Our Vision and Strategy
The Let’s Do It! Strategy sets out a clear ambition and delivery plan for the next 10 years. But it is not just a strategy for service improvement, it is a radical new proposition for community power; putting relationships first and creating a borough in which every single person plays their part.
Our vision for Bury 2030 is built upon conversations with communities and the goal is simple: to stand out as a place that is achieving faster economic growth than the national average, with lower than national average levels of deprivation.
This is, however, challenging given our starting point in 2020:
Bury is less deprived than others but over the last four years direction of travel has changed and…
- Bury has become relatively more deprived compared to others; more people are living in (the same) areas of deprivation now than in 2015
- The proportion of your life spent in good health has decreased by two years for men, and increased by four years for women
- The likelihood of being in work has reduced from 73% to 71%
- Attainment in primary schools has got better but other places are improving faster
By 2030 we will collectively tackle these deep-rooted issues by giving everyone the encouragement and support to play their part, joining together the delivery of all public services as one and delivering an ambitious plan for both social and economic infrastructure.
Our strategy: Let’s do it!
The vision for 2030 has been developed and tested with our communities. Local people have said this vision will achieve:
- A better future for the children of the borough
- A chance to feel more part of the borough
- More green spaces and environmentally friendly
- A better quality of life
But people also said they identify locally within their townships and neighbourhoods, not borough-wide. Whilst many agree with the vision there is less confidence that it will be delivered. There have been big ideas before but change has not always happened. We believe things are different now.
Things have changed: During the pandemic we have started to work together in different ways.
The Voluntary, Community and Faith Alliance (VCFA) has mobilised over 800 volunteers who have supported thousands of vulnerable people over the last year and are now working on community projects as well. Age UK is now providing a befriending service in partnership with the Community Hubs; our food banks are working together and setting up pantries to maintain user’s independence; and community leaders have established the Bury Community Support Network to connect with Council hardship support and the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Feedback also tells us that statutory services are working better with parents and carers of children and young people with Special Educational Needs, co-design in action.
We have established multi-disciplinary teams to deliver our Covid response, for example, the clinicians delivering vaccinations and covid testing are being supported logistically by hundreds of volunteers from the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, communities and furloughed employees.
The way we deliver health and care services is increasingly integrated with staff from different organisations working more effectively together as if they were one organisation. Increasingly this joined up working is delivered through five integrated neighbourhood teams across the borough and focused on the prevention of poor health and early intervention to avoid unplanned care in hospital and other settings.
Health and Care Teams in Neighbourhoods are working alongside community hubs – connecting and supporting the assets of local communities and supporting vulnerable residents to be more independent and connected. Increasingly heath and care teams are working closely and on the same neighbourhood footprint with staff from other public services – e.g. housing providers, GMP, schools.
This strategy is about how to maintain the momentum of this movement:
- Let’s… All play our part in local communities; with enterprising spirit; working together in a way that recognises and celebrates the assets and strengths of our communities and our residents
- Do it… by connecting everyone to the plans for economic growth and public service improvement across every township.