Community Planning - Statement of Progress Highlights

Statement of Progress Highlights The Mid and East Antrim Community Planning Partnership November 2019

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Sustainable Jobs & Tourism A proud, vibrant and ambitious place, which collaborates, encourages and supports economic and tourism growth and prosperity.

75 additional jobs created in the borough through engaging with

217 businesses via the Business Escalator Programme.

Over

What we said we would do…

Business Escalator Deliver a Business Escalator Programme, providing support for businesses in Mid and East Antrim to accelerate business growth and increase the number of growth companies in the borough.

Rapid Redundancy Response Establish a new Rapid Redundancy Response structure within the borough to deal with future shocks in the labour market.

Some of what we have done…

Place Promotion An initiative to develop promotional material which can be used to sell the area as a place to live, work, study, visit and invest in.

Buy Social Introduction of ‘Buy Social’ clauses to become a focus of Strategic Partnership through Council’s procurement practice leading the way.

Workplace Development A review of current business space in the borough and creation of new facilities for start-ups and grow on space for more established businesses.

Boost Tourism Develop the Causeway Coastal Route, cultural and heritage assets, and build the regions image, brand and awareness in domestic, all-Ireland, UK and international markets.

10 investor visits

through council into the borough including Foreign Direct Investment companies.

developed within key sectors highlighting the ‘Ease of doing business in Mid and East Antrim’.

1 Integrated Property Solutions Programme under development including a potential £1 million funding pot.

25,000 ‘Shaped by Sea and Stone’ copies of new

visitor guide produced for the international market.

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12 company case studies

£500k revenue generated in the borough as a result of 4 tourism marketing campaigns.

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Good Health & Wellbeing

Some of what we have done‌

Improving health, including the wider factors and causes of ill health.

120

attendees at a Take 5

5,271

event for staff in County Hall Ballymena

84%

and reported that as a result they were more likely to use the Take 5 messages in their everyday life.

participants engaged in

What we said we would do‌ Healthy Eating and Activity Strategy Action Plan which builds on and extends best partnership practice from Northern Healthy Lifestyles Partnership, Health Places Incentives Scheme and learning from Hearty Lives Carrickfergus and Every Body Active 2020.

Take 5 Action Plan to address underlying causes of poor mental health and suicide by roll out of Take 5 to increase uptake across the borough.

Greenways and Outdoor Spaces Creating greenways between areas, reclaiming existing outdoor spaces and the development of a Community Growing Strategy to include allotments.

Dementia Friendly Extending the dementia friendly programme into other areas of the borough and expanding it into broader Age Friendly programmes.

Ageing Well Model Developing an Ageing Well Model for Mid and East Antrim

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Every Body Active programme in 2018/19 and 61% the

taking forward a partnership vision for communities in which older people age and live well.

Tackling Poverty Working with others to establish a Poverty Action Group for Mid and East Antrim to understand what causes poverty, the impact it has on lives and work together to make life better for our citizens.

Autism Friendly Develop and implement a programme of awareness to develop the borough as an autism friendly place.

reported that as a result they take part in sport or physical activity more often.

and community orchards completed in the borough with more due by March 2020.

524 older people supported via

Good Morning telephone calls and 284 assisted with handy man maintenance visits.

465 dementia

8 community gardens 5

friends from 108 businesses across the borough.

145 Uniform families

benefited from the

Exchange Scheme, availing of 554 items of school uniform.

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Progress in Education Developing educational achievement and aspirations.

Some of what we have done…

6 primary schools participating in a parental engagement pilot programme in Carrickfergus.

What we said we would do…

Parental Engagement Research and report on best practice in raising aspirations of children and parents in relation to nursery, primary, post primary and further education.

Explore and learn from family/ parenting programmes, for example ‘Incredible Years’.

Skills Forum To establish a skills forum to develop stronger linkages between business and

education, using existing groupings and new participants to develop increased interaction between the two sectors. This includes career advice. The aim of the forum would be to ensure a skills pipeline is in place to meet current and future needs of industry in Mid and East Antrim and engage with NRC and other providers to support access and extend provision of further education and

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vocational training across the borough.

Volunteering To map the sector, create opportunities to increase participation in volunteering and support organisations to welcome new volunteers through creating positive opportunities, training and recognition.

16

Formative Years workshops delivered with

106 pre-school children alongside 20 parents.

26 partner organisations formed a skills forum to develop stronger linkages between business and education.

Over

150 children ‘Year of attended a

41 organisations

participated in survey to assess the extent of volunteer provision in Mid and East Antrim.

Engineering’ event with 11 organisations representing Mid and East Antrim’s manufacturing and engineering sector.

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Community Safety & Cohesion Reducing crime and creating good relations between people and communities.

Some of what we have done…

9 partner organisations

46 vulnerable people referred through

working together

Support Hub

in the to share information and improve lives.

What we said we would do…

Support Hub A dedicated cross-agency group to focus on emerging issues of vulnerability and identification of those individuals most at risk. A crosspartner sharing of information and knowledge with a view to developing appropriate support.

Safer Places Planning Scoping and identification of the most vulnerable places within the borough. Develop a multi-agency ‘rapid reaction’

problem solving team, to deal with emerging issues with regard to environmental issues and antisocial activity that is having the highest impact on people’s quality of life.

Paramilitary Activity To explore projects or interventions, in conjunction with regional departments and agencies, to help to address concerns regarding paramilitary activity within the borough.

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Intergenerational Design community planning activities that promote greater understanding and respect between generations.

8 ‘on street’

the Support Hub with a

reduction in calls to

PSNI from them following interventions.

Over

60 organisations

youth activity targeted programmes delivered for hotspot areas across the

across the borough signed up to the

borough.

‘No Hate Here!’ initiative.

305 youths

3

across the borough attended performances of the

‘Banjaxed’

30%

68%

with play being more aware about the danger posed to children from paramilitary and organised crime groups.

intergenerational partnerships formed through

‘Peacing Ages Together’ project.

the

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Our Environment Increasing awareness, positive attitudes and action for a clean, safe, protected, vibrant environment.

What we said we would do…

Environmental Champions Develop and launch an Environmental Champions Programme to encourage more environmentally responsible behaviour.

Cycle Infrastructure Explore potential for development of additional cycle infrastructure.

Tourism Strategy Ensure the implementation of Council’s Tourism Strategy is done in an environmentally sustainable way.

Some of what we have done…

3 community

groups received certified ‘Eco-Community’ status.

9 priority cycle

routes identified in

Cycling Routes Masterplan.

the borough’s

6 partnersCauseway

working together

in a new forum for

Coastal Route master planning to enable a sustainable tourism industry.

31 clean ups council carried

out in partnership with Resource Efficiency Programme Deliver a resource efficiency programme in partnership with local businesses.

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Business is Food’ pilot project with some reporting a 50% reduction in

and community groups between January and June 2019, involving 560 volunteers and lifting over 1,000 bags of rubbish from streets and

their food waste.

beaches.

9 businesses ‘Your

within the hospitality

and food sector took part in

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Our Vision Mid and East Antrim will be a strong, vibrant, safe and inclusive community, where people work together to improve the quality of life for all.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council 1-29 Bridge Street Ballymena BT43 5EJ Tel: 0300 124 5000 communityplanning@midandeastantrim.gov.uk www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk/ communityplanning 12 | Mid and East Antrim - Statement of Progress Highlights

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