Corporate plan and priorities
Our vision
A county where everyone can live well and succeed, bringing people together as one community, with strong, connected places, support where it’s needed most - a council that residents trust to focus on what matters and work in partnership to improve everyday life for all.
Our priorities
Our priorities for 2026 to 2031
View our corporate plan
Our vision and priorities for 2026 to 2031 are outlined in our corporate plan.
Find out if we're on track to reaching our targets on our progress dashboard.
In order to reflect on our delivery and achievements against our corporate plan priorities, we have produced an annual report for 2025 to 2026. This is focused on activities we would usually expect to deliver in a normal year.
Portfolio priorities
Each year our Cabinet Members work with services to develop their Portfolio priorities.
These can be found outlined in our Medium Term Financial Plan, alongside an overview of each portfolio, and challenges and risks for each area.
About our corporate plan
It sets out our priorities and ambitions for the next 5 years.
It describes the outcomes we want to achieve for residents, businesses and communities and provides our strategic direction.
It's our overarching strategy and helps guide decisions about our services, investment and resources.
It's intentionally a high-level document.
It sets out our priorities and the outcomes we want to achieve.
The detailed actions sit underneath the corporate plan in:
- directorate plans
- service plans
- project plans
- annual budget decisions.
These documents explain how services will contribute to delivering the priorities in the plan.
The corporate plan acts as the framework for our work.
Our service areas are developing delivery plans which identify the specific projects, actions and measures needed to achieve their priorities.
Our senior officers and councillors will review progress regularly to ensure delivery remains on track.
Progress will be measured through our Corporate Performance Indicators (CPIs).
We publish the CPI Dashboard which shows the performance across our services and priorities.
It's supported by more detailed strategies, policies and plans. This includes:
- planning policies
- transport strategies
- housing policies
- environmental plans
- service-specific strategies
Our plan recognises the importance of:
- supporting sustainable growth
- delivering the right homes in the right places
- ensuring communities have access to the infrastructure and services they need
We must also work within national planning policy and housing requirements set by the Government.
More detailed housing and planning matters are addressed through planning policies and the Local Plan process.
Some ambitions can be measured through specific targets and performance indicators. Others require longer-term improvements which depend on a range of factors, including:
- national policy
- funding
- partnership working
Where appropriate, progress will be measured and reported through our performance framework and supporting plans.
It ensures our services are working towards shared priorities.
It influences how services are planned, how resources are allocated and how success is measured.
It provides a clear link between our strategic ambitions and the work delivered by individual teams and services.
We developed it through engagement with councillors, staff, partners and residents.
We used feedback to shape the priorities and outcomes in the final plan.
It was approved through our decision-making process before being formally adopted.
We welcome feedback from businesses and community groups.
Submit feedback through our online general enquiries contact form.
Feedback can help us to understand local priorities and informs how we communicate and deliver the plan.
Contact
Any questions regarding our corporate plan and priorities should be sent to [email protected].