A decision to not hold full council meetings in the evening has been criticised by some Chichester district councillors.
Following calls to attract a younger, more diverse range of people to stand for office, the council held a trial run of holding meetings in the evening rather than during working hours.
The experiment attracted a mixed response from members, while feedback from members of the public was unanimously in favour of the change, calling it more democratic.
But during a meeting of the full council on Tuesday (November 23), it was agreed to leave things as they were, with the monitoring officer looking at the situation again after May’s elections.
The decision did not sit well with Liberal Democrats.
Gareth Evans (Lib Dem, Loxwood), who is a teacher, said he had had to take paid leave in order to attend council meetings.
Chichester district is the only district/borough council in the county not to hold meetings in the evening.
Most combine daytime and evening meetings, while Crawley Borough Council holds every single one outside working hours.
This latter option was considered by a Task and Finish Group but was deemed unsuitable as the cost of keeping East Pallant House open longer – along with staffing and heating – would come to £10,000.
Simon Oakley (Con, North Mundham & Tangmere) said the intention to attract a more diverse group of councillors was ‘laudible’ but added:
“We do need to be honest with prospective councillors that the complexity of local government – and the availability of people you need to talk to on a routine basis – means you’re going to have to do a lot of work during the working day anyway."
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