Councils are to hold their meetings in person again after they moved online last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Special legal provision was made by the Government in March 2020 to allow council meetings to take place digitally to meet rules on lockdown following the coronavirus outbreak.
Now, with these temporary provisions having ended, councillors in local authorities across the country will meet face to face again.
Barrow Borough Council’s committee meetings will take place at the Town Hall, with strict social distancing measures in place for all those in attendance.
The first meeting to go ahead in person will be the Planning Committee on Tuesday, May 25 at 2.30pm followed by the Executive Committee on Wednesday, May 26, at 2pm.
Councillor Ann Thomson, the leader of Barrow Borough Council, said: “We had no choice but to hold meetings virtually last year to keep everyone safe and to help stop the spread of COVID-19 through our community.
“We got to grips with the technology very quickly to ensure democracy and decision making remained visible, transparent and accessible for members of the public and press.
“Now though, the legal provisions put in place by the Government which allowed us to do this are coming to an end which means meetings have to take place in person once again.
“We are committed to democracy being open and accessible for everyone. This change in format doesn’t alter that at all. Anyone who wishes to attend a council committee meeting is welcome to do so.”
Members of the public who want to attend a meeting are asked to email [email protected] at least two days before the meeting date to ensure numbers can be accommodated safely and in accordance with laws on social distancing.
Meetings will continue to be live-streamed for members of the public who wish to watch remotely and can be viewed on the council’s Youtube channel here. Meeting dates can be found on the council’s website.
