Supporting residents and businesses to thrive, protecting the environment and affordable housing are all key focus over the next year as Braintree District Council approves its new annual plan.
Braintree District Council has published its Annual Plan for 2025-26 following approval at a Cabinet meeting this week (Monday, 17 March), setting out actions and projects to meet priorities in its Corporate Strategy 2024-28 that aim to deliver real benefits for residents, businesses, and the environment.
A range of community funding pots will be made available to boost local projects, including the popular Councillor community grant scheme, a public health grant to support projects that reduce health inequalities, and tailored support for businesses to help them thrive and grow.
The council’s £1million commitment to support those impacted most by the cost-of-living crisis will continue, including a package of initiatives that makes a difference and allows for residents to easily access food and essential goods, and physical and emotional health and wellbeing support.
Projects in Witham are set to progress this year - town centre improvements, a new 3G pitch at Witham Sports Ground and a community centre, providing spaces for people to come together and engage in various activities.
Ensuring residents have access to high-quality, affordable housing is a key priority, and a target has been set to deliver another 250 affordable homes over the next year. Alongside this, the council will be working to enhance supported housing options that are tailored to resident’s needs and increasing support for those at risk of sleeping rough.
More play areas across the district will be refurbished to incorporate new inclusive play equipment, including Beckers Green in Braintree, Kings Road in Halstead, and Spa Road and Rickstones Road in Witham.
Over 500 people have visited job fair events over the past year, and the council have committed to delivering more across the district for residents to connect with employers and explore new career opportunities.
Residents will also have opportunities to play a role in shaping their area through planning as the council revise the Local Plan, develop a design code to ensure future development is of the highest design standards and drive forward new neighbourhood plans for local villages.
Partnership work across Essex will take place to provide households with access to more affordable and sustainable energy sources as well as enhancing energy efficiency in homes. Feedback from the recent waste services review consultation will feed into the decision making around the future of waste and recycling collections, to comply with the government waste reforms, boost recycling and divert as much waste as possible from landfill.
Like all councils, Braintree District Council continues to face future budget pressures and increasing demand for services. Over the next year, the council will be working closely with partner organisations to share resources, assets and information to deliver better outcomes for residents, aligning with work to support Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation.
Councillor Graham Butland, Leader of Braintree District Council, said: “We are rightly ambitious for our district and want to make the Braintree district the best that it can be. Our plan for the next year does not include every single thing we do or every service we provide, but it gives a lot of detail about the projects we’ll deliver to turn our vision into a reality to build a better district.
“It's clear that some residents are facing significant challenges and so while we remain committed to delivering excellent services and growing the district, we are also increasing our efforts to support those in our communities who need it most.
"With devolution and local government reorganisation now offering Braintree a unique opportunity to become stronger, more resilient, and better equipped to serve our residents, it remains as important as ever that we continue to find new and better ways of delivering our services to meet the needs of our residents and businesses, while continuing to be financially resilient.”