What is Lowestoft Together?

Lowestoft Together is a Neighbourhood Management initiative originally funded by Go-East from 2006 to 2010. Central to the effectiveness of Neighbourhood Management has been the recruitment of a local Board to oversee the process.

The Lowestoft Together initiative was set up under the umbrella of the Waveney Local Strategic Partnership. The Lowestoft Together area consists of the 9 Super Output Areas (SOA’s) in Waveney, identified by the government’s indices of deprivation. The SOAs are located in the Harbour, Kirkley, Normanston, St Margaret’s, and Whitton Wards.

The Board itself is made up of ten local residents, two members representing the Voluntary Sector, one each representing Faith Groups, Neighbourhood Watch and the Migrant Communities and four representatives for the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP). The LSP representatives include officers from Waveney District Council, the Community Safety Partnership, Waveney and Gt Yarmouth PCT and one elected member from both Suffolk County Council and Waveney District Council, bringing the total membership up to twenty.

The initiative originally had ring fenced Revenue funding until March 2010 and Capital funding till March 2009. Since 2008/09 this funding has not been ring fenced and forms part of the Council’s overall Grant Allocation to be spent at the discretion of the Council. Revenue funding has provisionally been included.

However, in the Council’s budgets for 2008/09 and 2009/10; and Capital for 2008/09 the Council will need to determine in setting its budget for 2009/10, whether it wishes to continue with this project, and whether to also mainstream this work within the Council for the future.

Officers are currently looking at mainstreaming Lowestoft Together’s staff within the Council as part of the Council’s commitment to the project, to provide further sustainability to the project, to enhance the Council’s own Community Development activities, and to address its current budget gap.

Lowestoft Together has funded a range of projects in the SOA’s since 2006. We have developed a delivery plan to guide the Board’s activities for the next two years. We are keen to engage and work with as many partners as we can to improve the satisfaction of residents of the SOA’s with their areas. Our aim is to create ‘Prosperous, attractive and vibrant communities with easy access to jobs, services and facilities and where everyone can lead a safer, healthier and happier life.’