Supporting people and communities - Annual Plan 2023-2024
- Help people through the cost of living crisis.
- Extend funding to Citizens Advice to enable them to help residents access unclaimed benefits.
- Hold a cost of living summit to identify further ways in which we can work with partners to support residents who are struggling financially.
- Continue to financially support Horsham Matters with the foodbank.
- Operate a cost of living grant to facilitate the provision of warm spaces and other direct cost of living support to residents.
- Better understand the needs of our whole community to deliver services that support people to live long, active lives.
- Open the new Horsham Wellbeing Hub and extend its reach to all in our communities.
- Investigate the demography of the District to allow us to enable improved health outcomes.
- Initiate conversations with partners to better understand the needs of older residents in Horsham District.
- Issue £1.3million Disabled Facilities and Home Repair Assistance grants to help people live in their own homes.
- Improve access to affordable housing and community services.
- Deliver new affordable housing units on council land at Duke’s Square and London Road through Horsham District Homes.
- Work with Registered Provider partners to identify and secure alternative temporary accommodation, reducing reliance on bed and breakfast.
- Seek out and use grant funding from the Government and West Sussex County Council to provide more accommodation for homeless people.
- Enable residents to access private sector housing through the provision of affordable housing deposits.
- Deliver housing for refugees using the Local Authority Housing Fund grant together with a matched financial contribution from the Council.
- Build closer ties with all our housing partners.
- Explore options with Saxon Weald to increase provision of larger properties in the District.
- Improve vulnerable residents’ access to benefits.
- Implement the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) to enable residents to access over £0.5million of unclaimed benefits in Horsham District.
- Work with partners to ensure our District continues to be a safe place to live and work.
- Improve the ability to report crimes, such as anti-social behaviour and shoplifting through the roll-out of the DISC app.
- Create safe spaces for our children to grow and play.
- Provide new children’s play facilities at Roffey Recreation Ground, North Horsham and Holbrook East.
- Invest in local arts and leisure and foster civic pride.
- Approve a five-year plan for Horsham Museum ensuring better engagement with the community about the District’s heritage.
- Deliver improvements to the Horsham Riverside Walk in collaboration with local stakeholders.
- Agree the investment plan to ensure the decarbonisation and refurbishment of The Capitol theatre.
- Improve access to sports for under-represented groups.
- Explore ways to overcome financial barriers to participation in sport.
