Derry City and Strabane District Council are to pilot the return of public meetings for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020.
The local authority said that they would be able to accommodate 21 people during full council meetings, starting in January 2023. The pilot will not involve committee meetings.
The decision to reintroduce public meetings - which was made at a recent Governance and Strategic Planning Committee - comes two weeks after a local fuel poverty campaigning group questioned the council's continued 'lack of access' to the public gallery.
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DCSDC has been operating a hybrid model for over two years since the Covid-19 pandemic, with the public able to watch live streams and recordings of full council and committee meetings on YouTube.
However, Derry Against Fuel Poverty said when it came to YouTube that "not everyone is tech-savvy" and that the "issue goes to the heart of accountability not just transparency".
They said: "It is much more difficult for Council officers and Councillors to make proposals and decisions about peoples’ lives whenever they see their very faces sitting across from them in the room.
"We are the people that elected them. The decisions they make involve the use of ratepayers and taxpayer money. We believe councillors and council officials alike need to be reminded on a constant basis that they serve the public, not the council itself and we are very willing to do that."
Meanwhile, in a statement to MyDerry, a DCSDC spokesperson said: "Council is currently piloting a change in arrangements for the public to attend Council meetings, in line with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
"The public gallery is now open for meetings of the full council. Based on a risk assessment, the Guildhall chamber can accommodate up to 21 people during the pilot period, this is in line with the current health and safety advice.
"The public arrangements for committee meetings have remained unchanged with only Members of the Committee in attendance."
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