Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council adopts updated Council Plan for 2023 to 2027

An updated plan refocusing the key priorities and actions for Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council over the next four years has been agreed.

Following a change of administration in May, the updated Council Plan for 2023 to 2027 was agreed and adopted by councillors in October.

The three core priorities outlined in the plan that that the council wishes to aspire to is to create “a place where people can have pride in their communities and the borough; a borough where we protect, restore, reconnect and enhance our natural environment; and a council that delivers high-quality services for its residents”.

Council leader Paul Harvey (Independent Forum, Norden) said: “This amended plan shows we are listening as it aims to address the priorities that people, partners and business have clearly shared over many years with the council.

“We want to focus our resources into the things that people have told us are important to them.

“We want to make the borough that we live, work and enjoy the very best it can be. We are focusing on pride in our place.

“We are very clear that we take the climate and ecological emergency seriously and that it is a core thread running throughout the work of the council.

“Our services are critical to our residents and they rightly deserve focus and attention.

“That’s why we want to put more resources into areas like clean and tidy streets and parks and open spaces.

“We want to build on the Council Plan published earlier this year and define our priorities.

“The amendments we have made reflect our focus on listening and driving forward delivery.”

Key updated actions in the plan include providing more affordable homes (specifically social rented homes), reducing the number of new houses built in the early years of the updated Local Plan, regenerating neglected areas in the borough and introducing solar power to council-owned buildings.