A new pilot scheme will allow local people to watch the next full Council meeting online from the comfort of their own home.
The meeting on Thursday 17 December will be filmed and then webcast. It will be available to watch on the council’s website at http://www.thanet.gov.uk/ from Monday 21 December until Friday 8 January 2010.
There will be a link through to the video from the front page of the website. To view the video, you will need Adobe Flash Player 10, which can be downloaded for free.
The meeting is set to discuss the council’s Sport and Active Recreation Strategy and Sports Facilities Improvement Plan and there will be updates from the Chief Executive and Cabinet on their work over the past couple of months. A petition is also due to be presented to the Council, regarding the sale of Albion House, although there will only be a presentation on this from one of the petitioners and no further debate. The newest member of the council, Cllr. Mrs. Sandra Hart, who was elected in the recent Dane Valley by-election, will also sign her declaration of acceptance of office at the meeting.
The idea originally came through the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Panel and followed feedback from the council meeting in October 2008, which discussed the “China Gateway” planning application. Locally, Kent County Council and Maidstone Borough Council already webcast their council meetings.
Cllr. Simon Moores, Cabinet Member for Customer Services, said: “The council is constantly looking at how we can use new technology to improve the service that we offer to our customers. We’re aware that the decisions we make impact on local people’s lives and we want to give them the opportunity to see how we make those decisions, without them having to come to the council chamber and attend the meetings. We’ve looked into this and research shows that people prefer “on demand” services, where they can watch meetings whenever they want to, rather than being tied to viewing it as it happens. That’s why we’ve decided to go with the “on demand” as our trial, with meetings available for a certain period of time after they are held. Members’ are keen for this to have no impact on the council’s budget so we will monitor any costs associated to the project. ”
Following the December meeting, the Budget Council meeting on Thursday 25 February 2010 and Full Council on Thursday 22 April 2010 will also be webcast.
Ed. nice to see they got there in the end http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/blogpicts2/id74.htm
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