Basingstoke Partners aim to get communities more involved - 03-07-2008

Getting residents more involved in their communities and decisions that impact on them is the theme of Basingstoke and Deane's Local Strategic Partnership conference this week.

"People at the heart...communities taking part" is the title of the conference being held at Carnival Hall in Council Road, Basingstoke on Thursday (3 July).

The LSP brings together a range of public services - such as councils, health services, emergency services and housing associations - as well as schools and colleges, voluntary groups and the business community. The conference is designed to look at how all the partners can work together to strengthen communities by getting more residents involved in their local area and making important decisions affecting their services.

Discussion groups at the conference will look at what is working well in involving and empowering communities in the borough at the moment. Workshops, which will focus on priority actions for a partnership community involvement strategy that the LSP is set to agree by the end of the year, will cover:
- working with communities to make neighbourhoods a better place
- making sure local services meet community needs
- involving people in helping to might the right decisions for the future of the borough.

Representatives from the community who are already involved will be among those attending, including members of the over 55s forum and the youth council.

LSP chair Stephen Sheedy said: "In strong communities residents create the sort of place they want to live in rather than being vulnerable to what other people decide for them. That is why it is so important that we do encourage residents in the borough to have ‘community spirit' - to get involved and have their say about their area.

"As it represents public and emergency services, voluntary groups and the business sector, the LSP is key to bringing this all together. The public would expect us to have a more ‘common sense' joined up approach to how we engage with them and support their involvement. This conference is an important step in looking for practical ways we can do just that."

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Education and Community Support Cllr Elaine Still, who is responsible for community engagement, said: "I am fully committed to ensuring that residents have real opportunities to get involved in making decisions that affect their lives. As LSP partners, we are all working in and serving the same communities. There are many ways in which people in our borough are getting involved and we need to make sure we build on these firm foundations to work even more closely together with our partners and communities in future."

For more information on the LSP visit the website at www.basingstokelsp.org

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