An all party corporate governance group has been given the task of looking at how improvements can be made to the ways in which the public is involved in council policy and decision making. One of the suggestions put forward by the group is to improve the council chamber.
Built in the 1960s, the council chamber is used mainly for council meetings, it has limited space for visitors, the sound equipment is poor, and the spectator gallery offers only limited views of the chamber.
Councillor Williams said: “I believe we all accept that improvements should be made to the council chamber. It is not a good place to visit, views are restricted and the sound system is poor. If we want to attract more people to come along to things we must try to make the chamber more welcoming.
“But we can’t afford to do this at any price. Officers have carried out some initial costings and major improvements may cost tens of thousands of pounds. We have other, more pressing priorities so I will be recommending to my colleagues that we look at ways in which we can improve the chamber, for the public, without incurring major costs.”