Weymouth Town Council take their meeting to the beach
Councillors say not being allowed to hold online meetings is an 'attack on democracy'
Weymouth Town Council are acting in strained compliance on government orders to meet in person once more, by taking full council meetings to the beach.
Guidance that allowed councils to make decisions online ended last month. Instead, meetings are to be held in person, with remote access allowed to reduce the need for the public to attend in person.
But, councillors here say there's no way they can meet in council chambers and comply with COVID guidelines over social distancing.
With 29 Councillors and up to 5 officers who need to attend, space in the Weymouth Council Chamber would have been significantly limited and the public may not have been able to attend. If more public turned up at a meeting, it would have to be stopped and cancelled immediately.
Instead, tomorrow's (24 June) Full Council will be held on the beach.
A spokesperson for Weymouth Town Council said:
"Weymouth Town Council are drawing attention to this inequality and attack on democracy, at a time when residents want and need to be aware of what their Councils are doing to support them in covid recovery, by holding their Full Council meeting on 24 June 2021 in the only way they can safely - in the fresh air on Weymouth Beach.
"Residents will be able to ask questions so join us at 11am in front of the Beach Office. The meeting will also be live streamed as usual on the Town Council's Facebook page"