Oxfordshire 2030
Oxfordshire 2030 is a Sustainable Community Strategy. It sets out a long-term vision for Oxfordshire's future.
Our ambition is to:
- Create a world class economy for Oxfordshire building particularly on the high tech sector.
- Have healthy and thriving communities. We want to sustain what is good about our city, towns and villages but also respond to the needs of the 21st century including the impact of demographic and lifestyle changes.
- Look after our environment and respond to the threat of climate change and the potential for more extreme weather conditions. The threat of flooding is a particular concern.
- Break the cycle of deprivation by addressing the regeneration needs of disadvantaged communities; reducing the gap between the best and worst off and supporting people to maximise their talents and raise their aspirations.
The strategy has the support of all the key statutory agencies in the county as well as voluntary and business sector endorsement. Our expectation is that key agencies will reflect the vision and priorities in their own corporate plans and in their resource allocation so we ensure that we deliver the vision.
What is a sustainable community strategy?
All local authorities have a duty to work with partner organisations to produce a sustainable community strategy - a document which demonstrates how local organisations and agencies will work together to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of their area.
There are three main strands within the strategy:
- Place - where housing and other development will be concentrated.
- Major themes - Largely centred on economic and community well being.
- Cross cutting issues - Tackling inequality, responding to climate change and sustainability - ensuring that our approach to improving our economy, environment and communities takes account of the need for long-term sustainable solutions - for example: living within our environmental means and actions that help communities to be more resilient and self-supporting.
The Oxfordshire Partnership
The task of developing Oxfordshire 2030 has been taken on by the Oxfordshire Partnership which represents public, business and voluntary sector interests from across the county.
The Oxfordshire Partnership is the over-arching strategic partnership for the county and provides the form for setting the strategic vision for the county and for capturing the vision in the Sustainable Community Strategy. There are similar partnerships for each district and their strategies will pick up more detailed issues and focus on the needs of local
communities.
The main objectives of the Oxfordshire Partnership are:
- To develop Oxfordshire 2030 - a Sustainable Community Strategy for Oxfordshire.
- To strengthen partnership working to ensure that everyone is working in the same strategic direction, sharing resources, information and expertise to address key issues and local priorities.
- To promote equality, respect and diversity and improve the quality of life for everyone who lives in, works in, or visits Oxfordshire.
The evidence:
In developing the strategy, the partnership looked at the long-term social, economic and environmental trends, issues and other plans and strategies affecting the future of the county. Organisations from the partnership, including the police, health services, businesses, the voluntary and community sectors and elected members of local councils were invited to events in 2007 to debate the implications of these trends. They then agreed priorities for action for wider consultation with the public.
See the website for more information on the role of the Oxfordshire Partnership and the development of the strategy www.oxfordshirepartnership.org.uk.
