Tewkesbury Council votes in secret against plans to be more open

A council has voted in secret against plans to be more open and transparent.

Discussions on plans to webcast meetings by Tewkesbury Borough Council publicly were held behind closed doors after concerns about discussing the financial and business affairs of a third party.

Calls were made for part of the meeting to be held in public, but this was voted down by councillors.

Councillor for Cleeve West, Richard Stanley, called the decision "ironic".

The Liberal Democrat councillor, who seconded the plans to hold some of the meeting in public, said: "There's an element of this debate which could be discussed openly. There is certainly an element which would perhaps need to remain confidential.

"It seems rather ironic that a discussion around us becoming a more open council is being held in secret."

Conservative councillor for Innsworth, Graham Bocking, said: "I have no detriment to webcasting or anything like that but I believe the crux of the matter here is more to do with the costs.

"We can't accurately debate it without looking into the costing. I would suggest we put it all together so we can make a decision."

The Conservative-controlled council is understood to have voted against the plans to record and live stream their meetings on the internet, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Tewkesbury Borough Council and Gloucester City Council are currently the only local authorities in Gloucestershire which do not webcast their meetings.

Gloucester City Council has committed to doing so in future but said their progress has been hindered by the cyber attack they suffered last year.

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