August Public Meeting a Success

The second of Welwyn Hatfield Council’s summer meetings took place on Tuesday 15 August at Welwyn Civic Centre. The topic for consultation was Accountability (promise five from the Corporate Plan), with discussions ranging from how the council spends Council Tax money to how the council responds to and communicates with members of the public.

Attendance was higher than the July meeting and residents used the discussion groups to provide councillors and officers with suggestions for short- and long-term objectives for the council.

Issues discussed included improving recycling and reducing fly-tipping, integrating more services into the ‘one-stop shop’ Contact Centre, improving transport links, raising the profile of consultations, conducting more surveys, coordinating better with parish and county councils and ideas for improving website facilities.

All attendees will receive feedback on all the issues discussed within 28 days of the meeting – this feedback will also be available to view on the council’s website. Feedback from the first meeting in July is now available to download from the council website.

Councillor Richard Smith, Executive Member for Resources, said: “I was pleased with the turn out and thank the residents who attended and contributed to this important event. All the focus groups were well attended with some lively debate and extremely useful ideas coming from the discussions. We’d like to see even more people at the next meeting – if there is something you want to say to the council then don’t miss out!”

The council’s third public meeting of the summer takes place at 7pm (refreshments served from 6.30pm) on Wednesday 6 September at Woodhall Community Centre, Welwyn Garden City. This meeting’s themes are Housing and Community.

In addition, a State of the Borough Debate will be held on Thursday 21 September in the Council Chamber at Campus West. The debate will bring together all the Five Promises that have been discussed at the summer public meetings. Doors open at 6.30pm, with the meeting starting at 7pm.

With a more formal ‘Question Time’ set up than the public meetings, residents need to submit their questions in advance to the council by Wednesday 13 September. Questions can be submitted by phone (01707 357000), email (contact-whc@welhat.gov.uk), letter (Council Offices, The Campus, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 6AE) or by completing the online form on the council’s website. As well as a formal question and answer session with councillors and council officers, residents will also have the chance to speak with the relevant officers in smaller groups (questions do not need to be submitted in advance for this part of the evening).