There’s Life in the Old Dog Yet!
In
2001, Go Folkestone arose from the clamour of the people of the town, who were
determined to reverse the serious decline in the fortunes of the town in which
they lived. More than 800 of them were passionate enough to turn up to a public
meeting in the Leas Cliff Hall to show their support for the creation of an
action group to tackle the serious problems that faced us then.
Folkestone was not the only seaside town facing a decline but the creation of Go
Folkestone meant that it was one of the first to reverse the trend. In the
ensuing years, the group has enjoyed a success that many other towns have sought
to emulate. Signs of that success and evidence of the town’s regeneration is all
around us. We have been so successful in completing the objectives in our
constitution that a number of people are beginning to ask what there is left to
do. Has the organisation had its day, run out of things to do and is it now
facing its own demise?
There is a natural life cycle of birth, growth and decline that applies to any
organisation and Go Folkestone is no different and we are now in the position
where we are faced with three options:
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Action groups that aren’t active never die, they just fade
away! We could just soldier on as we are but, if we do, our membership will
continue to decline and nobody will remember who we are in three year’s time.
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We could acknowledge that we have succeeded in everything
that we set out to do and disband the group while we can still enjoy that
success.
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We can refocus the group on the major issues that still
remain, re-brand and restructure ourselves to be in a better position to take on
the tasks or issues that still threaten to derail Folkestone’s regeneration.
In military terms; we recruited an army, took it to battle
and won the war but, if we leave the battlefield too early or give up the ground
that we have taken, those that oppose us will simply move back in and win the
day! The battles that remain and those that oppose us will be outlined later on.
In practical terms, “refocusing” means creating a new list of objectives in our
constitution, changes to which have to be approved at our AGM or an
extraordinary general meeting called for that purpose. The rest of the
constitution and the structure of the organisation would remain unchanged.
Rebranding means giving the group a new name and new logo.
Go Folkestone has a good reputation based on the work that we have done and the
large amount of press coverage in the early days. As the amount of it has
reduced, people are not so aware of who we are and what we do. Rebranding will
allow us to:
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Get publicity from the fact that we are announcing that we
have completed the work that we set out to do. (Allowing Go Folkestone to go out
on a high)
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Get publicity from relaunching the refocused organisation
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Help to recruit new members who are passionate about issues
on the new list of objectives
-
It is also possible that Go Folkestone has an image in the
minds of some people that will prevent them from joining – it’s too old, it’s
too staid, it’s lost its way etc. or it’s possible that some people may have
left the group because they didn’t agree with the course of action that we
followed on one particular issue in the past. Rebranding may remove some of
those barriers and, once again, open up new opportunities for recruitment.
Rebranding is also part of the refocusing process (and vice
versa). Brainstorming to find a new name means that we also have to think about
what the name represents and may even be a kind of shorthand for what we do. It
can be a long and tortuous process but it’s worth it in the end.
Earlier in this article, there was talk of leaving the battlefield too early and
there are two clear examples of where Go Folkestone may have already done this:
1. The Foster Partnership master plan for the seafront. Go Folkestone was
at the forefront of the public consultation process and organised the survey
which allowed the public to express its support or otherwise. There was
overwhelming support for the scheme and we congratulated ourselves on a job well
done. Since we completed that project, however, the master plan has been
evolving and the dark forces of opposition have been gathering. There is a long
way to go before the comprehensive master-plan turns into detailed individual
planning applications and people are already beginning to voice their opposition
to parts of it. There is a growing band of people who want to hang on to “a
couple of the railway arches next to the harbour as examples of our
architectural heritage” or “that fine example of a cast iron building – the
seafront café next to the crazy golf” or “the overall scheme is great but can’t
we keep the harbour station?” The “comprehensive” plan may be an all or nothing
scheme so the potential for opposition to planning applications could make the
battle for Lydd Airport look like a lovers tiff.
2. Developments to Folkestone West station. The high-speed link is coming
and we all thought the car parking arrangements were done and dusted but the
plans seem to be changing almost daily.
The next step, then, is to hold a meeting to form a “think tank” to tackle the
issues of refocusing and rebranding. If you are interested in joining this group
please call: Ann Berry on 01303 278644 or me on 01303 250906.
Important
A “think tank” meeting for Go Folkestone’s refocusing and
rebranding will take place at Wards Hotel, Earls Avenue, Folkestone on Wednesday
19th March at 7.30.
If you are interested in Folkestone’s future please join us there.
Terry Begent
Article from Go Folkestone Newsletter March 2008
