Bognor Regis Town Council vote to improve livestream set-up

Livestreaming was first introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic when live, in person meetings were impossible and councillors were forced to conduct business remotely.

Since members of the public were unable to attend, livestreaming was deemed an easy way to ensure the transparency and integrity of town council meetings.

The council has since agreed to continue the livestreaming service and, in a full council meeting streamed on September 5, agreed to expand and improve the quality of the broadcast.

They opted for a plug and play system which connects to a laptop and should improve the quality and consistency of the livestream for years to come. The system costs £4,906 to install and comes fully featured with a webcam and micropods which will be fitted to desks.

It is hoped that upgrading the livestream service address a number of the public’s complaints about the consistency of the broadcasts and make the council more accessible for members of the public who can’t attend the meetings in person.

Councillor Claire Marie Needs (Lib Dem) said: “This is really important when it comes to livestreaming for members of the public, but also in terms of making the chamber more accessible to everyone.

"If we do not make the council as accessible as we can for the future, we won’t get any other disabled people wanting to be a voice for the community. It’s important that we are inclusive because everyone in the community should have a voice.”

Although the idea received widespread support amongst members of the council, some felt it represented an unnecessary expense at a time of growing costs.

"I do not think we should be livestreaming meetings,” said Cllr Adam Cunard (Con). “I think we are a parish council and no other parish councils in the area are doing this. It’s just money we could be spending on other things. I don’t think it’s much to ask of members of the public to actively to to a meeting if they want to know what’s going on.”

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