Virtual meeting a first for Stafford council

The council’s six-member cabinet will meet via a teleconference to hold their meeting at 3pm on Thursday. And in another first for the authority, the leaders of the Labour and borough Independents have been invited to attend the cabinet meeting by council leader, Patrick Farrington - to help cross-party working during the coronavirus crisis.

The changes have been introduced to reduce unnecessary face to face contact in line with national guidelines.

Among the items to be discussed will be approval of a £25 million bid for funds to regenerate the high street in Stafford - and selling a small piece of land to become a garden for a new social club in the Highfields area of the town.

You can access the full agenda, which also has instructions on how you can dial in to hear the meeting, at staffordbc.gov.uk/1920-committee-meetings

Councillor Farrington, said: “It will be strange to be conducting the cabinet meeting via a teleconference - but these are unprecedented times and it is important to ensure that we can continue to keep the business of the council going wherever possible.

“The health and wellbeing of us all is paramount. It would be wrong to hold a face to face meeting with my cabinet colleagues, to discuss reports and make decisions on proposals, in the current climate.”

Labour group leader, Aidan Godfrey and Rob Kenney, leader of the Borough Independents met with Councillor Farrington and the local authority’s chief executive, Tim Clegg, earlier this month to discuss future arrangements for the council.

Councillor Farrington added: “I’m grateful to Aidan and Rob for their constructive input and desire to make this work in these circumstances.”

An update on the Stafford Station Gateway project - the £500 million proposal to rejuvenate land near the town’s railway station - and the new Community Safety and Wellbeing Strategy 2020-2024 are also on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting.