Welcome to South Kesteven. It has 365 square miles of England's finest green and pleasant land. Located in south-west Lincolnshire, its four towns and over one hundred villages are home to 125,000 people. Our district is a secret that's been kept for far too long.
We’ve got rural heritage and history with gems like the ancient town of Stamford, said to be “the finest stone town in England”; and Grantham, the birthplace of the father of gravity, and of Britain’s first women prime minister. But we aren’t old-fashioned – our hopes and plans are dynamic and modern. Our residents expect the outstanding.
The council has spent many years building a good infrastructure. Our amenities include modern high quality leisure facilities, attractive parks and cycle ways and well-maintained housing - all provided from a remarkably low council tax. It has made the district a good place to live and work, but our continuing challenge is to make it the very best place. This means building on what has worked well in the past whilst making the changes necessary to transform our customers’ experience of the things that they tell us most need improving.
The council believes in partnership working under the direction of the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP). This brings together the public, private, commercial and voluntary sectors to address the needs of the district. The LSP is supported by four active town centre partnerships. Public consultation is guided through six Local Area Assemblies to help reflect the diverse nature of the district. Through this process, our residents have determined that the Council’s main priorities are:
- Tackling anti-social behavior;
- Increasing our recycling rate;
- Improving access to council services;
- Making our street cleaner;
- Regenerating our town centres;
- Developing innovative solutions to address housing need;
- Finding better ways to communicate and listen to residents.
Achieving our targets for these priorities will make a major contribution to delivering the council's vision "To ensure that the residents of South Kesteven are proud of their district and their Council".
Successes to date include a doubling in our recycling rate, a dramatic improvement in planning performance, delivery of more affordable homes, a reduction in crime, and a zero-tolerance approach to littering. From the summer of 2006 residents will be able to access these, and other, services through a new state-of-the-art reception.
To resource the necessary improvements, the council has rigorously assessed all its activities and has redirected over half a million pounds of resources from both efficiency savings and from non-priority areas such as pest control, concessionary fares and tourism. These steps, combined with the council's unique ability to blend Lincolnshire's high quality of life with excellent communication via the A1 corridor and the East Coast Mainline is stirring a quiet revolution here in South Kesteven.
Now you’ve found our website, come and see for yourself - and share in the secret that’s only 75 minutes from London.
Duncan Kerr
Chief Executive
SKDC