National high streets expert to lead Sevenoaks Town Centre idea workshop

National high streets expert Will Brett will be joining a live virtual "Think In" event on the evening of 17th March, organised by Sevenoaks Liberal Democrats.

Brett co-authored the recent report Taking Back The High Street: Putting communities in charge of their own town centres with Vidhya Alakeson for the National Lottery Community Fund and Power to Change (available free online), and is a longstanding expert on the creation of thriving local places. Brett was formerly Director of Communications at the influential thinktank the New Economics Foundation.

He will share his understanding of the opportunities Sevenoaks could take advantage of, and some examples from around the country that we could learn from, at the start of an event designed to hear ideas from local people. Following an event format pioneered by the national news brand Tortoise, Brett will share his ideas before further opening contributions from Victoria Granville Baxter, organiser of the Sevenoaks 2020 photography project with Roger Lee, and members of Sevenoaks business community.

The event is being organised by Sevenoaks Liberal Democrats, and will be chaired by local member Jon Alexander, who is himself an expert in civic participation and last year delivered the Opening Provocation at the Athens Democracy Forum.

Richard Streatfeild, who is Liberal Democrat candidate for Sevenoaks Town in the next Kent County Council elections, said "This event is an experiment for us, and something that is only possible in the time of Zoom. While it is being run by the Liberal Democrats, it is not a "political" event - we want to hear from everybody, whether you're intending to vote for me or not! All of us love this town and want to make it better, and that's what this sort of event is all about."

The workshop will be hosted on Zoom. To register, please email action@sevenoakslibdems.org.uk