Localism and community engagement needs to be at the heart of everything we do. It is all about responding to local needs, wherever possible. It is critical to the success of the council and the success and growth of our communities.

Communities should be able to define their own priorities, what is right for them and what works best for them. The council should be there to help with that process, not just to provide everything to everyone on a one size fits all basis. Of course, sometimes the needs of whole communities and the whole county need to be listened to. Sometimes the needs of one community may conflict with the needs of another community and when this happens we will need to use strong leadership to do the best or sometimes the least bad thing.