Bath and North East Somerset Council’s first virtual meeting will take place next month.
Meetings have been cancelled since 16th March but Government has given local authorities new powers to hold public meetings online or by conference call.
Some have been more successful than others – a South Somerset District Council meeting held over Zoom was hijacked by trolls who dialled in with fake names like ‘Ben Dover’ and ‘Mike Coxlong’, and disrupted proceedings with rude words and images.
A statement from the democratic services team on B&NES Council’s website says: “The Government has now given councils new powers to hold public meetings ‘virtually’ using video or telephone-conferencing technology.
“We are keen to do this, whilst ensuring meetings are efficient and properly conducted, so we’re currently testing options to determine how residents can engage with our meetings.
“The first virtual committee will be the planning committee on Wednesday, May 6, at 2pm.
“We have cancelled some scrutiny and committee meetings until further notice as we want to ensure you stay safe and remain inside to help prevent the spread of the virus.
“However, we are investigating how some of this can be delivered virtually.”
Decisions are still being made, with many signed off by chief executive Will Godfrey.
An agenda has not yet been published for the planning committee meeting.
Stephen Sumner, Local Democracy Reporter
You can find the latest coronavirus information, advice and community updates for the Bath & North East Somerset area on our dedicated live blog here.
