I would like to build a positive approach to the town's redevelopment based on the principles of creating a unique town lead by independent shop retailers offering something the internet can't provide. It will take hard work delivering a consistent policy over 10 to 15 years, but it does work elsewhere. Tunbridge Wells needs a new vision for its failing town centre.

The Liberal Democrat vision is for a town and borough where people of all ages and backgrounds want to and can live, learn, work and play, something that has not been delivered by the Conservatives.

In the past, our town had a large catchment area where people were prepared to travel for products, services and entertainment they couldn’t find elsewhere, this meant landlords knew higher rents could be charged as the footfall in Tunbridge Wells was good. This changed with the rise of large out of town shopping centres, and then the internet resulting in a far heavier toll on Tunbridge Wells than towns such as Tonbridge, Sevenoaks or Crowborough that offer more compact centres providing quick local convenience.

The loss of large chain stores has resulted in our current retail offering being unsustainable and if this is allowed to continue we could end up seeing the town fragment further. We, therefore, need a strategic vision to attract more businesses and improve the quality of our town.

There is no magic solution that can solve these problems, it will require a lot of work from the council with both private and public investment to revive its fortunes. We can, however, look at examples where this turnaround has been successful and adapt these to the needs of Tunbridge Wells.

20 years ago places like Folkestone was even more run-down than Tunbridge Wells is, thanks to the De Haan’s trust and with some seed investment, out of the ashes, the Creative Quarter was created where derelict shops have been converted into smaller units allowing independent retailers to start and thrive. Today the charity owns 90 properties containing 240 businesses and 60 town centre flats for social rent plus a large creative co-working space. The charity now has a property portfolio worth in excess of £50m creating a vibrant mix of unique independent shops.

We can also look at Tonbridge for another example, with its council’s policy of helping shops in run-down areas with match funding grants to improve shop frontages and insulation which again upgrades the area.

Tunbridge Wells council owns a considerable amount of underutilized space in and around the Town Hall, with a little bit of consistent vision and an attitude of doing the small things well, there is absolutely no reason why we could not use these assets for both conversion and capital to follow similar reconstruction and support paths making our town a better place to live, attracting more people to visit.

Mark Ellis is a Tunbridge Wells Borough Councillor representing St. Johns.

James Rands was elected Borough Councillor for Culverden ward in 2019. He is current Chair of Tunbridge Wells Liberal Democrats

We have heard a lot recently about the “fragmented” social care sector along with some rumblings about the National Health Service becoming responsible for the sector. I’ve worked in health and social care in England for almost two decades now and I can tell you this. In my experience, there is just as much good practice in the private social care sector as there is in NHS settings.

The NHS has been seriously run down over the last decade and it’s obvious that there just isn’t enough money to go around. It’s heartening to know that the government has committed £10 billion to health and it would be nice to know that some of that money – or a similar amount – is going into social care, but I very much doubt that.

Social care is anything which people may need support with outside of medical intervention. That is eating, drinking, personal care, social interaction, support with finances, correspondence, shopping, and so forth. It is the stuff that makes life worth living. And, while the NHS is very good at medical interventions, they’re not really so great at the other stuff. The medical model boils everything down to health. Deprivation and poverty are only seen from the point of view of how they affect health. Social interactions are primarily seen as a deterrent to mental health issues. Bathing and creaming are seen as a way to maintain skin integrity and so on. I think you get the picture.

While there has been a lot of press around care homes, not much attention has been paid to care in the home, although around double the number of people – about 1 million - receive care and support in their home as opposed to a care home.

There is a place for all forms of care and support in our society. Some people are best cared for in the home they have lived in for years, others may be better off in an extra care facility or a care home. A very small minority need to be cared for in a hospital setting.

Let’s think in a broader way as we tackle the social care crisis. Let’s think about health and wellbeing.