Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

Can we improve the rules governing the public right to speak?

Wiltshire Council 'Where everybody matters'. Except, that is, if you are a member of the public and you wish to speak at, for example, a planning committee meeting.

One of the first actions of the new council was to limit the number of people that are allowed to speak at many types of WC meeting. This was a move that I strongly opposed and spoke against at every opportunity.

At a recent meeting of the WC Standards Committee (Communication Sub-committee) there was an agenda item to look at the constraints placed on public speaking. As a member of the sub-committee I am pleased to say that the sub-committee agreed to recommend to the council that its rules are changed to remove the 'cap' on speaker numbers.

The next stage of the procedure is for the full Standards Committee to endorse the recommendation. They will meet this Wednesday (9th September) in committee room 3 at County Hall in Bythesea Road, Trowbridge.

The meeting starts at 2.00pm and the public are welcome to attend and speak. If you wish to speak you need to register to do so before 1.50pm.