Watchdog slams Tory-run Tunbridge Wells Borough Council again

12.36.10pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 23rd Jul 2004

Poor performance continues in Tunbridge Wells

The serious failings of Conservative-run Tunbridge Wells Borough Council have been exposed in a damning report published by the Audit Commission.

In the report, Tunbridge Wells has been classified as "weak" and its lack of leadership and direction comes in for particular criticism. The report also lambasts the overall performance of the Council and its poor record on delivery of services to local people.

The full report can be found on www.audit-commission.gov.uk/cpa or www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk

Comments by the Audit Commission include:

1. The Council's priorities and what it wants to achieve for residents are unclear.

2. It is not well led and does not engage effectively with stakeholders. There are also tensions within the Cabinet which hamper decision-making processes and delivery. Council departments also fail to work effectively together.

3. It has not made the best use of its resources to improve services for residents. Some of its services are not good, such as housing, planning and the range of facilities for young people. There has in particular been a lack of "affordable" housing, essential in an area of high-cost dwellings such as Tunbridge Wells. Traffic congestion has also not been tackled.

The Council has responded in turn that it will work hard to improve in these areas under the new leadership of Melvyn Howell. It admits in a statement that it has been too preoccupied with keeping Council Tax rises down, meaning that insufficient funding is directed into services and operations.

Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr David Mills said the blame lies mainly with the Cabinet, which effectively decides policy and runs the council, leaving very little room for the backbench councillor to exert any real influence.

"Quite clearly in the report there is no criticism of officers. There is virtually no criticism of opposition councillors," said Cllr Mills. "The actual criticism lies fair and square on the Cabinet. We try to call them to account. We move motions, we censure, we call for resignation's but there's more of them than us."

Cllr Mills said of the task ahead of the Council. "They've got a job ahead of them. Some Cabinet members have been there for several years. I do wonder whether they have the appetite for change and do they believe it is necessary. I do think in the Cabinet some are very complacent."

Cllr Mills added that the threat of Government intervention - as seen in Hull - is a growing reality if these failures continue. "The possibility is getting nearer and nearer all the time. Essentially the government could take power away from the local council," he concluded.

The Liberal Democrats currently have 12 members on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council who work hard all year round on residents' behalf. Under Liberal Democrat control, residents would find a much improved Council in Tunbridge Wells - one that prioritises what local people want and consults with them on planning, services and the needs of the whole community.

When the Liberal Democrats were last in control of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council - 1995 to 1998 - TWBC received good reports from the District Auditor and Tunbridge Wells was ranked 37th out of 274 English Councils.