A campaign for an independent town council free of party politics is hotting up in Faversham.

Under the banner of Faversham Independents with a tagline of Time for a Change, a group of independent candidates are preparing to fight for places on Faversham Town Council and Swale Borough Council.

The group say that “many council procedures and attitudes are dysfunctional and out-of-date and need fundamental rethinking” and that “party politics has no place in local government”.

One prospective independent candidate is owner of Bowstring Books in Preston Street, Martin Young. He said: “There’s a growing gap between councillors’ priorities and those of the local community. More and more we’re seeing that it’s the public who are taking the initiative on issues such as saving our minor injuries unit.”

Martin himself led a campaign to improve the pedestrian crossing in Whitstable Road after a resident was knocked down and killed in 2012. He said: “We may get help from individual councillors, but the things that Faversham people really care about are never at the top of the councils’ agendas. We think they should be.”

Attempting to bring in a splash of youth to the council, 27-year-old Oliver Sebastien has also signed up as a prospective candidate for the May elections. He has featured in the Faversham News recently with his ambitions to open a jazz and wine bar in the town centre.

He said: “Councils don’t connect to younger people any more. Faversham Town Council doesn’t have any young councillors, it no longer has a youth committee and Kent County Council sold off the youth club building in North Lane.

“It’s not that people my age aren’t interested – we all have our ideas for change, from Faversham 2020 and jobs to potholes and planning – it’s more that they can’t see how they could be part of it and they’re turned off by the jargon of political parties and their lack of transparency.

“I’ve looked into it and I have realised there is nothing stopping me.

“With more independent councillors you’d get a better mix of ages and experience, creating a non-biased platform that’s in touch with its local demographic, and that could make a real difference.”

At the end of last year, the Faversham News exclusively revealed that independents Mike Henderson and Ben Martin would campaign in the Davington ward and their work continues.

Faversham Independents have launched a Facebook page and they are hoping to hear from other like-minded people in the community.

To contact the group email faversham.independents@gmail.com or phone 07543669567.