Local communities will now have greater involvement in council decisions after a date was set for the first round of area committee meetings at last week’s annual council meeting.
The four area committees - Eastern, Sittingbourne, Sheppey and Western - will help give local people their say on council matters.
The four area committees - Eastern, Sittingbourne, Sheppey and Western - will help give local people their say on council matters.
The first meeting will be the Western committee on 1st September, followed by Sittingbourne on 8th September, Sheppey on 22nd September and Eastern on 29th September.
Cllr Mike Baldock, deputy leader of the council, said:
“Area committees give local councillors a chance to reconnect with the public and bring valuable local insight to council decision-making.
We plan for the first round of area committee meetings to take place in September, however we now need to consider how we get the committees off the ground while taking social distancing rules into account.
Once off the ground, committees will draw up work programmes to improve quality of life in their areas and enable local insight to be brought to bear on issues being decided by the cabinet or the whole council.
Following consultation with the public late last year, we’ve decided on four areas - Eastern, Sittingbourne, Sheppey and Western - to allow for the nuances of town, country and coast to be fairly represented.
Honest and open dialogue with the public is a key priority for us, and we’re excited to get the first round of committees up and running”
The four committees will be made up of all the councillors representing wards in the following areas:
• Eastern - Abbey, Boughton and Courtenay, East Downs, Priory, St Ann’s, Teynham and Lynsted and Watling wards.
• Sheppey – Minster Cliffs, Queenborough and Halfway, Sheerness, Sheppey Central and Sheppey East.
• Sittingbourne - Chalkwell, Homewood, Kemsley, Milton Regis, Murston and Roman.
• Western - Bobbing, Iwade and Lower Halstow, Borden and Grove Park, Hartlip Newington and Upchurch, the Meads, Woodstock and West Down.
Swale Borough Council
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