Council launches planning webcasts

Aug 22 2007 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

WIRRAL council has become the first authority in the North West to launch online webcasts of its planning committee meetings.

All planning decisions can now be viewed live from anywhere in the world via Wirral council’s website, www.wirral.gov.uk.

The new facility uses webcameras at council meetings to capture the live information and send it to a central server, which in turn sends it to anyone that would like to view the meeting via the internet.

The service also archives each meeting, meaning that those recorded can be viewed online at anytime of day, as many times as required. The use of the index points allow you to jump to a specific agenda point or speaker.

Chairman of the planning committee, Cllr John Cocker, said: “Now the meetings can be watched live, or at a time that suits you, from the comfort of your own arm chair or from the side of a swimming pool on holiday.”

The next planning meeting is on Thursday August 23 at 6pm.

To access the webcast facility, visit www.wirral.gov.uk and click on “Planning Webcasts” on the right- hand menu. The pilot scheme will be running until the end of the January 2008.