Geoff Mason our Chair was interviewed by Martin Webber at West Kent Radio ahead of next Thursday’s Borough Elections. Here’s what he had to say.
Martin: Voters in Tunbridge Wells go to the polls on Thursday 4th May. They will be electing one third of the Borough Council. I’m joined by Geoff Mason who is Chair of Tunbridge Wells Green Party. Geoff, the Green Party doesn’t have any councillors in Tunbridge Wells at the moment so how are you approaching this election?
Geoff: Well we’re really excited this year to be standing candidates in all 16 wards. It’s something we’ve not done before and we absolutely want to give everybody who wants to vote Green the chance to vote Green. We look enviously at the 23 Green Councillors across Kent but there are none on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and that’s something we want to change.
Martin: So the Borough Council at the moment is run by a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Tunbridge Wells Alliance Party. How do you think they’re doing? They’ve been in power for a year what’s their record been do you think?
Geoff: From a Green Party perspective we look at how they’ve done on the Climate Emergency. This was declared in 2019 but it doesn’t feel very much like an emergency. The original proposal for example was to include citizens assemblies. What happened to this? And if we look at their own figures, the target was to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and the pathway to do this was for around 2,500 tonnes to be produced in 2022. But by their own figures they’re on for 3,700 tonnes.
Martin: So this is just in the borough of Tunbridge Wells?
Geoff: Absolutely. So we think that at the moment they’re going to miss their net zero target by 2030 by some considerable margin.
Martin: And it’s not the emissions of everybody who lives in Tunbridge Wells, it’s just the things that the council has control of.
Geoff: 100% absolutely right.
Martin: One big issue locally is housing and the local plan proposed a new large town of around 3,000 people between Tudeley and Capel. The national housing inspector has thrown doubts on the sustainability of that but the Borough Council coalition seems to be pressing on trying to make that still happen. What do you think of this plan to build a new town between Tudeley and Capel?
Geoff: I think it’s absolutely heart-breaking if you look at the impact on the countryside around Capel, the size and scale of the proposals are far beyond anything that the ward can deal with. A new town, effectively that’s what it will be, will bring so much pollution, a spoiled landscape, loss of wildlife habitat and protected species and it’s completely in the wrong place, I mean there are flooding risks as well. Now Matthew Birkenshaw the inspector was basically giving a steer that this whole proposal should be dropped altogether and so we are absolutely astonished that Tunbridge Wells Borough Council are spending £851,000 of council taxpayers’ money to basically try and justify something that any normal person would say is completely mad.
Martin: So if a Green councillor was elected, would you say that they would vote to end that proposal?
Geoff: Without question.
Martin: But you do then end up having a problem in that are there enough new places for people and for young people to live in the area?
Geoff: We know that there are 4,934 hectares of brownfield sites across the region. And we also know that the calculation for the amount of new housing needed was based on 2014 ONS data which was wrong. So if the correct data were used and brownfield sites were investigated, we are absolutely convinced that the use of greenfield sites could be dropped altogether.
Martin: So finally Geoff how would you sum up why people should vote Green on May 4th?
Geoff: I think it’s really important for the people of Tunbridge Wells to have a Green councillor elected. It means that that person can challenge the council, hold them to account and make sure that effective services are delivered balancing environmental sustainability. And we say that a Green in the room can make a difference.
Martin: Geoff Mason, Chair of Tunbridge Wells Green Party thank you very much. I’m Martin Webber for West Kent Radio.