Foreword
Foreword
Braintree is truly a fantastic district. It is a privilege to serve our residents and businesses and we are committed to deliver on our vision to create a district of equal opportunity for all our communities.
This plan aligns to the council’s priorities as part of our Corporate Strategy 2024-2028, setting out key activities to deliver in 2024/25.
We are entering into a year against a backdrop of the toughest financial climate that local government has ever faced, with unprecedented cost pressures from inflation, increased demand and the need to confront difficult decisions. It is also a time for ambitious and steadfast determination to deliver the very best services for the people of the Braintree district.
With supporting residents who need us most at an all-time high, over the next year we want to help address the underlying challenges of the cost-of-living crisis by providing targeted assistance to residents so they can easily access food and essential goods and enhancing health and wellbeing support for young people.
Despite these challenges, we will invest more money in improving our services – providing funding to improve assets in Halstead, progress the Witham Community Centre, upgrade our play areas and skateparks and delivering a new community garden to support people with multiple and complex needs.
Housing remains one of the most complex challenges local authorities deal with, but we will work with partners to increase the availability of affordable homes, as well as more community involvement in local planning policies to guide sustainable development across the district.
We will forge ahead on developing our business support services alongside partners to support economic growth including green and sustainable solutions.
The impact of climate change on our environment becomes ever more evident. Having declared a climate emergency, we’ll continue to deliver initiatives to help residents reduce their carbon emissions, do more for nature and make ourselves and our buildings more carbon neutral too.
To be a council which is as ready as it can be to meet the challenges ahead, we are committed to our ‘Fit for the Future’ transformation programme to look at our services and ensure we are working with people, partners, and places in the most efficient, effective, and modern way to support our roadmap to financial resilience. It’s not about doing less, but about doing things differently and better, both for now and for the long-term.
We have seen the benefits of the council working alongside partners, agencies, voluntary groups, businesses, faith groups, individuals and communities to do the very best that we can together for all those who live and work here, and this will continue to underpin our activity for the coming year to help our communities thrive and our people prosper.
We have faced significant challenges in the past, and we will face them in the coming year. Whether that is looking after our health and wellbeing, strengthening our local economy or protecting and enhancing our environment, our focus overall remains to deliver value for money, putting Braintree district residents at the heart of all that we do and sowing the seeds of future growth for a better, greener, and healthier district.
Councillor Graham Butland Leader of Braintree District Council
Dan Gascoyne Chief Executive
Councillor Graham Butland, Leader of Braintree District Council
Dan Gascoyne, Chief Executive
Download the Annual Plan for 2024/25