Partners pledge to work together to weather the recession
25 June 2009
Key players will be looking at ways to work
together to weather the recession at West Lancashire Local
Strategic Partnership’s (WLLSP) annual conference.
The WLLSP - a voluntary partnership involving
more than 80 organisations and individuals who aim to improve the
social, economic and environmental wellbeing of West Lancashire -
will be using this annual event to brainstorm about how to minimise
the effects of the credit crunch!
At the gathering tomorrow (Friday
26th June) partners will be discussing the state of the
local economy and where they should be channelling their efforts to
deliver the best outcomes for the people of West Lancashire.
They will look at re-prioritising the
Partnership’s priorities and where they can be most effective in
order to ride the storm.
Cllr Ian Grant, Chair of the WLLSP and Leader
of West Lancashire Borough Council, said:
“When we drew up our Sustainable Community
Strategy three years ago we didn’t envisage that we would have to
deal with such a devastating and prolonged economic downturn. So we
have to think about how we can work together to weather the
recession and focus on what we can do, as a Partnership, to deliver
the best possible outcomes for the people of West Lancashire.
Realistically, our aims and objectives may not be as relevant in
the current financial climate. Therefore, we will be using our
annual conference to start the ball rolling about how we can reform
our priorities to ensure that they meet the needs of our residents.
It is crucial that we work together to maximise our effectiveness
and ride out this economic storm.”
The event will also be used to launch the
WLLSP’s annual report, which highlights the successes of many
LSP-led projects over the last year and the exciting initiatives in
store for 2009/10.
Cllr Grant added:
“We have made excellent progress with our key
initiatives including the Safer Stronger Communities Neighbourhood
Management Project, the Market Towns Initiative and the Inspire
project. Schemes like these are helping to increase community
confidence, create jobs and boost the economy, which is crucial in
the current economic climate.
“We are even bucking the national trend in
some areas of our work. For example at times of recession it is
expected that incidents of crime increase and this impacts upon the
fear of crime. Not so in West Lancashire as 81.7% of
residents feel that West Lancashire is a safe, secure place to
live. We are working on a number of projects to increase affordable
housing across the borough to make home ownership a viable option
for those who might otherwise be ‘priced-out’ of West
Lancashire. New developments are under construction as
we speak. We are also making a difference when it comes to issues
such as global warming through the educational work that partners
have been carrying out with schools and businesses.
“I hope that we can build upon this success
and work together to deliver the best outcomes for the people of
West Lancashire in such difficult economic times.”
During the event, there will also be presentations around
partnership working from agencies including Central Lancashire
Primary Care Trust, Lancashire County Council and Sefton Council,
as well as workshops.
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