Annual Report 2022/23
Leader of the Council Statement 3 Highlights from 2022|23 4–5 Delivering Against Our Priorities 6-11 Chief Executive Statement 12 Service Review 13-16 Our Employees 17 Financial Outlook 17 Looking Forward 18 LDC 2022–23 LDC 2022–23 2
Leader of the Council Statement Council’s Statement It seems as if every year is described as an ‘extraordinary year’, and as we come to the end of 2022/23 the last 12 months have indeed been ‘extraordinary’. Our communities, still recovering from the impacts of Covid-19 have faced new challenges, most acutely the rising cost of living. 2022/23 was also the year where we saw the devastating humanitarian impact of the war in Ukraine and we mourned the passing of our longest serving monarch, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Despite the challenges we face locally, nationally, and internationally, the Council has continued to be ambitious for our residents and strived to deliver the very best for our district. This report is an opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved in the past 12 months, and how we have worked to support our residents and businesses in 2022/23. At the heart of everything we do is working together, with our public sector partners, local businesses, voluntary and community sector, and most importantly our residents – we cannot deliver our ambitions alone. We have seen major progress in a number of key regeneration projects for the district, including the announcement of a joint venture to bring a cinema to the district, an important catalyst to development on the Birmingham Road Site in 2023, protecting our leisure centres and securing a way forward for a new leisure centre. Lichfield District Council is beginning to be recognised nationally for its ability to provide high quality services for our residents and businesses, and I am hugely proud of all that has been achieved in 2022/23. I look forward to the district continuing to grow from strength-to-strength in 2023/24, which will no doubt be another ‘extraordinary year’. COUNCILLOR DOUG PULLEN LICHFIELD DISTRICT COUNCIL LDC 2022–23 Leader of the Council Statement 3
2022/23 £5m invested £10m invested in a new cinema for the district, repurposing the old Debenhams store into a new leisure destination and building work has already started in a new leisure centre at Stychbrook Park and we are bringing the management of the leisure centres back in-house £1.5m invested in new leisure and sport activities across the district, such as a climbing wall, 4G pitch and Padel Tennis Over 10,000 people have engaged with us on the future of the district, leisure facilities and our budget. Established a new ‘Lichfield District Youth Council’ to engage differently with young people Over 250,000 people have now enjoyed the annual, free, Lichfield Proms in Beacon Park since it started in 1999 with 15,000 attending in 2022 LDC 2022–23 Highlights from 2022|23 Provided support during the cost-of-living crisis through energy rebates and discretionary housing payments. We created a network of Warm Spaces across the district with partners and prevented more than 80 individuals and families from becoming homeless £35,000 has been raised for 60 local good causes through our Community Lottery We’ve investigated over 1,000 reports of different issues including, housing conditions, nuisance noise, smells and smoke. We’ve undertaken over 445 food safety inspections and cleared up 265 reports of fly-tipping 1 4
2022/23 Two new play areas have been installed further enhancing our 16 parks and 80 public open spaces We emptied over 2.5m bins and bags, working with our residents to reduce the amount of waste we produce and increasing how much we reuse and recycle Created a new Provided over 600 Business Hub in Lichfield for 11 local businesses, with a further 10 moving in during 2023/24 residents with community safety Saved £1.5m information and support to help them stay safe Awarded £3.2m of UK Shared Prosperity Funding to deliver a range of projects across the whole district, including Burntwood and our rural communities by Being a Better Council, which has helped us to freeze Lichfield District Council Tax for residents in 2023/24 £3.61 per week is what the average household pays towards our services, only 9% of your total Council Tax bill LDC 2022–23 Highlights from 2022|23 1 5
Our Priorities In February, Council agreed to a number of key decisions to enhance and protect leisure and sport facilities across the district: • Our Strategic Plan 2020-24 outlines our overarching goal to work collaboratively to enable people, shape place and develop prosperity across Lichfield District. Significant progress has been made on our priorities in the last year. We know that being active and having a healthy lifestyle is a key priority for our residents. Local sport and leisure facilities can help people to live longer, healthier, and happier lives. They are fundamental to supporting the health and wellbeing of our communities. Delivering Against Our Priorities Investing £10m into a new leisure centre at Stychbrook Park to replace Friary Grange leisure centre. Works on the new leisure centre are due to commence in October 2023 and it is expected to open by December 2024, • Bringing the management of the leisure centres back in-house, to our wholly owned trading company, to protect the future of public leisure and sport facilities across the district • Investing £1.5m into additional leisure and sport facilities across the district including an Aqua Park, Climbing Wall, Soft Play, Adventure Golf and 3G pitches in Burntwood and Lichfield City. Over 1,400 residents responded to a consultation in December 2022 to help prioritise which leisure facilities to invest in. 6
In December 2022 we announced that the District Council had agreed to create a joint venture with Evolve Estates, the new owners of Three Spires Shopping Centre, to bring a cinema to the district in the old Debenhams store in Lichfield City Centre. More practically, work has begun on site. The building has been ‘stripped-out’, ready for the refit to commence in 2023, subject to planning permissions. Residents are able to monitor progress on the development via an online time-lapse video facility which is available on our website. This is perhaps the most exciting and significant achievement of this year and work is now underway to both attract a cinema operator and to attract food and beverage providers to the site. A design for the layout of the interior of the building has been agreed and is now going through the normal planning process. This is a significant financial investment, of just over £5.3 million by the District Council, matched by our partners Evolve Estates. Our expectation is that the cinema will open for business in early 2024. Birmingham Road Site The council has commissioned a range of site surveys and investigation work to develop the plans for the Birmingham Road Site (BRS) and help prepare for the planning applications. We have teamed up with Create Streets to engage with residents and stakeholders to gain their views on the design of the new housing and business premises that will be built on the site. We are developing plans for moving the coach park and bus station to a different location, so we can maximise the potential of Birmingham Road. Work on the multi-storey is well underway, and we are aiming for demolition work to start in the summer of 2023. During 2023 we will be creating what is called ‘Meanwhile Use’ on the site, including a mixture of new food and retail outlets along with, hopefully, an outdoor cinema while we wait for the new cinema to launch. Delivering Against Our Priorities 7
As part of our work to make Lichfield City Centre a vibrant and safe place for people to visit work and live, an 18-month trial pedestrianisation scheme has gone live in early 2023. It will make it safer for people to walk around the city and it aims to both improve air quality and promote sustainable travel. We look forward to hearing resident and business feedback as the trial continues. Cost of Living Undoubtably one of the most significant challenges facing our residents in 2022/23 has been the rising cost of living. Lichfield District Council, working with our partners, has provided much needed support and advice to our residents, including: • The creation of a Warm Space in District Council House for residents worried about the cost of heating their homes. Offering a place where people can come to keep warm, there is space for babies and toddlers, comfortable seating and books and games for children. This Warm Space, which is open on weekdays from 8am to 5pm, is part of a network of Warm Spaces running across the district. • The Council has administered energy rebate payments and eligible residents are being supported with Discretionary Housing Payments to prevent homelessness. • The Council has created an online cost of living support page (lichfielddc.gov.uk) which features details of support being offered by the council, some useful contacts, a directory of Warm Spaces running across the district and a directory of organisations and charities providing guidance and aid. • Warmer Homes Greener District, delivered for us by charity Beat the Cold, has supported 233 households with energy advice and grant referrals between April-December 2022. We are partner of Staffordshire Warmer Homes helping to deliver grant-funded energy improvements and installations to eligible homes across the district. A more generous Local Council Tax Support Scheme, based on an applicant’s income, is being developed for launch in April 2023. Payment plans are being tailored to support residents struggling to make Council Tax payments and historic Council Tax arrears are being reviewed, so that appropriate debt relief can be given to those in greatest need. • • The Council’s Customer Services Team are visiting Burntwood Foodbank and Lichfield Foodbank on a regular basis to assist and offer Council Tax and benefits guidance. Delivering Against Our Priorities 8
In March 2022 we launched our refreshed Community Power Strategy, reaffirming our vision to understand, engage and involve our communities in what we do. A key element of the strategy is working with local groups and organisation to improve the outcomes for our communities. We are committed to supporting our local voluntary and community sector (VCSE) to thrive, helping people to help themselves and each other. Through our partnership with Support Staffordshire, local voluntary and community groups can access support and advice to set-up, sustain and grow. In the first six months of 2022/23, Support Staffordshire has supported local groups to access over £160,000 in additional funding, provided 26 training sessions to local groups and held two volunteer fairs with over 100 attendees per fair to promote local volunteering opportunities. Lichfield District Council supports a number of different schemes to enable local voluntary and community sector groups to access additional funding: • The Councillor Local Community Fund has awarded over £10,000 of funding to local groups doing great work across the District, including sports clubs, lunch clubs, children and young people uniform groups and many more. • The Lichfield Community Lottery has supported over 60 good causes over the last 12 months and has raised almost £35,000. At a celebration event for the first anniversary of the Community Lottery held at the Hub at St Mary’s in the summer we learned how it is making big differences to the groups who are signed up to benefit from the scheme. • We Love Lichfield Community Fund offers grants of up to £1,000 to local community and voluntary organisations, and is aiming to award £35,000 of grants in 2022/23. Lichfield District Council is a key supporter of We Love Lichfield including contributing to the grant on an annual basis. In 2022 we launched the Together We Survey to understand the thoughts and priorities of residents from across the district, to help us co-create a vision for Lichfield District 2050. We received over 7,500 responses, once of the largest responses we have ever received to a survey – thank you! We are working through all the data and feedback and are aiming to share our draft plans with you asap in 2023. We have also established a new ‘Lichfield District Youth Council’ to give local young people a space and platform to discuss issues that matter to them and help give younger residents a say over the place they live and the services they use. We want to empower young people to feel part of the solution to local problems – supporting them to be active citizens and leaders of the future. The youth council will be a strong representative body and sounding board, that is consulted on decisions impacting young people in the district. Delivering Against Our Priorities Build Imagine Budget 9
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