Welcome to our Community Strategy - The Connected City
It is my pleasure to introduce you to the fourth edition of our Sustainable Community Strategy for Brighton & Hove. Our city is a wonderful place with an international reputation as a ‘must see’ destination. Celebrated for its diversity and its energy, it has weathered the long period of slow growth in the UK economy well compared to many other UK locations.
Since the publication of the last strategy in May 2010, partnership working has supported falling unemployment and high levels of satisfaction with the city among its citizens and with visitors. However, we face many challenges and are still some way from ensuring that everyone achieves their full potential in life.
Some of the challenges highlighted in previous community strategies are still with us, among them climate change, transport and pupil achievement. However, the city’s resolve to address them is evident and captured in detail in other plans underpinning this overarching strategy.
Brighton & Hove has earned a fine reputation for successful partnership working, and this will become even more important as the public sector goes through revolutionary changes and the private sector slowly emerges from the torpor that has gripped it for the past five years. Vital too, will be the voluntary & community sector as it develops its role of providing key services.
With the development of the wider city region, working with our neighbouring local authorities to pool ideas, resources and solutions will be increasingly important.
This updated strategy is intended to be a ‘living document’ evolving and adapting to meet changing circumstances. In this summary booklet you will get a flavour of our ambitions and our priorities for the future of our extraordinary city while the website will give greater detail. We hope you enjoy the read!
Tony Mernagh
Chair of Brighton & Hove Connected