Introduction
Our Lichfield District 2050 strategy is a departure from our usual four-yearly cycle of thinking about our priorities. It deliberately seeks to set a different tone.
We are proud of our district and want to engage about its future and yours - to think about the district we want Lichfield to be by 2050 - a place for you, your children, your parents, and future generations; for our businesses and visitors, to thrive in.
Lichfield District 2050 is a longer-term view of our shared priorities, it is challenging, bold and aspirational.
We are determined to shape our district based on your views. At the end of 2022, over 7,500 residents and businesses responded to the first ‘Together We’ consultation, providing your views and feedback on what Lichfield District should be in 2050.
The views provided through that feedback have been used to draft this strategy and you will see references to it throughout this our 2050 strategy.
Lichfield District is the heart of England, at the centre of the United Kingdom, 35 minutes outside Birmingham and just over an hour away from London. We have all the ingredients to be a place where people want to live, work and play - where families can feel supported to raise children and equally protected in older life and retirement.
We want Lichfield District Council to be a beacon for the rest of the country, an example of what a modern, vibrant local authority is - a partner, invested in our district, enabling, and supporting strong communities with efficient public services that engage effectively and are contrite when we get things wrong.
Our Lichfield District 2050 strategy seeks to reconstruct our relationship with you, our residents, with our vibrant business sector and with our partners. We are aiming high. We want to be the best. We want Lichfield District to be recognised as a place where we take collective responsibility to create a better future for everyone.
We have set four priorities, and a number of ambitious missions through this strategy, following engagement with you.
The remainder of the document outlines key actions for all four priorities, against three important milestone dates – 2028, 2038 and 2050. These milestones will help and guide us on our journey to achieving our missions.
We will deliver its part of this strategy through an annual delivery plan, with clear and smart quarterly objectives which we will hold ourselves to.
We will refresh this strategy every five years, to allow us to reflect on the progress we have made and identify the next set of key actions.
Again, without your buy-in this strategy will fail.
If you join us in committing to the priorities, we promise to listen, to hear and value your views and to do our part to deliver the Lichfield District 2050 we believe everyone wants.
Councillor Doug Pullen, Leader of Lichfield District Council & Simon Fletcher, Chief Executive Officer