Council Strategy

Our vision is to enhance the Malvern Hills District as a destination to explore and an outstanding place to live and work.

To achieve this we have produced our Five Year Plan. This sets out a number of actions to be completed by 2025 under our three priority areas - Our Communities, Our Economy and Our Environment.

The plan will be updated every year based on feedback from our residents' survey.

pdf Read more about the Five Year Plan. (728 KB)

Our priorities and actions for 2023/24 are also listed below:

Our Communities

• Continue to invest £500,000 to support and enable our communities to:
  • Increase volunteer activity and support
  • Bring together neighbours to feel part of their community
  • Reduce crime and anti-social behaviour
  • Reduce social isolation and loneliness and promote inclusion
  • Enhance mental health and well-being.
• Continue to work with communities and partners to provide cost of living support, targeting our collective resources on prevention, support, and recovery.
• Support Malvern Hills District Youth Forum priorities to improve mental wellbeing education in schools and increase environmental awareness and local action.
• Actively promote health, fitness and well-being through community outreach programmes and support for leisure centres, with 1.5mn visits in the plan period.
• Facilitate investment of at least £10mn in new open space provision, play areas, playing pitches and community facilities in the plan period.
• Continue to work with partners and communities to enable the delivery of 550 affordable new homes over five years to March 2025, and to ensure a wider provision of affordable housing options for residents.
• Minimise homelessness and rough sleeping by targeting support to those at risk.
• Promote and invest £150,000 in major flood alleviation schemes, including Tenbury and Severn Stoke.
• Invest in the refurbishment of five town centre toilets by 2025.
• Continue to provide support under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, including support into accommodation and community life.
• Create a vibrant arts community, working with Malvern Theatres and the community arts sector, to improve wellbeing, economic prosperity, and connected communities.
• Continue to enhance and make improvements to Priory Park.

Our Economy

• Produce a new, ambitious Economic Strategy for the district by Summer 2023 to set out how MHDC will deliver a sustainable growth plan for the future.
• Support at least 100 businesses per year to innovate and grow, through business start-up and growth programmes.
• Work with all partners on the Malvern Hills Science Park Board to deliver Phase 6 of the Science Park as a low carbon development as early as possible, and by 2027 at the very latest.
• Work with partners to deliver investment in new workspace and key employment sites increasing overall stock by at least 10% by 2025.
• Invest up to £100,000 by 2025 to provide upskilling grants to encourage local businesses to take on apprentices and graduates, and to promote Kickstart placements and other employment programmes to local residents.
• Deliver actions within the Town Centre Plans covering our 5 town centres, promoting our high streets and increasing footfall to pre-Covid levels.
• Work with Malvern Theatres to facilitate the delivery of a new extension to contribute to the local economy and cultural experience.
• Promote and develop the visitor experience of the Malverns, increasing visitor spend by 10% above 2021 levels by 2025.
• Support the tourism sector with a focus on sustainability by supporting 30 local businesses to achieve Green Mark accreditation by 2025.
• Building on the strengths of our rural businesses and communities, deliver a £500,000 Rural England Prosperity Fund capital grants programme by March 2025.

Our Environment

• Ensure we remain on target to reduce the council’s own greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2030.
• Lead the district to become carbon neutral as soon as possible, and by 2050 at the very latest and deliver Destination Zero.
• Ensure planning policies are in place to safeguard the quality of the built environment, natural environment and energy efficiency of buildings.
• Champion sustainable travel solutions, including low carbon, community transport and active travel.
• Develop a Biodiversity Action Plan by March 2024.
• Double the amount of renewable energy generated in the district by 2030.
• Double the number of employees in the low carbon economy in the district by 2030 from a 2020 baseline.
• Improve the energy efficiency of Malvern Splash by March 2024 and Malvern Theatres by March 2027;
• Work with communities on local environmental action:
  • Encourage responsible disposal of waste, including the creation of a district wide Litter Charter
  • Improve the appearance of our streets, including through ‘Adopt a Street’ and Green Dog Walkers.
• Support initiatives that promote ‘refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle’.