Getting us all back on track
Scarborough Council has published a Covid-19 recovery strategy. Here we take a look at it ...
What is it?
The Scarborough Council Covid-19 Recovery Plan aims to put residents “at the heart of everything” as the borough aims to recover from a crisis that has impacted every facet of life.
The authority’s strategy details how it is thought the pandemic will progress, with a fresh spike in cases in October and the reintroduction of lockdown restrictions before the borough moves into the “the new normal” phase in the new year.
It will run alongside the North Yorkshire Resilience Forum (NYLRF) Recovery Plan, which provides the framework for recovery across North Yorkshire.
The plans outline the two main threats to the borough and the county, the humanitarian and economic impacts the pandemic has created.
Three key priorities
Scarborough Council wants to ensure that health inequality in the borough does not increase following the pandemic and for it to continue to invest in major projects even as it faces a bill running into millions of pounds.
The Scarborough Council plan has identified three key priorities: “To provide a safe environment that rebuilds an inclusive and sustainable future for our residents, employees, businesses and tourists; to be ambitious in our approach to both regeneration and providing a greener future and to listen to the voices and concerns of our citizens, employees and businesses in shaping the future.”
The plan was presented to the cabinet on Tuesday.
From the report ...
“Supporting our residents, local businesses and getting capital investment projects moving again will be critical to a successful recovery.”
There will also be a focus within the recovery plan to build on the climate and environmental changes that have been an unintended consequence of the pandemic.
The report adds: “Society has been forced to adapt and innovate at a pace never witnessed before and a significant amount of this adaptation has been driven at the local level, not by political entities but by people and communities. There are a number of real climate and sustainability positives that have resulted from the changes forced upon society.”
The leader says ...
Scarborough Council leader Cllr Steve Siddons said it was important that the council shaped the borough’s economic recovery.
He said: “As we move from responding to the Covid crisis, through the transition of living with it and finally to recovering from it, we must do everything we can to help our residents at each stage.
“The recovery plan sets out how we will tackle almost every area that has been affected by this pandemic. There is no one area of work that has greater importance than another, but as a council, we must act as a catalyst and enabler for change.
“With our economy being heavily reliant on businesses within the hospitality, retail and leisure industries, the council must embrace its role in rebuilding the local economy post-Covid-19.”