Devon council votes to continue meeting online

Meetings will be broadcasted live over YouTube until at least November

East Devon District Council has voted to continue holding its meetings online.

Councillors discussed introducing a "hybrid" system for council and committee meetings - where councillors would have to attend in person to vote but they would be streamed online.

There were also calls to end all online coverage and meetings.

The motion to continue with online meetings passed with 25 councillors in favour and 16 against.

The "hybrid" style meeting would have cost about £40,000, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

During debate the environmental impact and cost of councillors' travel, which is paid for by the council, was also raised as well as in-person meeting favouring those who live near the council's Honiton base.

Councillor Val Ranger claimed that moving to the alternative format of meetings would be "50 years out of date", arguing it would mark a return to the rules set up in 1972.

She added: "It skews the whole voting system and it favours an older demographic of people who are free to attend meetings night and day."

Whereas, leader of the Conservative group, councillor Colin Brown said: "Local people are starting to think we are somehow superior to them and they increasingly feel distant from their district council."