EAST Hampshire District Council is recognised as a centre for excellence throughout the country for recycling, housing and working with the community, claimed its leader, Andrew Pattie, last week. Giving his "state of the district" address to the annual meeting of the full council, Mr Pattie said: "Everyone involved with this authority can feel rightly proud of these achievements." In addition he told councillors they were now in the strongest financial position they had enjoyed for the best part of 15 year. "This places us in a very good situation to take a number of vital capital and revenue projects forward over the next couple of years," he added. He said it was important for the council to work with its partners to ensure that there were new affordable homes in the district to combat ever-rising house prices in an area which was already expensive. One of the key achievements of EHDC last year was the provision of 150 affordable homes, said Mr Pattie, and the council was awarded Beacon Council status in recognition. It was also one of the top 10 recyclers in the country. Last year EHDC was eighth on the list. "This is something that the residents of East Hampshire and the council should be proud of." Mr Pattie told the meeting. "Over the course of the year this recycling rate has been maintained, and in the future we will be looking at ways to increase our recycling rates even further." The year had also seen the inspector's report into EHDC's local plan following a public inquiry which ran for more than 14 months, said Mr Pattie. "In this time thousands of people commented on the local plan and more people were involved in the process than ever before. The inspector's report which we have received is very positive and a report on modifications to the local plan will be submitted to July council." Mr Pattie claimed the council's performance in key areas had improved last year. "The benefits service has been significant improvements to the processing of new claims and change of circumstances, this is despite also implementing a new IT system," he told the meeting. He claimed the council's record of having no families in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks had also been maintained during the year. But Mr Pattie admitted that some projects had not been achieved last year. Most notably, he said, plans for the customer services centre had been put on hold. The council had planned to set up a costumer service team dealing with benefits and council tax inquiries, he said. "It is crucial we get this right, and the officers decided to plan better and come up with the best service for customers." A report on the council's "Customer Service Vision" is to be presented to cabinet in July. In addition some targets for planning performance had not been met, said Mr Pattie. "Over 2005 to 2006 the council will work hard to ensure that customers receive a visibly improved service." Among the most important issues facing the council this year were preparations for the possible Ministry of Defence withdrawal from Bordon and Whitehill, stressed the leader. "The possible withdrawal presents an enormous opportunity for this year. In 2005 to 2006 the council and its partners will continue to work together closely to ensure that we get the best possible results for the people of Bordon and Whitehill," he told the meeting. Also on the priority list were plans to develop potential facilities in East Hampshire's larger towns of Horndean, Petersfield and Alton. "We will work hard to ensure that we improve the community facilities in the district. This presents an exciting opportunity for the council to actively support our local communities." He said it was also important to improve the planning service. "Planning is a key service for the council. We have dedicated planning officers who work hard to deliver a good service, and it is a service which all councillors contribute to. Over the forthcoming year we will work hard to ensure that we improve the customer care of our planning service." The South Downs National Park was going to have a huge impact on East Hampshire, said Mr Pattie, and the district council had an important role to play to ensure that its views are taken into account when planning for the national park. And he added that the South East Plan was a key document for the council and members were anxious to ensure that they contributed to its development. "Over the forthcoming year we will make every effort to ensure that the South East Plan considers the needs of East Hampshire," he said.
