Meetings you can observe at
As set out in Standing Orders in our Constitution, members of the public and press may attend and observe all meetings of the County Council.
This includes:
The exception is where confidential or exempt information is to be discussed.
Meetings you can speak at
You can request to speak at some meetings, including:
- Planning and Rights of Way Committee
- Petitioners may be able to address the County Council or a committee depending on how many people have signed their petition.
When attending a meeting
If a member of the public interrupts the proceedings or behaves in a disorderly manner at any meeting, the Chairman may, after a warning, order his or her removal from the room, or may order that the part of the room open to the public should be cleared.
Any method of communication, including the internet, to publish, post or otherwise share the results of the person’s reporting activities may be used. Publication and distribution may take place at the time of or after the meeting.
A person attending a meeting for the purpose of reporting on it should be supplied reasonable facilities for doing so, if this is possible.
Mobile devices must be switched to silent while meetings of the County Council are in progress. In the event that any mobile device interferes with microphones, hearing loops or other audio visual equipment used to assist the running of the meeting, you must switch it off.
Recording a meeting
Anyone wishing to film or record the meeting is asked to inform the clerk of the meeting of their intentions before the meeting starts. Oral reporting or oral commentary on a meeting while it takes place if the person is in the room is not permitted. More information is set out in the document below.
Where the press and public are excluded from any part of a meeting, members of the press and public must remove all recording devices that they have brought into the room.