Cabinet ‘hitting the road’ to take meetings around Shropshire

The next meeting of Shropshire Council’s Cabinet will be in Highley, near Bridgnorth, rather than Shirehall in Shrewsbury, as part of a plan to take the meetings to different parts of the county.

Councillors have decided to take some Cabinet meetings to different locations to make them more accessible for people.

All Cabinet meetings are video streamed on the Internet, and live updates are published on twitter, so people can follow the decisions as they are made from their computer at home or on their smartphone if they are out and about.

However, the meetings are open to the public, and council leader, Keith Barrow, said it was important that people had the opportunity to attend wherever they lived.

Keith said:

“We appreciate sitting through a council meeting may not be everyone’s idea of a good time, but there are often important items on the agenda, so we want to do all we can to ensure those who are interested can come along.  With that in mind, we want to try to dispel the myth that everything takes place behind closed doors in Shirehall, so we are going to hold some meetings in different places.

“If anyone wants to formally speak at a Cabinet meeting you do have to notify committee services in advance, but we try to make everyone feel welcome whether they want to speak or just prefer to listen to the debate.”

The next Cabinet meeting is on Wednesday 17 October 2012 at the community hall in The Severn Centre, Highley, starting at 12.30pm.

The agenda, which includes reports on car parking and the council’s future financial strategy, can be seen by clicking this link.

More information about how to submit a question or speak at a council meeting is available by clicking here.