Photographs of the Civic Suite at Ryedale District Council, Malton. The photographs show the equipment already in place which will allow the online streaming to be made available.
Further photographs of a Planning Committee Meeting, held at The Milton Room's, Malton- due to high numbers of the public joining.
(Still images available at the bottom of the blog)
(Still images available at the bottom of the blog)
Ryedale District Council Meetings to go online
Residents may be granted online access to council meetings through a move aimed at increasing “transparency.”
Ryedale district council is looking at making audio recordings of discussions and debates available through its website, allowing their most up-to-date information to be permanently available.
An audiovisual system, which is used for committee and full council meetings, was fitted during a refurbishment of the civic suite in the authority’s HQ at Ryedale House, Malton. This equipment will act as a merger, linking the public with the council directly.
The council are also aiming to remove restrictions on members of the public taping, filming and photographing meetings, further increasing transparency and openness. This would include bloggers, tweeters, users of Facebook and You Tube, strategically increasing candidness whilst positively entering the 21st century.
Although supportive, public have expressed some concern in response of the announcement. Although the proposal holds public interest at the forefront, the movement has been interpreted as expensive.
Following this, the Council have released a statement assuring the public that there will be no additional cost regarding the changes proposed relating to audio-recordings. They confirm that the proposals seek to make better use of existing resources.
Ryedale District Council already publish the agendas, reports and minutes of council meetings on their website. All meetings are also audio-recorded, which in the past was primarily for the benefit of Councillors, allowing them to revisit a discussion or to listen if they did not attend the meeting.
“Improving access to Council meetings will form a broad package of measures that the Council is developing to strengthen local democracy,” says Ryedale Council’s Democratic Services Manager, Simon Copley. “Local authorities are being encouraged to engage with communities in order to assist the progress.”
“In a small area such as Ryedale, it is crucial for everyone to unite as a community,” says local Police Officer Paul Donaldson. “Allowing everyone full, twenty-four hour access to Council meetings can only strengthen our society further, welcoming the community in to what may be preserved as a superior field.”
Unfortunately the Councils transition into the ‘digital age’ does not have full support from everyone. Jimmy Young, a retired Committee Clerk says: “I firmly believe that every corporation is entitled to a certain amount of privacy, especially one of paramount importance, such as the Council. When discussing essential topics such as the distribution of funds or planning permission, only figures of authority should be involved.“
Feedback from other Councils proves that the online streaming has been a huge success in their areas. Birmingham Councils statistics show that their first Internet streaming saw five times as many people watching online than in the public gallery.
By streaming meetings the Council are bringing to life the decisions they take and show the thought and consideration that goes into making them.
“I think it’s a fantastic idea. I have often wanted to attend Ryedale Councils Planning Committee meetings but I work out of the area.” Says Insurance Broker, Andy Sharp, from Pickering. “Hopefully the plans will go ahead, and I’ll be tuning in from my laptop or mobile phone at my own convenience.”
