Community Engagement
Community Engagement
Community engagement provides people with the opportunities to have a greater say in what happens in their District.
Harrogate Borough Council is committed to ensuring that residents of Harrogate District, our service users and all other interested parties have the opportunity to be involved in the planning, prioritising and monitoring of our services.
We recognise the diversity of our communities and the need to provide opportunities for individuals and communities to participate at a level they wish to influence service delivery, decision making and policy development.
What we want is a strong, prosperous, active and cohesive community.
Harrogate Borough Council Community Engagement Strategy
This is our strategy for improving community engagement and empowerment of the the residents of the Harrogate district through agreed values and principles and using a wide range of techniques
In conjunction with the strategy we have developed
community engagement guidance, this is a practical guide that identifies the considerations that should be made before any consultation or engagement activity takes place and establishes a standard to which all council consultations should adhere.
Community Engagement and Consultation in the Harrogate District
To ensure the co-ordination of all community engagement activity across the Council, all Council officers intending to carry out any community consultation and engagement complete a Community Engagement Registration Form.
This ensures that all community engagement is recorded, co-ordinated and carried out to the same standards.
An up-to-date version of the summary
Community Engagement Register can be found below this provides a list of all consultation planned along with timescales, methods to be used and details of the contact officer from whom you can obtain further information. The impact of consultations and information on what happened as a result of the consultation is also included within the register.
The District Panel is made up of 1500 residents and was set up in 1999 to consult residents across the District on issues that affect them.
The Panel is consulted up to four times a year by questionnaire on a wide variety of topics and issues that affect quality of life of the District.
If you are interested in becoming a member please contact the Corporate Improvement Officer on Harrogate 556068 or via email
districtpanel@harrogate.gov.uk. Background information on the District Panel can be found below.
The District Panel has been consulted on a wide range of topics, reports from previous consultations can be requested from the Corporate Improvement Officer on Harrogate 556068 or via email
districtpanel@harrogate.gov.uk
Reports 2006-2007
Overview and Scrutiny
Climate Change and Renewable Energy
Volunteering
Budget 2007/8
Measuring Feelings of Safety
Street Cleansing and Waste & Recycling
Corporate Prioirties
Parking
AONB
Harrogate International Centre
Planning
Customer Services
2008/2009
Large Waste
Budget 2008/2009
Corporate Priorities
Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Deregulation
Homelessness
Smoke Free Harrogate
Harrogate Skate Park
Harrogate Library
2009/2010
Budget 2009/2010
Corporate Prioirties
Statement of Account
Tree policy
Election Proposals
Leadership Model
Community Engagement Research information
Citizenship and Belonging in the Harrogate District
In Summer 2005 Harrogate Borough Council participated in a research study carried out by the University of Liverpool examining 'The state of Local Democracy'.
The research was conducted in two districts in Northern England Harrogate and Burnley.
Within this study a common set of questions was put to both the Harrogate and Burnley District Panels.
A copy of the Harrogate results can be found below.
The findings of the full consultation are now published in a paperback book entitled 'Whose Town is it Anyway, The state of Local Democracy in Two Northern Towns' by Stuart Wilks-Heeg and Steve Clayton.
Involving Young People
Young people are the future of our District and should have a say in how it should develop. Harrogate Borough Coucil values the views of young people and has taken steps over recent years to ensure young people have a voice:
Step 1 - 'Living Here' Young People Event
In 2006 Harrogate Borough Council commissioned Connexions York and North Yorkshire with the aim of finding out the views of young people aged 11-18 living in the Harrogate District.
Young people from the district fed back their views to Councillors and service managers.
See below for more information.
Step 2 - 'Living Here' The Connexions Report
We had some really excellent feedback from the event. Please see below for a copy of the Connexions Report.
Step 3 - A Youth Participation Plan for Harrogate Borough Council 2008-2011
In 2008 Harrogate Borough Council agreed a Youth Participation Plan. The Plan incorporates an Action Plan to enhance the involvement of children and young people in Harrogate Borough Council's services, policies and decision-making. See below for a copy of the HBC Youth Participation Plan.
Step 4 - Actively Involving Children and Young People project year 1(2008-2009)
This was a multi agency partnership project set up to support local service providers wishing to improve the involvement of children and young people in shaping and delivery of public services in the District.
Step 5 - Actively Involving Children and Young People Partnership Project year 2 (2009-2010)
With 4 key funding partners: Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate District Safer Communities Partnership and North Yorkshire Police. North Yorkshire Youth and Harrogate and area CVS were commissioned to run the project, to embed the progress achieved in year 1, provide advice and support to practioners of youth engagement and help coordinate youth engagement so that the same young people are not asked the same questions time and time again.
Youth Councils
In 2009-2010 Youth Councils will be progressed throughout the County by North Yorkshire County Council, the project partnership will hopefully make the connections between young people of the Youth Councils and the adult democratic processes.
Want to know more about Community Engagement?
Contact: Corporate Improvement Officer (Engagement/Empowerment) on