hosted by Thanet District Council

Thanet LSP replaced by East Kent LSP

 

The District Councils of Canterbury, Dover, Shepway and Thanet together with Kent County Council have agreed in principle to explore the opportunities for developing an East Kent LSP (EK LSP). This followed a meeting of all East Kent LSP stakeholders in December 2007 where the proposal and possible arrangements for joining the LSPs was discussed.

 

The proposal was strongly supported in the consultation, based on the rationale that a combined LSP would:

 

  • Make better use of partners’ time and resources by reducing the administrative burden of attending meetings and providing a secretariat function, and enabling economies of scale and efficiencies to be maximised.
  • Provide a complementary voice at an East Kent level through a more influential partnership that provides the area with a strategic focus and effectively prioritises the issues to be addressed.
  • Provide a more rationalised structure for LSP’s, enabling the EK LSP to oversee the Local Delivery Plan element of Kent Agreement 2 for East Kent. This will make it easier for county and regional level partnerships and organisations to work with East Kent partners and simpler for the local community.

 

The purpose of the EK LSP will be to promote the economic, social and environmental well-being of the area, improving the quality of life for all. The Partnership will include members from the public, private and community/voluntary sectors.

 

The EK LSP will be responsible for developing an East Kent Sustainable Community Strategy that will identify common issues and priorities. It is envisaged that common issues that could be supported by the EK LSP include:

 

  • Strengthening the currently fragile coastal communities
  • Reducing isolation
  • Changing perceptions of East Kent

 

To overcome these issues, there’s a range of common priority areas for East Kent including for example; sustainable communities, transport/Infrastructure and economic development and regeneration. The role of the EK LSP will be to develop consensus on the key areas and this identification of priorities will be informed by engagement with all stakeholders including the local community.

 

The Next Steps

 

A shadow EK LSP will be in place from March 2008 and during this time the new arrangements for the Thanet LSP and associated groups and forums will be determined.