What is public participation?
This is a chance for you, as a resident of St Columb Major, to address the Town Council on points of interest. Public Participation is not a mandatory requirement, and not all Councils allow it, but St Columb Major Town Council considers it both good practice and a chance to fully understand and reflect the opinions of the residents of St Columb Major.
When and where does this happen?
The Town Council meets on the second Monday of every month at 7.00pm. The venue for these meetings is the Town Hall, Market Place, St Columb Major.
How does it work?
The Town Council allocates 15 minutes at every Council meeting for members of the public to speak - from 7pm to 7.15pm. Each topic can have a maximum of 5 minutes, at the discretion of the Chairman, to address the Town Council.
Any tips?
If you are part of a group elect a representative to do the talking. Be as succinct as possible. Produce handouts or summaries, but do not read straight from these.
Anything I shouldn't do?
It's not good form to talk over anybody else or while someone else is talking. You should not address the Town Council at any other time, unless asked by a Councillor to do so.
What happens next?
During Public Participation the Town Councillors will not make any comments, the next agenda item is ‘Observations upon matters raised during public participation’ this is where the Councillors may ask you a question for clarification and make comments. Town Councillors cannot comment upon points raised concerning planning applications as this may fetter their discretion, which would mean that they could not join in any discussion regarding the plans in question.