Cut this council in half and the word ambition has always run through its collective core.
Just look around and you will see all sorts of examples where our aspirations have led to action, to innovation, to change.
Despite the continued presence of the pandemic and its lasting effects, I can promise you our ambition has not been abandoned. It burns as brightly as it ever has.
But the pandemic has brought with it huge challenges that come but once in a lifetime and we need to face those head on.
We have to rebuild our finances while ensuring we protect and deliver the frontline services people rely on.
We need to have a focus on doing the basics brilliantly while we get ready to take advantage of the opportunities that are undoubtedly just around the corner.
We need to keep doing all we can to help and support others to ensure they are successful and in a position to do their bit to help us improve the district too.
This Corporate Plan is about the council itself and how it does its job. It sets the framework for prioritising its scarce resources.
It is supported by the Climate Change Action Plan which creates a golden thread running through council policies and actions as we play our part in tackling climate change and caring for our environment.
It is supported by the Local Plan and wider work on how the district will change over the next 20 years.
And it is supported by a raft of other plans and policies aimed at improving the services we provide such as housing which has recently returned to being delivered directly and waste collection which is now being run by a council-owned company dedicated to getting the service right for its customers.
All of these have been or will be backed up by detail, data and dedicated targets that are there for everyone, but especially councillors, to check, challenge and hold us to.
We believe our four key priorities reflect the key priorities of everyone who lives, works and studies in the district.
These are the areas where we can make the biggest difference to people’s everyday lives. And we are determined that we will.
Councillor Ben Fitter-Harding, Leader, Canterbury City Council