Town Council Votes to Hold Private Meeting Despite Calls For Transparency

A private meeting of Penrith Town Council is underway with just four minutes of the meet held a Penrith Cricket Club this evening open to the public before the councillors voted to exclude the press and public from the rest of the meeting.

The Extraordinary meeting of Penrith Town Council was called for the council to consider proposals that include spending £360,000 on new signage to replace the town current signs and £120,000 on upgrading the Penrith Players Theatre.

In the four minutes of the council meeting former town councillor Jonathan Davies made a statement to the council asking the councillors to consider the need for transparency and not holding as many private part two meetings of the council.

A Town council member then asked what a part two meeting was, and the chair informed him that the part two are the pink paper items on the meeting agenda that to be considered in private. 

Councillors were then asked to vote on if they were happy to excluding the press and pubic by the council Chair Cllr Lawson with all councillors attending the meeting voting to move into a private meeting.

The town council has said that it will make public the decisions of the extra ordinary private meeting held on Tuesday night.