Town adopts new way of working

Both are described as ‘living documents’ in that they will be added to and amended over the coming months.

Clerk to the council Kevin Martin said the new constitution sees the discontinuation of all committees to be replaced by Full Council meetings only.

All business will be transacted at council meetings on Wednesday evenings.

He said: “At first it will be three weeks in every four, hopefully moving to every two weeks fairly shortly.

A small number of panels will be created to replace the working groups that existed originally; there will be one panel for personnel related matters.”

Mr Martin explained that council agendas will be broken down into sections for such things as services, finance and planning. He said by streamlining the committee reporting structure, decisions on projects may get made quicker, rather than having items passed back and forth for approval of spending and action.

Within this he said planning and finance matters be prioritised on council agendas with other matters arising grouped together.

He added: “The strategic plan is certainly something new for the council and provides an overarching plan for the next three years with some clear objectives.”

He said this would enable officers to carry out their tasks, clearly laid out, without having to keep checking back with councillors for direction. Members would simply need to approve recommendations ona report.

“A lot of councils do operate in this way,” he said, adding that the targets will make council business more efficient and effective.

The council will look to improve its communication with other parties, making use of social media, as well as working in partnerships with other councils, charities and organisations. It also wants to engage with young people, possibly creating a Youth Mayor and building relationships with businesses for their input.

The council’s proposed Neighbourhood Plan will take a number of months to bring to fruition, working closely with Kirkby La Thorpe Parish Council initially and, it is hoped, other neighbouring parishes.