A strange decision

When I was a councillor on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council I attended  once a fortnight meetings of the Western Area Planning Committee.  The morning was spent travelling round on a mini-bus looking at sites which were the subject of planning applications.  In the afternoon the committee met to determine the applications.  It was a long day, particularly if there were contentious and/or complicated applications.  We met at the Town Hall in Royal Tunbridge Wells.

Eastern Area meetings were held at the Council's offices in Cranbrook.  Following closure of the Cranbrook offices the meetings moved to Hawkhurst.

The reason Eastern Area meetings were not held in Royal Tunbridge Wells was for convenience.  The parties to applications, objectors and councillors did not have to traipse into Royal Tunbridge Wells. The planners had staff at Cranbrook who moved to Tunbridge Wells when the Cranbrook offices closed.  It was far better for a few officers to travel a long way to meetings rather than everyone except the officers.

The Council has taken the strange decision to hold Eastern Area meetings at the Town Hall.  Cue for protests from parish councils that they have not been consulted.

It is rather strange that at the very time the buzz words are 'localism', community engagement' and 'civic participation' Tunbridge Wells Borough Council is centralising a service and making it more difficult and expensive for residents to attend meetings.