2. Background Fourth lowest District Council Tax inthe Country
South Staffordshire mainly ruraldistrict nestled among the
bigconurbations of Wolverhampton,Dudley, Sandwell. Rural district
with 27 Parishes andno main town 1 of 8 district councils that make
upStaffordshire County. Population of approximately 106,000,named
by Audit Commission asfastest ageing district in
Englandparticularly across the 85+ age group 3. Locality
workingMain distinguishing feature ofSouth Staffordshire is
thatthere are no towns. There areseveral large villages but assuch,
no focal point.To address this SouthStaffordshire Council, with
itspartners and the aid of theIdEA, developed a localitymodel for
the district. 4. Why Locality Working? Gaining a better
understanding of what workswell already and what needs to be
improved. Improving communication between the differentlevels of
local government and the community Developing new ways to deliver
services moreflexibly Improving the way that service providers
worktogether in partnership Supporting the community to solve its
ownproblems 5. http://lsp.sstaffs.gov.uk/Default.aspx?page=6923 6.
Customer Insight Getting toknow our residentsThings we didnt know:
How residents accessedservices How they like to receiveinformation
Top two groups : % ofresidents who live inisolated rural
communitiesand successful professionalsliving in suburban or
semi-rural homes How diverse our parishesare 7. Rural Transport
Previously we had a very generoustoken based concessionary
travelscheme. For those that were solely reliant onit, it didnt go
very far. Public transport across the districtwas not very good or
accessible. A South Staffordshire RuralTransport Partnership was
convenedto explore different models. 8. Aims of the Project To
develop a web based solutionwhich would allow residents ineach
locality to receiveinformation. Comment on it and addadditional
information. Vote on the emerging projects. Be involved in the
design of thesuccessful projects. 9. What we discoveredThe council
thought residents in Locality 2 wantedregular bus services to
Stafford andWolverhampton. However, the consultationthrough MPMS
identified that residents wanted aservice to Telford (i.e. outside
the county). As adirect result of this the SSRTP introduced
aSaturday service.An unexpected consequence of this decision
hasbeen an increase in the number of people fromTelford travelling
to the Penkridge market. 10. Benefits MyPlaceMySay has provided
thestimulus for the council toinvestigate the wider use ofSocial
Media. The council has, for the first time,begun to develop its
social mediapresence The spin-off MPMS/business sitewill also
continue as the authoritylooks to improve its relationshipwith
local businesses, replacingexpensive paper copy 11. What we do now
12. Lessons learnt Technical development was a success Bolstered
our knowledge of social media But tying MPMS to rural transport
madeuptake more difficult Broadband connections in rural settings
Project timings didnt always coincide 13. Where now? Invaluable
lessons about socialmedia its benefits and itslimitations in rural
communities Strong brand but technology hasdeveloped Social media
plan in place unthinkable two years ago 14. Maggie QuinnJamie
Angust: 01902 696530 t: 01902 696502e: [email protected] e:
[email protected]
