South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership sets shared five-year vision in first Sub-regional strategy

The first South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership Sub-regional Strategy - a collective alignment of priorities, aims and ambitions - has been approved by Boston Borough Council, East Lindsey District Council and South Holland District Council.

The approval of the strategy for 2024/25 - 2028/29 reflects the original business case of the Partnership which identified opportunities for greater alignment and collective working on strategic issues that are common for all the councils.

The Partnership - which is the largest of its kind in the country - formed in 2021.  In that time working together the Council have already identified savings of more than £24million through more efficient ways of working together. The Partnership has also secured more than £180m in external funding to support services and investment in communities through programme such as Town's Fund and Levelling Up, which are resulting in significant construction programmes to provide new facilities.

By working together, the Partnership has greater influence for the Councils at a regional and national level.

The bold and ambitious partnership of councils seeks to further joint working on key priorities as well as still addressing issues of local importance for each council area.

Cllr Anne Dorrian Leader of Boston Borough Council, Cllr Craig Leyland Leader of East Lindsey District Council and Cllr Nick Worth Leader of South Holland District Council, said: "The sub-regional strategy is the next natural step as we continue to build on the joint work of the three councils to ensure we continue to deliver meaningful projects and services that best serve our residents and businesses.

"The priorities of growth and prosperity, healthy lives, safe and resilient communities and environment are all shared issues of importance for the whole sub-region. By working collectively, we have a greater influence and can bring alive projects and schemes which benefit our towns and parishes.

"Local issues specific for each council are still as important as ever - that will always remain - and this has been reflected in the final strategy.

"Thank you to all who have helped shape this document through our consultation and engagement, helping us to set our priorities for the next five years."

The priorities for the Partnership as identified in the strategy are:

Growth and Prosperity - develop and deliver a strategic economic plan for the sub-region; deliver the Towns' Fund, Levelling Up UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Arts Council England funded programmes to support growth and prosperity; work collaboratively to increase access to learning opportunities by increasing skills and to deliver green and sustainable economic growth.

Healthy Lives - work with the Healthy Living Board to deliver the Healthy Living Action Plan; reduce health inequalities; develop our leisure and cultural offer; improve housing standards; deliver affordable housing based on housing need; reduce homelessness and rough sleeping.  

Safe and Resilient Communities -work with partners to help reduce domestic abuse and the fear of crime; ensure licensing policies support crime reduction; work with the local community to support community cohesion.  

Environment - through the Climate Action Network deliver the Climate Change Strategy; work with partners to increase biodiversity, discourage fly tipping and environmental crime; maintain and seek to improve street cleanliness; work with communities to develop green spaces; protect and enhance built heritage and environment.

The strategy also sets a corporate priority focussing on efficiency and effectiveness. It aims to do this by preparing our Councils for the future changes in Local Government; to continue to develop the Partnership and its workforce; to deliver good quality and value for money services; to meet financial challenges and to drive innovation and transformation.

While the strategy sets out the ambitions for the sub-region, it also includes priorities of importance for each council.

For Boston:

• Encourage a feeling of civic pride and support community cohesion.
• Support improvements to Boston Town Centre, Markets and events.
• Improve street cleanliness and work to reduce fly-tipping.
• Support local businesses and employment opportunities.
• Promote arts culture and heritage.
• Promote tourism locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
• Explore opportunities to improve local infrastructure.
• Efficiently manage the budget.
• Ensure local resources are targeted towards community safety.

For East Lindsey:

• Work with communities to deliver art and leisure projects.
• Deliver low carbon and energy reduction projects.
• Work with local communities to deliver green spaces and play areas.
• Encourage and facilitate more town centre development for housing.
• Repair and maintain existing council assets.
• Develop an ambitious future Investment Plan for the coast.
• Address health inequalities as a result of the growth in the number of caravans in the area.

For South Holland:

• Deliver good quality core services.
• Support improvements in the town centres.
• Promotes markets and events.
• Engage with housing tenants to help shape service delivery.
• Facilitate the development of infrastructure in the local area.

The strategy was approved following a period of public consultation as well as engagement with businesses and town and parish councils. The consultation was overwhelmingly in favour of the four Partnership priorities.

Regular progress reviews will be provided to each council as well as the Partnership's Joint Strategy Board.

The full strategy can be downloaded here: