Community Cohesion. Reading Borough Council has a long history of promoting equalities and has various strategies in place with a real commitment to moving forward on community cohesion – a key element in reducing the uneven nature of social, economic and environmental well-being in Reading. A recent independent review of Community Cohesion and Equalities undertaken in 2006 presents many examples of good practice and partnership working in the town, with the Borough council and Reading 2020 partners investing significant resources into services that promote community cohesion. However, there are still a number of challenges and areas for improvement which have been highlighted during the consultation process. While many of the selected targets impact indirectly on community cohesion, the volunteering targets will make a particular contribution. The Reading 2020 Partnership’s aim for the environment is ‘to provide clean, attractive and diverse environments that will contribute to a better quality of life for everyone’ and to ‘deliver a wide range of services that together maintain, protect and enhance Reading’s natural and built resources and promote environmental awareness and responsibility across the community’. Reading’s environment will be seen in the context of an urban centre in the Thames Valley, responding to the sustainable development pressures in an area of growth. We see Reading as leading good practice in addressing the wider, longer-term impacts of economic activity both locally and globally. New development will be more sustainable and contribute positively to Reading’s environment, and to the wider needs of the community. New buildings will be well-designed and landscaped and incorporate best practice for water and energy efficiency. The waste we produce will be reduced, re-used and recycled as appropriate. Key issues for Reading include: Protecting the natural environment; Managing the built environment; Sustainable use of resources; Pollution and waste minimisation; Promoting environmental citizenship. Reading consumes vast amounts of energy derived from non-renewable fossil fuels and contributes to global warming through greenhouse gas / carbon dioxide emissions. As a result of climate change, Reading’s weather patterns are becoming more extreme, with less rainfall predicted during the summer. As a community we must all find ways to reduce energy consumption and to tap into sources of renewable energy. The Council is currently working with the Carbon Trust’s Local Authority Carbon Management programme to help direct our efforts to further reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from our operations and to identify and implement opportunities for saving energy, carbon and costs On average, each household in Reading produces over one tonne of waste a year. Although last year only 16% of the total household waste was recovered, recycled or composted, this represents a significant improvement on previous years. The remaining 62,500 tonnes went to the local landfill site at Smallmead, which is expected to be full by 2007. However, there is still a long way to go if the wider community are to achieve the national targets for domestic and commercial waste reduction, re-use and recycling. Pollution takes on many forms, and includes air, ground and water contamination, noise and light pollution and all forms of discarded material, from litter to abandoned cars. For example, the odour from the Manor Farm sewage treatment works is a real issue for south Reading. Noise pollution is also an issue along major transport routes, and light pollution is of increasing concern to local residents. Graffiti, fly-posting, litter, dog excrement and fly-tipping make many potentially attractive public open spaces, no-go areas for much of the community. Cultural provision in its widest sense is nationally recognised as a key element of the process of social education, physical improvement of environments and the socio- economic regeneration of towns, cities and regions. Reading benefits from one of the largest portfolios of Cultural Services regionally and with three performance venues, two museums, three galleries, 7 libraries and the County Archive as managed facilities, further enhanced by an active Cultural Outreach Service delivering cultural opportunities through arts development, the Museum Education Service, and children’s library service. Although the targets which relate directly to cultural services have been positioned within the Safer and Stronger Communities block, it is clear that the service is well positioned to contribute effectively to all of the core themes of the Local Area Agreement. Cultural services contribute to achievement of desired outcomes for children and young people, from mother and baby clinics in local libraries, right through the age ranges to programmes of work that engage with young people to re-engage them with education, training or employment through media based schemes that can lead to formal qualification through informal routes. Childhood obesity is a good example of where cultural provision can help deliver outcomes across the LAA blocks , for example, young people who have opted out of traditional forms of exercise and activity and can become physically and emotionally active through engaging in creative programmes of dance and drama traditional sports based activities. A well documented approach to engaging local communities and giving back ownership of their environment has been through the arts and creative industries. With ownership comes respect and with respect comes sustainability. The cultural portfolio has a vital role to play in keeping people physically and mentally active throughout their lives, in both complementing traditional activities that are sport or physical activity based, as well as offering palatable alternatives to physical activities, to the many people who have never engaged in formal or informal activities. Cultural industries and culture led regeneration are again recognised internationally as effective methods of inspiring the economic development of communities and economic enrichment of individuals through the successful launch of businesses that are rooted in cultural industries. Again Reading is fortunate to be well resourced in both capacities. As well as a growing number of small businesses establishing themselves within the cultural industries, attracting external funding and generating their own income commercially, there are also growing links within the cultural industries sector that promise to deliver incubator schemes to assist the growth of new businesses, particularly targeted at Young People and the BME community.
Appears in 1 contract
Sources: Local Area Agreement
Community Cohesion. Reading Borough Council has Manchester is proud of being a long history multicultural and diverse city. It is recognised nonetheless that different communities have different needs and these have to be met in ways that do not exclude or alienate others. Initiatives and action being taken through ▇▇▇▇ co-ordination, regeneration, safer neighbourhoods and community engagement are helping to build intelligence and understanding of promoting equalities communities. This in return is empowering communities to work with public and has various strategies in place with a real commitment voluntary agencies to moving forward identify localised solutions to local problems and identify potential conflicts. Manchester’s approach is to ensure that the new challenges faced by migration and the potential impact on community cohesion – a key element in reducing are embedded into the uneven nature of social, economic and environmental well-being in Readingactivities delivering the Community Strategy. A recent independent review of Manchester Community Cohesion Steering Group (made up of public and Equalities undertaken in 2006 presents many examples voluntary sector representatives) is developing innovative work around welcoming new arrivals into the city, the development of good practice a set of Mancunian values linked to building citizenship, a coherent approach to providing English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and partnership working in translation provision and an early warning mechanism which enables the town, with the Borough council and Reading 2020 partners investing significant resources into services that promote community cohesionPartnership to identify potential tensions or challenges within communities or localities before they emerge. HoweverIn addition, there are still initiatives such as the development of Mancunian Agreements, which will be used as a tool for encouraging local people to be involved in improving their city or local area. At the same time these agreements will enable local people to work jointly with services deliverers in finding local solutions to difficult local issues. Outcomes from this programme will include: - • Improved understanding about the make up of our diverse population • Improved understanding of community cohesion • Benefits of diversity in the city maximised • Enhanced aspirations for communities and individuals • Increased sense of wellbeing and pride In order to keep climate change at a mangeable level over the next 12 years, the city needs to reduce its CO2 emissions by a million tonnes (current emissions are 3.3 million tonnes per year and rising). No city in the UK has a climate change strategy that is truly a citywide strategy. ▇▇▇▇ has agreed to establish an Environment Commission and a Climate Change Agency has been constituted as acting for the combined administrative area. A number of challenges and areas for improvement which workstreams have been highlighted during carried forward including an economic impact assessment to determine how we will minimise the consultation process. While many economic impact and maximise opportunities from the climate change agenda, and development of the selected targets impact indirectly on community cohesion, the volunteering targets will make a particular contribution. The Reading 2020 Partnership’s aim for the environment is ‘to provide clean, attractive and diverse environments that will contribute to a better quality of life for everyone’ and to ‘deliver a wide range of services that together maintain, protect and enhance Reading’s natural and built resources and promote environmental awareness and responsibility across the community’. Reading’s environment will be seen in the context of an urban centre in the Thames Valley, responding to the sustainable development pressures in an area of growth. We see Reading as leading good practice in addressing the wider, longerMulti-term impacts of economic activity both locally and globally. New development will be more sustainable and contribute positively to Reading’s environment, and to the wider needs of the community. New buildings will be well-designed and landscaped and incorporate best practice for water and energy efficiency. The waste we produce will be reduced, re-used and recycled as appropriate. Key issues for Reading include: Protecting the natural environment; Managing the built environment; Sustainable use of resources; Pollution and waste minimisation; Promoting environmental citizenship. Reading consumes vast amounts of energy derived from non-renewable fossil fuels and contributes to global warming through greenhouse gas / carbon dioxide emissions. As a result of climate change, Reading’s weather patterns are becoming more extreme, with less rainfall predicted during the summer. As a community we must all find ways to reduce energy consumption and to tap into sources of renewable energy. The Council is currently working with the Carbon Trust’s Local Authority Carbon Management programme to help direct our efforts to further reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from our operations and to identify and implement opportunities for saving energy, carbon and costs On average, each household in Reading produces over one tonne of waste a year. Although last year only 16% of the total household waste was recovered, recycled or composted, this represents a significant improvement on previous years. The remaining 62,500 tonnes went to the local landfill site at Smallmead, which is expected to be full by 2007. However, there is still a long way to go if the wider community are to achieve the national targets for domestic and commercial waste reduction, re-use and recycling. Pollution takes on many forms, and includes air, ground and water contamination, noise and light pollution and all forms of discarded material, from litter to abandoned cars. For example, the odour from the Manor Farm sewage treatment works is a real issue for south Reading. Noise pollution is also an issue along major transport routes, and light pollution is of increasing concern to local residents. Graffiti, fly-posting, litter, dog excrement and fly-tipping make many potentially attractive public open spaces, no-go areas for much of the community. Cultural provision in its widest sense is nationally recognised as a key element of the process of social education, physical improvement of environments and the socio- economic regeneration of towns, cities and regions. Reading benefits from one of the largest portfolios of Cultural Services regionally and with three performance venues, two museums, three galleries, 7 libraries and the County Archive as managed facilities, further enhanced by an active Cultural Outreach Service delivering cultural opportunities through arts development, the Museum Education Service, and children’s library service. Although the targets which relate directly to cultural services have been positioned within the Safer and Stronger Communities block, it is clear that the service is well positioned to contribute effectively to all of the core themes of the Local Area Agreement. Cultural services contribute to achievement Outcomes from this programme will include:- • Reduction in CO2 • Reduced fuel poverty • New employment opportunities • Reduced risk of desired outcomes for children and young people, ill health from mother and baby clinics in local libraries, right through the age ranges to programmes of work that engage with young people to re-engage them with education, training or employment through media based schemes that can lead to formal qualification through informal routes. Childhood obesity is a good example of where cultural provision can help deliver outcomes across the LAA blocks , for example, young people who have opted out of traditional forms of exercise and activity and can become physically and emotionally active through engaging in creative programmes of dance and drama traditional sports based activities. A well documented approach to engaging local communities and giving back ownership of their environment has been through the arts and creative industries. With ownership comes respect and with respect comes sustainability. The cultural portfolio has a vital role to play in keeping people physically and mentally active throughout their lives, in both complementing traditional activities that are sport or physical activity based, as well as offering palatable alternatives to physical activities, to the many people who have never engaged in formal or informal activities. Cultural industries and culture led regeneration are again recognised internationally as effective methods of inspiring the economic development of communities and economic enrichment of individuals through the successful launch of businesses that are rooted in cultural industries. Again Reading is fortunate to be well resourced in both capacities. As well as a growing number of small businesses establishing themselves within the cultural industries, attracting external funding and generating their own income commercially, there are also growing links within the cultural industries sector that promise to deliver incubator schemes to assist the growth of new businesses, particularly targeted at Young People and the BME community.weather extremes • Secured energy supply
Appears in 1 contract
Sources: Local Area Agreement