Groovy Movers Help Shape the District

Published on 16 December 2009

Dance Troop the Groovy Movers kick-started the One Epping Forest Local Strategic Partnership Conference on Friday 11 December 2009. Creating a sustainable future topped the agenda.

Young people from Alderton Dance Group made sure representatives from community organisations, councils, police, health services and businesses got off to a high-energy start as they set about the final stages of producing ‘Shaping the Future’. The scene was set for the more than 100 delegates at Theydon Bois Village Hall by Catherine Connell of West Essex Primary Care Trust.

Your Voice Matters video

For most people, Epping Forest district is a great place to live and work. The area is affluent. People like the mix of urban and open space. Protecting the environment and withstanding the pressure for housing development are high on many people’s agenda. However, there are problems. The district also has some of the highest levels of deprivation in Essex. Heart disease, obesity and smoking are clear indicators of social as well as health inequalities. Age expectancy varies by up to nine years between the best and worst parts of the district.

In some parts of the district, life expectancy is actually falling. The district has low crime, although slightly higher than the Essex average and tops many people’s concerns. Could proximity to London be a factor not only in crime levels but also many other characteristics of the district?

The age profile of the population is increasing disproportionately. People are generally living longer but fewer children are joining the district’s primary schools. The shortage of affordable local housing hits young families hardest. The pressure for more housing has to be managed against desire to protect our green and open spaces.

Affluence may have an environmental down-side. We drive cars. Parking is sparse and roads are congested. We are heavy consumers of energy and materials. CO2 Greenhouse Gas emissions are high. However, exceptional increases in domestic refuse recycling suggest local people want to live in closer harmony with the environment. There is a will to create more sustainable lifestyles.

Epping Forest Youth Council ‘Big Youth Debate’, the Place Survey, focus group sessions, organisations such as the Multi Faith Forum and ordinary people in the street giving their views on video to Epping Forest District Council fed the discussions as delegates broke up into workshops.

Councillor Di Collins, Chairman of One Epping Forest said: “The aim of the Local Strategic Partnership is to harness the effort of everyone in a co-ordinated response to the needs of our community and this was a really important event in shaping the future of our area. We had a terrific response with many delegates actively moulding the long-term policies of the Government and community organisations involved.”

The key to the success of the partnership is flexibility. Recently, we have moved to focus on beating the recession, working with people in the local economy to protect jobs and increase prosperity. Working together we have also brought money into the district. With One Epping Forest working with neighbouring councils and partners, our successful bid has secured over £1 million to create almost 160 new local jobs. It is success of this kind that we need to re-produce time after time through the LSP.”

The conference workshops discussed 6 key themes:
1. Building safer communities
2. Tackling health inequalities
3. Meeting the housing challenge
4. Building better futures for our young people
5. Developing prosperous local economies
6. Meeting the environmental challenge, building a greener district

Case Study: Chaired by Keith Brown of the Federation of Small Businesses and having discussion led by Vicki Willis, Economic Development Officer for Epping Forest District Council, the 'Developing prosperous local economies' workshop looked at how the Local Strategic Partnership could support existing and new businesses in the District.

Key themes discussed included tourism, local loyalty schemes for shoppers, the issue of unused buildings in town centres and the potential local business opportunities in the area surrounding the Olympic White Water Canoe Centre.

With representatives from Epping Forest College, Epping Forest District Museum, Waltham Abbey Town Partnership, Job Centre Plus and Business Link in the East of England the workshop highlighted the importance of these groups working together in order to produce and implement an effective Sustainable Community Strategy.

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