Local Democracy Week runs from 15 to 21 October 2018. At the very heart of Merton.TV is democracy, we want to share what happens in our local council meetings and events. The more people that get involved in local democracy the better for all.
Please take the time out to see what goes on in our Council, we were shocked when we learnt that some of our elected Councillors had NEVER EVER been to a Council meeting until AFTER they were elected. Some things are very wrong with our Council, until people notice them it is very unlikely for any changes to happen.
For Local Democracy Week there are very interesting meetings lined up, including:
- Cabinet – The Executive Council Leader and his eight Cabinet Members have a meeting lasting less than 10 minutes, waving through pre-determined decisions.
- Merantun Development Ltd – A property company setup by Cllr Stephen Alambritis, Mark Allison and Martin Whelton. Meetings again lasting minutes.
- Mitcham Community Forum – One of the five forums held in the community where feedback from residents is given, but not always listened to.
- Planning Applications Committee – Planning committees are public meetings where elected councillors meet to decide whether planning applications are approved or refused. Most planning applications can be assessed against the Council’s planning policies and decided by the Executive Director, Planning and Borough Development, but a small percentage are decided by a planning committee. Anyone can attend planning committee meetings and listen to the discussions. Public seating is available and visitors can enter and leave the meeting for the applications in which they are interested. There are also opportunities to speak at the meeting for those who have registered in advance. Agendas are available five working days before each meeting on the Merton Council website.
Merton.TV will of course be covering these meetings, as they do with most. If you would like to be a part of Merton.TV, please get in touch, just filming one meeting a month will help your fellow community.