Councillors in Burntwood are taking their meetings on tour in a bid to improve engagement with local residents.
Burntwood Town Council is keen for more people to become aware of decisions being made which impact on the area.
As part of this, they are launching a trial which will see meetings held in alternative locations around the town, rather than just at the council’s headquarters at the Old Mining College Centre.
The next two full council meetings will take place on 26th September at Burntwood Library and at Burntwood Memorial Institute on 28th November.
Other venues are also being explored for future meetings.
Councillor Sue Woodward, leader of Burntwood Town Council, said: “One of the aims of the new council is to be more focussed on our communities, not just Burntwood, but also local areas like Chase Terrace, Chasetown, Boney Hay and Burntwood village itself.
“This initiative is a signal that we are taking the council to the residents rather than the residents coming to the council.
“The venues we are looking at are local churches, community organisation headquarters and so on and we hope that our hosts will also be helping to bring people in to our meetings so that people understand the opportunities and challenges we have.
“We hope, too, that it will increase transparency, engagement with all of our individual ward councillors and give people a real sense that the town council is their most local voice.
“In our current venue, if there have been more than half a dozen residents attending meetings, we’ve barely had room for them so we are literally creating more space for the people we represent – the residents of Burntwood – to see what goes on at council meetings.”
