WIRRAL Council has laid out its five priorities ahead of the coming year, which include a pledge to focus on children’s services and projects such as the controversial Hoylake Golf Resort.

The five priorities for 2018/19 have been revealed in a document due to be discussed by the cabinet on June 4 at its first meeting since the local elections.

The document said with austerity continuing, the council is focussed on issues “most important to local people”, pledging to find “imaginative and efficient” new ways of providing services.

These are the five pledges made in the cabinet document entitled “strategic priorities”.

1. Getting the basics right

Under this heading, the local authority pledged to get the “every-day services right, every day”. It said these include emptying the bins, repairing the roads, fixing the street lights, keeping parks, gardens and beaches in good order, tackling anti-social behaviour, and looking after vulnerable residents.

The document added: “While Council has to prepare for the financial challenges ahead, it is essential to maintain our focus on delivering excellent services to residents.”

2. Jobs and growth

The council said it was important local residents and businesses would benefit from new developments popping up around the borough.

That includes progress on the controversial Hoylake Golf Resort, works starting on the Wirral Waters project and “exciting new developments” with the Wirral Growth Company.

It said: “‘Spades in the ground’ should mean training, apprenticeships and skills opportunities for our young people, work and jobs for residents and, where possible, local procurement of services and contracts.”

It also said renewing the council’s relationship with Wirral Chamber of Commerce, its role in the Liverpool City Region and using devolution to support local businesses and attract investment would also help with its business pledges.

3. Children’s services

The document said the over-arching aim is for the council to come out of intervention as quickly as possible.

It added: “While we have made a good start on our journey of improvement, we still have a lot of work to do. Specific priorities include a new management structure which ‘gets the basics right’, manages the budget, reduces the dependence on agency staff and creates a new work environment. We must ensure that early intervention improves so we can start to see a reduction in the number of children ‘looked after’.”

Cabinet would also like to see more support for care leavers with housing and job opportunities, it added.

4. Local plan and housing

The council’s local draft plan, which is to be completed by next summer, must “identify and secure long-term opportunities to meet demand for home and employment”, the document said.

It added the plan should “inform and be informed” by the Wirral Growth Company and Wirral Waters, as well as protect the Green Belt.

That will mean making improvements in the planning department so there are resources, expertise and systems to “quickly deliver the new homes and developments we need”.

5. Leisure and culture review

The council’s priority on this front will be to review services it provides, and “which ones can be managed and run better by other organisations”, including local communities and charities.

It said this is due to “huge” changes to financing local government, so it is “vitally important” action is taken to put services on a “sustainable foundation”.

“We need to put a transformative action plan in place, and work more closely with existing and new partners to find sustainable income and revenue streams,” it added.

According to leader of the local authority, Councillor Phil Davies, the report reaffirms the council’s 20 Pledges it made back in 2015, asking residents to judge achievements on.

He said: “Wirral residents expect good services, they expect their streets to be clean, their communities to be safe and their roads to be in good condition. They expect the vulnerable to be safe and protected, and for the economy to grow – creating the opportunities they need to secure good, well-paid jobs.

“We will deliver on all of those expectations. Committing to delivering these priorities is about setting out our stall, it is about being clear with Wirral residents about what we will deliver and what they can expect from us.

“We will also make sure we keep people informed on our progress, encourage residents to get involved in their local communities and shaping local services, and work with all of our partners to make sure we continue to deliver on our 20 Pledges.”