Leader has no wish to engage

In 2018, Canterbury City Council established new area forums for Canterbury, Herne Bay, Whitstable, and the rural areas. They were intended as an opportunity for people to engage directly with their councillors, to raise issues, voice concerns and

express their views.

I cannot speak for the others, but the Canterbury Forum has been successful. It has enabled councillors to hear from a whole range of people who would never otherwise speak at council meetings, from taxi drivers to rough sleepers, from young people talking about the need for a skate park, to hotel owners explaining their need for A-boards. It has seen packed meetings where residents have provided irreplaceable local knowledge about the intricacies of parking restrictions. It has enabled residents and councillors to share ideas on how to tackle problems such as litter, graffiti, and traffic congestion.

The meetings have often been long and sometimes untidy, but they have almost always been lively and interesting - far more so than any other council meetings.

The council’s Governance Committee has now decided to abolish the forums. It has been made very clear that this is the personal decision of the new council leader. And the message is equally clear. The new leadership has no wish to engage with local people or listen to their concerns.

The forums were introduced as a result of a Community Governance Review in 2017 and 2018. The Review was an impressive exercise, involving two stages of consultation, and using questionnaires, meetings, workshops, and focus groups. The outcome of the Review has now been unceremoniously

dumped, with no consultation whatsoever.

We have seen this authoritarian style of council leadership before. It did not end well then. It will not end well now.

Richard Norman

St Michael’s Place, Canterbury