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.

Well done Tunbridge Wells Borough Council!

You may remember a few weeks ago I joined with officers and members from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in a series of "Ward Walks" (A Priceless Insight, June 4th). This involved a selected range of houses and roads being dropped a week in advance with a postcard informing the date and time of the Ward Walk, then officers and Councillors in teams of two calling round and talking residents through a series of questions about local amenities and services.

It's a brilliant idea, piloted originally in Medway, Oregon. At times on the doorstep, you did rather feel that you'd opened up a can of worms, but at no time did I get the door shut in my face. Last night, then, was the public feedback session at the TN2 Community Centre. Representatives from the County and Borough Councils, as well as Kent Fire and Rescue, KCC's Little Forest Children's Centre, CORE, Health, Town and Country Housing and many others all turned up to present the results of the consultation to a crowd of residents.

From the second I walked in, I was surrounded by locals, asking for updates on everything from Sunday bus times to road resurfacing; from gulley cleaning to whether I could find a good architect. I've now got a list as long as my arm of actions and issues, but there was a real and palpable sense that the community felt it was being listened to. Well done Tunbridge Wells Borough Council!

Most days are like this!

Yesterday was one of those days - I dropped my youngest off at school at 8.30am, then drove over the the TN2 Community Centre in Sherwood to join in another "Ward Walk" ("A Priceless Insight", June 4th).

This lasted until 1.40pm, when I had to leave to get to King's Hill in West Malling. Here I had a two o'clock meeting with the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Kent and Medway Mental Health Partnership Trust. I'd allowed ninety minutes for this, but it overran slightly and I found myself rushing to get to my next meeting, 4.30pm at St Barnabas Church in Tunbridge Wells to discuss the new Community Centre. I was two minutes late for this, but they were just making coffee so it was fine.

This ran until 5.40pm and I dashed back to Sherwood for the meeting of the TN2 Community Trust. I had allowed fifty minutes for this, in order that I could get to Pembury for a meeting with colleagues about campaigns in Sherwood and St James.

By the time I got home it was just after eleven - fifteen hours since I'd left that morning. And this isn't unusual - most days are like this!