Worthing council to hold 'extraordinary meeting' over Covid-19 response

A request by Liberal Democrat councillor Martin McCabe was backed by fellow Lib Dem Bob Smytherman and the entire Worthing Labour group, giving the five signatures needed to force an extraordinary meeting of the council.

Worthing mayor Lionel Harman has scheduled the meeting for Wednesday, October 14 - just six days before Worthing Borough Council is already scheduled to meet.

The local Lib Dems have denounced the timing of the assembly as 'woeful' and called for it to be brought forward.

Martin said: What could be more important than a meeting to discuss this crisis in front of the public? Why do we have to wait so long?"

The call for an extraordinary meeting followed a spike in coronavirus cases at the beginning of September which saw the infection rate rise to more than double the national average.

Both West Sussex County Council, which has responsibility for monitoring local outbreaks, and Worthing Borough Council said the outbreak was under control and numbers did indeed return to around the national trend shortly after.

Borough council leader Dan Humphreys voiced his opposition to an extraordinary meeting on the grounds that the county council was responsible for the issue and held a full council meeting on Friday (September 18).

Regardless, he argued, Adur and Worthing Councils' joint scrutiny committee were due to meet on Thursday (September 17) and Worthing Borough Council would meet the next month.

Lib Dem group leader Bob Smytherman said he had written to the mayor, urging him to reschedule the meeting.

"The people of Worthing deserve so much better than this," he said.

"The executive members need to come and face the public. The Conservative County Councillors have already cancelled the County Local Committee. Surely residents have the right to hold their local councillors to account?"

Worthing mayor Lionel Harman has been approached for comment.