Wednesday, June 4, 2008

A Priceless Insight


Although yesterday had been a long day, nevertheless I kept my appointment in Sherwood - and how pleased I was that I did. I met at the TN2 Community Centre with officers and Councillors from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, to undertake a "Ward Walk".

This great initiative, dreamed up by the Borough Council, involves officer/member pairing calling door to door, inviting residents to complete with us a detailed questionnaire on local services and amenities.
I was paired with Nazeya Hussein, Head of Community and Corporate Planning. She and I got on extremely well anyway, and I think we both really enjoyed meeting with and finding out about the residents whom we met. I learned far more from the Ward Walk interview than I ever could from the doorstep canvassing that politicians usually do.

Ward Walks are a fantastic idea, and although I'm sure the questionnaires will evolve over time to become more streamlined, they gave a priceless insight into what local people really think about their local services.

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