.  The collective recommendations from all the LCTBs were approved by the ESCB in April.  The Stay Safe subgroup of the NELCTB will hold its first meeting early in June where the Council will be represented.

The Council are also now mirroring this process for the Safeguarding Adults agenda with a new corporate policy due to be approved early in the new municipal year and an audit process commencing shortly in keeping with the request from the Essex Safeguarding Adults Board (ESAB).

To increase the number of older people supported to live at home and support vulnerable people to achieve independent living Colchester BC has seen the provision of a gardening and DIY service to elderly and disabled people who are in receipt of benefit and who do not have the resources to engage a workman; achieved through targeted PRG funding from Colchester2020 LSP.

A joint project between the Borough Council and the NHS was launched in January 2009 (and now extended until June 2010) on a pilot scheme to target extra help for people with particular health problems. NHS North East Essex has provided funding for us to contact and visit people with asthma or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease living in New Town ward. The New Town GP surgery letters to all patients with these conditions offering a home visit and so far approximately 100 households have made contact through this pilot scheme. A Council officer is then visiting people in their homes, assessing whether extra heating or insulation would reduce their fuel bills and improve their health. The funding for this pilot also contains a grant budget allowing us to fund this work directly. These particular health conditions were chosen as they are often exacerbated by cold or damp housing. The geographic area was chosen as it has a high proportion of older private housing, and is our ‘Life Opportunities’ target area for improving poor housing stock.  Plans are to extend this to include people with other cold-related disorders living in other areas.

A number of forums are in place to protect vulnerable people at risk of abuse or neglect this includes the Colchester Domestic Abuse Forum and the Hate Crime Panel.

We are currently looking at new targets for inclusion in our “Life Opportunities” and a number of the new targets will continue to address and support the needs of more vulnerable communities.  New targets look set to include:

• A target specifically intended to reduce child poverty, measured by an increase in the number of eligible families benefiting for the childcare element of working tax credit and DLA
• Increasing the number of adults from BME communities completing ESOL training
• Increasing the take-up of benefits by older people

 The purpose of the Children's Trust is to bring together in partnership those authorities with a duty to co-operate and other organisations co-opted in order to secure improvement in the well-being of children and young people in Essex, as defined by Section10 of the Children Act 2004.  The Children’s Trust works very closely with the Essex Safeguarding Children Board, a statutory multi agency organisation which brings together agencies who work to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in Essex.  There are five Local Children’s Trust Boards (LCTBs) – the NE LCTB covers both Colchester and Tendring.  The LCTB is developing an action plan against the Every Child Matters five outcomes of which ‘Enjoy and Achieve’ is one. 

Through the Local Priority Fund the NE LCTB commissioned a number of initiatives to raise attainment such as a programme called Engage.  This programme provides additional support to young people having difficulty in ‘engaging’ in Education, Training or Employment; provides intensive and flexible1-2-1 support that empowers and widens the experience of young people and focuses on tackling the risk factors that limit attainment and improving protective factors and well being.  Another programme called MORE Sport (Mentoring, Opportunities, Recreation, Experience) uses sport to offer an accredited course focusing on basic skills, leadership qualities, health awareness and vocational training, leading to work-based experience and employment opportunities for young people who are NEET or at risk of becoming NEET.

Pupils at risk of not achieving their true potential can also take part in the engagement programme organised through the 14-19 Area Planning Group, they also take part in vocational education programmes at Colchester Institute as part of their key stage 4 education.

A range of out of school activities are delivered by Local Delivery Groups through the extended services agenda. These activities help to narrow the gap between vulnerable groups of children and young people.  A range of interventions to reduce persistent absence rate are being identified and will be piloted.

A ‘Life Opportunities’ target was introduced in 2009 to reduce pupil absence at a particular primary school in the area with very positive results.  An award based scheme for good attendance was introduced and resulted in attendance being significantly above the target and the number of pupils late was also less than normal. The plan is to continue with the pilot and to consider how to roll out to other schools where attendance is an issue. 

In terms of increasing attainment and skills in the adult population NVQ 2 training is provided to employees in the borough with 200 gain NVQ2 qualification in 2008-10.  Future proposals include accredited retail training to NVQ2 qualification for potential employees of Sainsbury’s and Waitrose from 2009 onwards. The LAA Life Opportunities had a target of increasing the number of people taking up learning opportunities in Tiptree, Berechurch and St Andrews wards by 60. This target was achieved.

Colchester BC has also encouraged a wider adoption of the ‘Skills Pledge’ by businesses in the borough and significantly increased the take up of ‘Apprenticeships’ as defined by the Learning and Skills Council (Level 2 Apprenticeship)

A Life Opportunities target for 2009/10 targeted three wards with low skills levels to increase the number of adults taking up learning opportunities by 60.  This target has been delivered.  The Council is currently looking at new targets around worklessness to include in the Life Opportunities targets for 2010/11.  Targets around skills will also be included, aimed at increasing the number of adults taking numeracy and literacy skills and IT skills. 

The creation of a Knowledge Gateway at the University of Essex in Colchester will help to stimulate the creation of more high value-added jobs in Essex.

To stimulate business expansion and innovation the Borough has invested in a ‘Support Small Business Formation’ scheme; the first part of this scheme will provide funding in the form of a small grant for web design, logistics and recruitment which could allow a business to continue trading after year 1; the second part will promote this scheme to target groups that are currently under-represented in the business community

Colchester2020 LSP has also provided support for the development of a new incubation and grow on facility in North Colchester, has effectively signposted local companies to specialist advisors, funding and assistance to trade internationally and will actively encourage local companies to become engaged in partner led foreign trade initiatives.

The revamp of Colchester’s Hythe station was unveiled in February 2010 by Colchester Borough Council.  The facelift includes 90 meters of bright, colourful artwork and text on billboards; inspired by local history and produced by local artists.  The Hythe station project was designed as part of the Hythe regeneration programme. It has been developed to offer rail users, visitors and residents a positive first impression of the area, and will also help to screen ongoing construction work.

Colchester has also launched a major project around a “Better Town Centre”, which aims to bring together a number of projects and engage the residents and businesses in helping to shape the town centre.  (Case Study). 

The economic recession had looked as if it would pose a real threat to performance around the provision of affordable homes in the Borough.  However, performance across the last two years has been very strong.  For 2009/10 158 affordable homes have been delivered against a target of 121.  The revision of Colchester2020 LSP Vision and Priorities now includes a focus on the provision of affordable housing.  On going co-operation is still required between stakeholders to monitor housing development and address delivery issues especially as this is an area at risk because of economic climate this is also a risk to reducing homelessness. Funding from the HCA mentioned earlier continues to support delivery.

Carbon Reduction is a strand running through the previous Colchester2020 LSP Sustainable Community Strategy and this will continue to be the case in the refreshed Sustainable Community Strategy soon to be published.  In 2008/09, Colchester2020 LSP set out its Carbon Challenge to reduce the carbon footprint in Colchester by 30% by 2012.

Over the last two years the Council has taken many steps to tackle climate change. It has reduced its own energy use by 2,096,287 kWh, the equivalent to 660 tonnes of CO2 or £160,000 in cost savings. It has developed projects to reduce CO2 from across the borough by supporting local businesses and communities, and it is taking action to ensure that it can adapt to the impacts of climate change for the future. Colchester Borough Council has been chosen as one of a select number of Councils in the Eastern Region to be formally accepted on to the Energy Saving Trust’s One-to-One Support Programme. This opportunity will allow the Council to further reduce Colchester’s carbon emissions and to tackle climate change.  The programme began in September 2009 and will last for two years. Over this time a dedicated consultant will offer the Council a bespoke service to help improve the environmental impact of services such as transport and housing on the Borough, as well as developing activities to engage the wider community. The programme may also allow the Council to bid for a ‘grants for action’ fund to develop new and exciting projects across the Borough.

Solar panels are being installed across Colchester as part of a project to upgrade communal aerials at council owned blocks of flats and sheltered housing.  Colchester Borough Council and Colchester Borough Homes are working together to ensure this environmentally friendly technology is installed instead of a traditional power supply in cases where the signal received by the aerial needs to be boosted.   A solar panel is installed near the new aerial system on each block of flats that requires it. Sunlight is then converted to electricity to boost the signal from the aerial so all residents get a strong signal. Power is stored in a battery, so it still works overnight.Future action include investment in the development of a Business Green Doctor scheme, which will provide advice to businesses on how to reduce their energy consumption and therefore reduce their CO₂ footprint.

With the help of Colchester 2020 the Council has won £50,000 funding through the Local Area Agreement Performance Reward Grant (PRG) and have put into place a project to support local businesses to reduce their environmental impact by lowering their CO₂ emissions and as a result make significant cost savings on energy bills. The project, developed with Groundwork UK, consists of two levels of free support for businesses:

• The first is a Full Energy Review where a business environmental advisor reviews then compiles a report on a business’ energy use and recommends how they can save energy or reduce environmental impact. The advisor can then offer follow up support to help business’ implement the key actions.
• The second is energy workshops which may be more appropriate for smaller businesses that may not need a full review. The workshop is split over two mornings, the first helps the participants carry out their own energy reviews. The participants can then go away and collect data ready for the second workshop, during which they develop their own action plans and ten receive follow up support to help implement the actions.

Case studies of similar projects have shown that businesses can reduce their energy consumption by between 20% and 30% with little or no investment, creating significant financial savings. With more investment this saving can be increased to between 50% and 70%.

To help improve the condition of the roads and to minimise congestion Cycling Town’ status has been awarded to Colchester and residents will see £4.2 million invested to support cycling.  Colchester2020 Travel Plan Club established and expanding, as part of Travel Together Week, Essex County Council and Colchester2020 Travel Plan Club encouraged more people to register their details on the Essex TravelBUDi website, an all inclusive travel system designed to enable more efficient travel and transport options.  Parking pricing offers have been developed that encourage car users to travel outside peak times and use car parks that are located in the outer ring road system

Colchester 2020, LSP, through the transport sub group has opened up good lines of communications with transport providers in the borough to identify those areas where they can work better together to improve transport arrangements and promote a reduction in congestion

The Borough Council also has strong links with public transport providers and has invited various bodies to Scrutiny panels eg Bus Companies. 

Colchester Borough Council in partnership with Essex County Council and National Express East Anglia unveiled a Station Travel Plan for Colchester station in October 2009. The Travel Plan is aimed at increasing the number of passengers travelling to and from the station by sustainable modes, improving accessibility for pedestrians, cyclists and bus users thereby reducing the environmental impact of journeys made. The plan also encourages greater use of train services for commuting, shopping and leisure purposes.   Colchester station is amongst the busiest stations in the east of England and one of just 24 Station Travel Plan initiatives that are being launched across the country.  Colchester Borough Council, National Express East Anglia and Essex County Council have received a Highly Commended at the National Rail Business Awards, in recognition of partnership work to improve Colchester Station. The award, which was in the Integrated Transport Excellence category, recognises the work carried out by the partnership to enhance the integration of transport, and deliver maximum impact and improvements for the station.

Improved street and environmental cleanliness is delivered through monthly cleaning blitzes introduced with historical littering and fly tipping problems in addition to the Days of Action.  Recycling bins are provided in the Town Centre and there has been increased visibility of street cleaning staff.

Future actions include the introduction of litter education in schools to  address some of the local environmental quality issues; new abandoned vehicles inspection and clearance service resulting in improved response rates; and a new Handyman service introduced into the Town Centre to proactively identify and resolve issues with equipment, signage and street  furniture.

A major review of the waste strategy for Colchester is underway and investment is being made to support a new initiative to boost participation of households in recycling; over two years the Door Stepping Campaign will cover around 18,400 households and also to extend the recycling collection scheme to flats.

As part of its mission to make the Borough a greener and more sustainable place, the Council is bringing help and advice to thousands of residents so that they maximise their recycling opportunities.  The project will be conducted by an external consultancy and will be divided into three phases:

• The first stage involved a preliminary monitoring phase in which the kerbside recycling participation of some households in Barnhall, the Hythe, Monkwick and Tiptree is recorded between 7 September and 9 October 2009.
• The second stage will be a door-stepping phase in which trained advisors will visit 30,000 households in North Station, Northern Approach, Highwoods, Mile End, Tiptree, the Hythe, Greenstead, St. Anne’s, Parsons Heath, Eight Ash Green, Wivenhoe, Monkwick, Barnhall, New Town, Riverside, Berechurch and Shrub End between 14 October and 21 November 2009.
• A second monitoring phase will take place where the kerbside recycling participation of the same households is recorded, between 18 January and 26 February

The information gained will inform the Council of future opportunities to provide further recycling support to residents.

Colchester BC’s successful programme of ‘Days of Action’ brings together, public service partners for these targeted events which focus on one specific ward within the Borough for each ‘Day of Action’. There are three main objectives: community safety information, enforcement activity and clean-up work.  In attendance are officers from Colchester Borough Council, Essex Police, Essex County Council, Colchester Borough Homes, Colchester Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP), DVLA , Essex Fire and Rescue Service and Trading Standards who work together to improve the local area.  Patrols and walkabouts are undertaken in the area throughout the day with Essex Police, including mounted Police and Colchester Borough Council Street Care officers and Street Wardens all involved. This gives the public the opportunity to witness first hand the important work they do within the community.  In addition, officers from Essex County Council (ECC) work with Essex Police to undertake a ‘truancy sweep’ and Trading Standard complete “test purchasing” around the area.  Colchester Borough Council place a crushed car in the playground at a school to help engage and educate the pupils on car taxation and licensing, and they will be asked to take part in a competition to guess the model of the car. The Youth Bus is on hand for information and advice during the day and pupils get the chance to meet mounted Police officers.  The Essex Probation Service and the Essex County Council Youth Offender’s team attend to, assist officers in some of the clean up activity. The Council’s Street cleaners are out in force targeting graffiti and litter.  Colchester’s SOS bus will be there to provide specialist mobile health and community services with modern on-board facilities for visitors of all ages to access information, help and support linked to sexual health, smoking cessation, crime prevention, fire safety, personal safety, cycle post coding, Neighbourhood Action Panel promotion and much more.

As a result of the success of the Days of Action, partners looked for an approach that would help to sustain benefits for the longer term. A bid was made for £100,000.00 for PRG funding from the Safer Essex Partnership for a pilot called ‘Safer Colchester’. After nine months the innovative Safer Colchester Pilot is approaching its end and an evaluation phase is due to start this summer. The multiagency project team has worked in three very different sites in the district (Monkwick, Tiptree and Newtown) for a period of three months each. The results have been fantastic and include the significant reductions in crime and anti-social behaviour that have been seen in each of the areas visited. Other objectives for the pilot included having an impact on the fear of crime and on perceptions of anti-social behaviour amongst local people and the early indications are that significant progress has also been made in these areas. Of most satisfaction to the project team is the engagement by local individuals and community groups with the work of the project team. This has been evident in the numbers of local residents getting involved in initiatives such as litter picking, school speed watch, emergency services demonstrations and numerous youth events. A key aim for the pilot was to leave a lasting 'legacy' in the community and there are good examples of this in each of the pilot sites. Whilst the formal evaluation is eagerly awaited, local managers are already convinced that the methodology used during the pilot should become a permanent feature of the community Safety effort within the district.

To reduce substance misuse, particularly by young people the Colchester SOS bus has been used to provide a day time education resource for primary and secondary schools to high light the dangers of alcohol and drug use.  Further information about this and other community safety initiatives in the Borough can be found in the case study.

Colchester Borough Council and Essex Police joined forces in January 2010 to set up an anti-social behaviour telephone hotline. The hotline will allow victims of anti-social behaviour to speak to a specialist team who will be able to deal with their call more efficiently. Using a dedicated team to receive complaints ensures that each call is dealt with by the most appropriate agency. In addition to this, it is hoped that by offering victims this unique reporting system it will free up Police resources to deal with other criminal matters. LAA Life Opportunities had a target to reduce the incidents of anti-social behaviour in Berechurch ward by 5%. This proved extremely successful achieving a reduction of 12%.

Using a dedicated team to receive complaints ensures that each call is dealt with by the most appropriate agency. In addition to this, it is hoped that by offering victims this unique reporting system it will free up Police resources to deal with other criminal matters.

Investment has also been made in a schools liaison worker to co-ordinate activities designed to raise awareness of the dangers of alcohol misuse and to provide advice & support.

Future actions include extension of the Youth Health Trainers programme to Colchester, recruiting an additional three schools 09-10 and implementation of a Young Person’s Web Site with targeted information on Healthy Lifestyles and linkage into other partner’s website.

The Probation Service lead on the target to reduce reoffending by adults and young people this is also supported by the SOS bus and the ‘Prison No Way’ (visits to a prison to meet prisoners and understand the reality of prison life) project to those most at risk of re-offending.

Future actions include making greater use of the Community Payback Scheme by identifying offenders to work under supervision in the community making improvements to community facilities and public places; making better use of ASB powers to manage offending behaviour or those at risk of re-offending; to increase use of ‘Prison No Way’ project to those most at risk of re-offending; and to provide the ‘Fire Break’ project that provides those young people most at risk of offending with team building, communication and respect for others skills.

Action to reduce the number of first time entrants to the criminal justice system has included delivery of a Crucial Crew event for Year 6 pupils in Colchester.

Investment in the Respect Project organised by the Essex Boys Club, which engages with young people aged 14-15 years; the target audience is the hard to reach groups within schools or those at risk of offending.

Investment in Prison No Way, which  is organised and run in conjunction with the Youth Offending Team and is targeted at young people on the outskirts of criminal activity from aged 10 and upwards. This project includes a visit to Chelmsford Prison and a meeting with reformed prisoners.

Investment in the Firebreak Scheme, which engages with young people who are need of direction; participants are identified via the Police and YOT are included on the course.  The project is delivered over a number of weeks and involves the young people being trained as junior fire fighters with a demonstration and presentation day is held at the end of the course where parents are invited to attend.

To reduce serious violent crimes and assaults causing injury the borough has seen deployment of a multi agency ‘SOS Bus’ targeting the town centre area of Colchester to reduce opportunity of violent offences occurring; regular licensing checks, which include test purchasing to ensure that high risk groups are not exposed to possible violence and associated injury; high visibility patrols in target areas at key times to deter violence; identification of high risk persons through domestic violence forums and DV1 system to act early to reduce offences; provision of education programmes in schools that focus on risk taking to promote sensible behaviour and thereby preventing offences; development of a crime reduction ‘Toolkit’ that identifies specifically what actions each partner of the CDRP can do practically and easily to combat violent crimes and  assaults causing injury; development of victims of violent crime support group to inform partner agencies on how best to reduce violent crime; and developing ‘Life Opportunities’ Action Plan to specifically target the reduction of violent crime.

Domestic violence continues to be an area of concern and the Public Sector Partnership focused a meeting on what else could be done to support a reduction.  Actions agreed will be to look at what else could be done from a housing perspective to support victims.  The Borough already supports the MARAC, this is the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference project that provides intensive case conferencing and support for victims of domestic abuse and partner agencies.  PRG funding has also been provided to support the Stopping Aggression and Anti Social Behaviour in Families (SAAIF) programme.

Development of the Domestic Violence Sanctuary scheme, allows victims of domestic abuse to remain in their own homes through the installation of assessed and appropriate security measures, PRG funding is being used to support implementation.  A contractor has been secured for installation of the scheme, which includes increased  security measures, special doors to provide a “sanctuary room”, alarms, security lighting.  The scheme was formally launched in October 2009. 

Domestic violence education packs are being developed for all secondary schools in Colchester.

A crime reduction ‘Toolkit’ has also been identified that identifies specifically what actions each partner of the CDRP can do practically and easily to combat domestic abuse in any form.  We will also provide an annual conference on combating domestic violence as per the joint CBC/Braintree CDRP DA conference was held on the 4^th February 2010.  Outreach funding has been agreed to expand the new refuge resource centre from June 2009

Development of SARC (Sexual Assault Referral Centre) in NE Essex provides specialist support to victims of serious sexual offences.

Tacking antisocial behaviour in the Borough has involved implementation and continuation of Neighbourhood Action Panels, Eastern Division being the first to introduce these in Essex;  made up of members of the public and other agencies they identify issues in a defined local area and problem solve actions required to address these; introduction of a joint Anti Social Behaviour Team in Colchester to identify offenders and to signpost to other agencies where applicable to prevent problems in the future; funding for two extra Community Street Wardens so daily cover can be provided in two more wards as well as realigning existing resources to provide the service in hotspots, particularly rural areas; and to continue with the successful Life Opportunities ASB reduction plan for targeted areas of Colchester.

Proposed future actions include the introduction of a new mediation service to work with families and young people where anti-social behaviour is a problem; the development and introduction of a Safer Colchester Pilot that will test a multi-agency approach to targeted activity to reduce crime, increase access to a range of services and increase public confidence in policing specifically and public sector providers more generally; the recruitment, through PRG funding, of a Family Intervention Worker to work with the most problematic families most at risk of committing or continuing their ASB behaviours; to make better use of demoted tenancies by RSLs for those families committing repeated acts of ASB and to Develop by May 2009 a crime reduction ‘Toolkit’ that identifies specifically what actions each partner of the CDRP can do practically and easily to combat ASB.

Two Life Opportunities targets were set for 2009/10 around crime:

• To reduce the incidents of anti-social behaviour in Berechurch ward by 5%.  This has been exceeded with a reduction of 12%
• To reduce a basket of violent offences in the town centre of 2%.  This has also been achieved.

New targets will be agreed shortly which will continue to target reductions in anti-social behaviour in particular wards.

Investment in the expansion of the core services of the Volunteer Centre and the Colchester Community Voluntary Service, which will raise the profile and value of volunteering in the community as well as providing information and guidance on a range of volunteering opportunities.  This funding has already seen a number of successes:·        

• BME Group - CCVS acted as an arbitrator to get this group back on track, after much discontent between trustees.  The Group has recently re-formed and the new treasurer was lacking in confidence that they were keeping appropriate records.  Regular meetings are held with the group to go over their records, and to ensure the treasurer is confident that they are working correctly.  The Group has been successful in obtaining some funding from Essex Community Foundation with a condition that they must continue to work with the Council.
• Long established children’s group – The Group Treasurer resigned in April 09 and for several months the group operated without a Treasurer as no suitable replacement could be found.  Subsequently the records fell behind, the Council brought the daily book-keeping records up to date and created a user friendly template for the newly appointed Treasurer. There is now more management information and control than was previously available, and their ability to track their funding in restricted pots is now compliant.  The Council is supporting the new treasurer for 6 months with 1-1 support and training.  The Group books are now computerised using Quickbooks.
• Financial Development and Training Programme -This was a 5 x 2 hour session programme, which ran through November and December 09.  The aim was to target new treasurers or people wanting some additional training covering cash books, bank reconciliations, petty cash and writing a financial procedures document.  The programme was aimed to assist organisations improve their accounting records and to ensure they have robust procedures.

Colchester Borough Council has been shortlisted for an Arts and Business East award for its work at Fortuna Park, Colchester.  The coveted Cambridge University Press Arts and Business Community Award recognises the Council’s work to deliver regeneration and local community engagement with the arts in partnership with Countryside Annington, a joint venture between Countryside Properties and Annington Homes.  The housing development company worked with Colchester Borough Council at the Fortuna Park development on part of the Colchester Garrison Barracks.  The public art project consisted of a series of prominent poles inspired by Colchester’s historic links to Venice, which were hand painted by community members in the colours of the local football team and army uniforms. The aim of the project was to add character and visual interest to the development and, with the help of artist Richard Layzell, has helped to engage over 800 people, adding social and cultural value to the area. The awards ceremony will take place in February 2010 at Marshall Business Aviation Centre in Cambridge.

Colchester, in partnership with Tendring, was chosen as the first joint area in Essex to benefit from government funding of £31,000 as part of an innovative project to strengthen our diverse communities. The project, led by Colchester Borough Council and Tendring District Council, will aim to further improve and develop relationships with hard to reach groups including migrant populations and Muslim communities.   The funding is linked to the government’s PREVENT strategy and builds on the successes of existing policies and provides the basis for a coordinated approach to counter terrorism.

The partnership will develop a number of projects to promote multi-faith co-operation, greater involvement of diverse communities in decision making, improving communication and support of Muslim groups, engaging with young Muslims and Muslim women. The project will promote the common values that bind us together – respect for the law, tolerance of others, freedom of expression and religion and the good work being done by Muslim leaders and others in our communities.

Promotion of participation in the arts and cultural activity included the Introduction of a year-long cultural programme entitled the Essex Jiangsu Festival was launched with ‘Guardians to the King’, which was an exhibition of 43 terracotta figurines over two millennia old from the Han Dynasty hosted by the Colchester Castle Museum

Colchester Borough Council provides support to three key arts venues and the Mercury Theatre is proactive in a range of activities with the community.

Colchester Borough Council began work in March 2010 on the Priory Churchyard in the first stage of work connected with a facelift for St. Botolph’s Priory and its grounds.  The project began with work on the trees and hedgerows, new paths, seats and bins. This will last until April 2010. This will be followed between April and May 2010 by further development of the Priory, Church and the open space between them which can be used to support events taking place in the wider Priory.  The Priory improvement project was awarded around £80,000 by the Haven Gateway Partnership in 2008 and is just one of a number of small and large scale projects planned and taking place to create quality public spaces and places in Colchester’s town centre as well as improving cleanliness and safety in this important heritage site. The whole St. Botolph’s area is the focus for a major make-over programme which will see the area’s heritage being enhanced as well as the development of new shops, cafes, bars and restaurants as the old and new complement each other.

Colchester Community Stadium which houses the football club and provides a range of community facilities such as education programmes.  The project won “development of the year” recognition from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and is an example of a joined up approach to regeneration that is providing greater opportunities for local people.

Future actions include the library service developing the concept of Libraries as front door to the council but it is taking this further and exploring how through partnership working we can make libraries the centre of our communities; examples include – Colchester Library – social enterprise coffee shop.  A Visual Arts Facility is also being built with a range of partnership funding.

On Wednesday 10 February 2010 the Colchester Partnership for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games launched Colchester Sporting Champions, at Colchester Leisure World. Members of the partnership include Colchester Borough Council, University of Essex, Colchester Garrison, the Colchester Blackwater Schools Sports Partnership and NHS North East Essex.  Colchester Sporting Champions has been established to support local athletes, with potential to represent Team GB in the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, by offering grants of £500. The grants will help local athletes with expenses such as training, travel to competitions and the purchase of essential equipment.  Local businesses are being invited to take part by contributing grants of £500 to sponsor individual athletes. Businesses that take part in the scheme will benefit from a personal appearance from their sponsored athlete, promotion of their business and progress reports among other incentives.  Colchester 2020 Local Strategic Partnership and NHS North East Essex have already made contributions to kickstart the launch of the scheme. Athletes who receive sponsorship will be linked as a “Sporting Champion” with one of the family of schools from the Colchester Blackwater-Schools Sports Partnership, as a role model and inspiration to local schoolchildren.

The revamp of Colchester’s Hythe station was unveiled in February 2010 by Colchester Borough Council. Local artist Dale Devereux Barker and local writer-poet Martin Newell were commissioned to fill the Hythe station’s new hoardings with text and art. Ideas for the work came from consulting locals who added insights and inspiration from history of the area- ranging from Roman times to the post-war era.  A Victorian train motif is prominent in the design, and the art and text are intended to work together to compliment the station. They will be covered with a graffiti proof film and attached to railings around the station’s platforms and entrance.