Council Corporate Plan

What is the Corporate Plan?

The Corporate Plan sets out Councillors' aspirations for the Council and the principles we will work to over the next four years. The plan contains objectives which we believe will address points of concern within the community and enable the islands to thrive. These objectives are not intended to capture everything the Council does. Instead, they are projects or goals which are carried out alongside the day-to-day activities of the local authority. You can read the most recent Corporate Plan in full below, or download the PDF version attached.  

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Corporate Plan 2022-2026

How was this Corporate Plan created?

Councillors began the process of writing this Corporate Plan in June 2021. They set out their ideas for what should be kept from the previous plan, what should be adjusted and what should be added for the next 4 years. 

The Council carried out a public consultation from 22 November to 22 December 2021 to see if there was support for this thinking. This resulted in the analysis of 268 survey responses, including more than 1636 comments from residents of the islands. Councillors considered all of these responses before making their final decisions on what to include in this plan. You can read more about how this data was used in the report and appendices taken to Full Council in February 2022. 

This work has enabled us to be confident that this plan has taken a range of opinions into account and sets the tone for the Council's work with the community over the next 4 years. 

Keeping in touch

Following the consultation, we’re keen to keep the conversation going. You can always contact your Councillors directly via the contact details provided on our website

Our Objectives

Following public consultation, Councillors have set the following objectives for the period 2022-2026:

Housing

We think everybody living on Scilly should have an affordable, good quality place to live and we want to continue to play our part in finding solutions to housing needs.

OBJECTIVE 1
Ensure a minimum of 30 new affordable homes[1] are built to help support local need.[2]

OBJECTIVE 3
Protect residential housing on the islands by enforcing current rules and asking government to amend legislation.

Climate change and waste management

Following the school's 'Strike for Climate' petition in 2019, we declared a Climate Emergency and committed to becoming a carbon-neutral organisation by 2030. We have also recognised the threat that climate change poses to our islands and are committed to helping our community adapt.

We have also recognised the need to consult off-island communities on how waste is collected and managed.

OBJECTIVE 4
Achieve a 75% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions produced by the Council relative to 2019 levels.[3] 

OBJECTIVE 5
Complete a programme of dune restoration and coastal protection on the islands.[4]

OBJECTIVE 6
Achieve a minimum Energy Performance Certificate rating of 'C' in all Council-owned homes.[5] 

OBJECTIVE 8
Consult the off-island communities on their waste collection needs.

Transport and highways

In 2021 we secured government funding to bring major improvements to our shipping transport system and can now begin the work which will result in the delivery of the high-quality passenger and freight services which have been on the community’s wish list for many years.

We also want to ensure people can move around the islands safely, so have committed to improving our pavements and tackling traffic issues. 

OBJECTIVE 9
Oversee the delivery of the Levelling Up Fund bid objectives, which include:

• Working with partners, including the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group, to improve island travel and freight for residents and visitors alike
• The acquisition of 3 new shipping vessels
• The completion of harbour works to support the vessels and meet accessibility requirements.

OBJECTIVE 10
Make it easier for pedestrians to walk around St Mary’s by improving pavements and making them safer and more accessible for all.

OBJECTIVE 11
Tackle traffic management, road safety and parking on St Mary’s, focussing on problem areas such as the industrial estate and Hugh Town.

OBJECTIVE 12
Reduce the number of registered vehicles on St Mary’s by 5% (relative to 2020) by reducing the need for people to own them.[6]

Community wellbeing and fairness

We want to ensure that people living on Scilly continue to have access to services that support their care, wellbeing and personal development. 

We also think it's important that everybody contributes fairly to all services and that the few recurring nuisance issues we have on Scilly are dealt with effectively.

OBJECTIVE 13
Complete the project to combine health and social care services on the islands. 

OBJECTIVE 14
Assess whether a new community swimming pool could be provided.

OBJECTIVE 15
Redevelop the Town Hall for use as a museum and cultural centre.

OBJECTIVE 16
Ask the government for a change in the law to ensure that owners of second homes must contribute fairly through Council Tax or Business Rates.

OBJECTIVE 17
Support island-based businesses to offer apprenticeships and training programmes on the islands and lead by example in doing the same for our own workforce.

OBJECTIVE 18
Tackle public nuisance issues, such as excessive noise and dog fouling by working with the community and considering restrictions and enforcement options where necessary.

Our Council

We want to be a local authority you trust. This means being transparent in everything we do and helping you to better understand how we make the decisions we make. Making our information easy for everyone to find and understand is crucial and we want to be more responsive to your feedback. Our services and facilities must be fit-for-purpose and work for the whole community. 

We must also ensure that the Council is funded in a way which allows us to achieve our aims and plan for the long term.

OBJECTIVE 19
Make it simple for our customers to find out who to contact and when they are available, and ensure that our workforce is able to provide face-to-face or over-the-phone customer service where appropriate.[7]

OBJECTIVE 21
Make the case to government for funding arrangements for the Council that better reflect our island context and the range of services that we must offer.

OBJECTIVE 22
Have an agreed corporate property strategy in place and a 5-year delivery plan to ensure that our estate is fit for purpose, energy efficient, well maintained and achieves value for money.

OBJECTIVE 23
Commit to a plan for the site of the old museum flats.

Promises to our community

We are making the following promises to our community because we believe they are at the heart of what you expect from your Council and should therefore underpin all of our decision-making. These promises will be embedded into our reporting processes to ensure Councillors make all decisions with them in mind. Wherever decisions deviate from them, an explanation of why this is the case will be provided.

We must always ensure that:

• We retain our independence as a local authority
• We retain on-island residential care
• We support independent living
• We retain a viable airport and transport infrastructure 
• We retain a viable on-island Fire and Rescue service
• Children and adults in need of care and support are safeguarded
• We continue to enable all children and families to access any help they need at the earliest stage and in the easiest way possible.
• The needs of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities are met
• We deliver on the objectives of, and apply the policies in, our Local Plan.
• We prioritise projects which demonstrate clear community benefit and keep our community updated on them
• We maintain our buildings and facilities to a high standard 
• We balance the needs of the islands with the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions
• Performance management is visible and good audit trails are enabled
• Council decision making is transparent and can be understood by the whole community
• We provide excellent customer service

We also promise that the decisions we make will aim to protect and, where possible, enhance the following:

• Our reputation as a trusted organisation 
• On-island employment 
• The character of the islands 
• Our islands’ terrestrial and marine biodiversity
• Our islands’ historic environment
• The Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
• The availability of genuinely affordable housing

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Footnotes to the Corporate Plan 2022-2026

[1]Affordable housing is defined as housing for sale or rent, for those whose needs are not met by the market (including housing that provides a subsidised route to home ownership and/or is for essential local workers). A full definition of this term is available in the National Planning Policy Framework, Annex 2: Glossary (source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework/annex-2-g...).