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Getting involved in meetings

How to address a meeting of the Council

You have to ask in advance to address a meeting.  Before you complete the application form below, you'll need to know:

  • the name of the meeting
  • the date of the meeting
  • what you want to present

You must complete the form no later than 12.00 noon three working days before the meeting (5 working days for a Full Council meeting).

If you are unable to complete the online form, you can contact Democratic and Members’ Services. You will find a contact name and telephone number on the front of the agenda for the meeting.

Planning Committee

If you are applying to address the Planning Committee, specific guidance is available below

Speaking at Committee - March 2023136KB–pdf
Size: 136KBFile format: pdf

If you have a question that you want to put to the Leader of the Council or the Chair of any Committee, you must submit it in writing using the online form at the top of the page, no later than 12 noon, 5 working days before the meeting of full Council. Up to four members of the public can ask questions at each meeting of full Council.

Before the meeting you will be contacted and told whether your question has been accepted by the Chair and, if possible, given an idea of the approximate time when it will be dealt with.

The Chair of the Council will invite you to put your question to the councillor to whom it is addressed. A copy of the question will have been circulated in advance to all councillors and will be made available on our website.

Once you have asked your question and it has been answered, you can put a supplementary question to the same councillor. The supplementary question must arise directly out of the original question or the reply you have received.

Before the meeting, your request to speak will be put to the councillor who will be chairing the meeting. You will be told of the councillor's decision and, if possible, given an idea of the approximate time when the item you are interested in is likely to be discussed.

If your request is agreed, you will be allowed to speak for up to three minutes. When speaking, you must keep to the subject, you must avoid using offensive or abusive language, and you must keep to time.

We are keen to encourage the public to attend meetings and to speak about issues where they feel strongly. However, permission may be refused if a very similar question has been asked within the last six months at a meeting of Council, a Committee or Sub-Committee.