Inside Test Valley's ground-breaking approach to community engagement

From giving residents a blank sheet to determine the council's priorities, to making statutory consultation processes interactive and fun, Test Valley Borough Council is pushing the envelope on community engagement.

And it's paying off. Councillors are braver and more effective. Senior managers are better leaders. There's more consensus and less cynicism among residents. And the community's voice now sits at the heart of everything the council does.

Adam Lent visited leader Phil North, chief executive Andy Ferrier, deputy chief executive Salena Mulhere and community engagement officer Imogen Colley to ask how – and why – they're becoming a community-powered council.