Our Council Plan

We want to help all residents to have a better quality of life. This means exploring different approaches to address increased health inequalities and continuing to work with residents to make our place green, safe and clean.

Focusing on mental health and wellbeing

The pandemic has made mental health a key priority for us all in different ways, from everyday wellbeing to longer-term conditions. Existing inequalities within our borough have been exacerbated and we will focus on addressing the broader social determinants of health, as well as public health, to narrow this gap and improve health outcomes for all of our residents. We are working with the NHS to deliver early interventions with those most at risk and to increase services in the wider community to support and improve the wellbeing of our residents. This also includes improving mental health support for those affected by the Grenfell tragedy, given the impact of Covid-19 and the ongoing public inquiry, including exploring new peer support approaches. We recognise the specific needs of those with Autism (through our new Autism Strategy) and Dementia and we will offer dedicated support to those with additional needs.

We have provided free online activity programmes for residents, and we have kept our 28 parks across the borough open to provide essential access to open space and nature. We continue to invest in our parks, in recognition of their vital wellbeing role and their potential to further connect and support our community. We delivered a targeted summer programme of sports activities to help increase accessibility for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and to address obesity in the borough. We will continue to focus on improving physical health and wellbeing across all our communities. The pandemic has reminded us of the importance of access to high-quality medical facilities in our neighbourhoods, so we have worked to protect and secure healthcare services at the Royal Brompton Hospital for the future.

Continuing our Net-Zero climate action

Responding to the climate emergency continues to be a key priority for the Council, as we have committed to being carbon neutral by 2030, and this will be delivered via the Green Plan and £10m fund over 10 years. We endeavour to sustain the ‘green gains’ in air quality brought by the restrictions during the pandemic, providing new routes for travel on foot or by bike for commuters, visitors and residents, whilst maintaining high quality roads. We are already leading the way in introducing a new emissions-based parking permit system and we have further accelerated the roll-out of electric vehicle charging points across the borough. Moving forward, we will work with our residents and businesses to increase carbon awareness and encourage behaviours that will enable us to make sustainable changes, whilst increasing investment in retrofitting our buildings and investigating options around renewable energy.

Maintaining our clean, safe, vibrant and attractive place

We will continue to invest in our housing stock, to improve sustainability and safety, working with registered providers and private landlords to improve standards for all. We continue to progress with making our streets, estates and open spaces clean and safe for residents and we are working closely with the police and our residents to tackle crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour. By refreshing and implementing our strategies in 2022 on Anti-social behaviour, CCTV, Violence against Women and Girls, and Modern Slavery, we can improve community safety.

We are committed to keeping the streets of Kensington and Chelsea clean and we have maintained twice-weekly waste collections throughout the pandemic through our new waste contract which has delivered better value for money. We will create pioneering public spaces that are green and biodiverse, active, accessible and inclusive to create healthier and greener city living to make our already unique borough more attractive still.

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What we want to see

• A reduction in the health inequality that has widened during the pandemic.
• Rise in active travel and participation in physical activity, sport and leisure.
• All parks are pleasant, open spaces that are well used.
• Clean, safe and wellmaintained streets.
• Sustain air quality gains made during the pandemic with reduced emissions from both vehicles and buildings.
• Continued provision of excellent environmental services, including refuse collection and recycling.
• Reduced rates of youth offending, crime and antisocial behaviour.
• Adults and children feel safe and secure at home and in their daily lives, with specialist support for violence against women and girls following the impact of the pandemic.

What we will do

• Promote healthy living and support improvements to physical and mental wellbeing, recognising the effects of the pandemic, through support services in the wider community and working with the NHS to deliver early intervention to those most at risk.
• Develop a new Bi-Borough 10-year Health & Wellbeing Strategy.
• Continue to promote the uptake of Covid-19 vaccination and booster doses, winter flu jabs and childhood immunisations
• Continue to support the police and local communities to prevent crime and stay safe.
• Set the strategic direction for achieving a carbon neutral borough by 2040 by co-producing 3 action plans: climate emergency, air quality and biodiversity, with our residents and partners.
• Further encourage active travel for those wanting to move around the borough by bicycle or on foot.
• Keep swimming sessions free for under 8-year-olds and £1 for under 16-year-olds.
• Work to make the Council’s operations and buildings carbon neutral by 2030.
• Continued roll out of network of electric car charging points across the borough including on our housing estates.
• Maintain the requirement for construction vehicles to meet the latest emission standards at building sites.
• Discourage drivers from idling their engines.
• Continue to provide twice weekly household waste collections across the whole borough
• Maintain enforcement around placing rubbish out on the wrong days.
• Continue to keep our streets and parks clean and well maintained.