People Matter

Aim: To nurture healthy and strong and accessible communities – healthy, cohesive and engaged communities leading to active citizens and civil renewal.

Why? Healthier, stronger and accessible communities are important to our vision and it is a building block of renewal and improvement. We will bring together the elements of promoting healthier communities, narrowing health inequalities - effective combination of key local services - such as health, education, housing, transport, crime and accident prevention - responding to local
needs and encouraging healthy lifestyles. Improving the quality of life of older people - enabled to live as independent and active lives as possible and unnecessary periods in hospital avoided.

Developing stronger communities is integral to healthy communities and a worthwhile end in itself. There is considerable local research about what makes Charnwood a socially strong place but which also identifies the underlying fault lines that need to be addressed to safeguard that sense of cohesive communities.

Some communities have distinctly higher levels of poor health and are less socially cohesive. Some people within these communities face multiple ‘life’ problems including drug/alcohol dependency, depression, teenage pregnancies, long term illness, mental and physical health problems, low economic activity, debt and isolation. Good, accessible, advice services also play a crucial role in enabling people to deal with pressing problems.

Strategic Objectives

• S02 to reduce the need to, and distance of, travel by car and increase use of walking, cycling and public transport. In particular to improve access by public transport to key services and facilities including the key employment centres of Loughborough, Leicester and East Midlands Airport.
• S03 to secure the provision of accessible facilities and services to meet the needs of all local people, having regard to the particular needs of the young, old and “hard to reach”.
• S06 to promote health and well-being, for example by ensuring that residents have access to health care, local parks, greenspaces and natural environment, the countryside and facilities for sport and recreation, creative and community activities.