Communication has been identified in our recent SWOT analysis as an
area requiring improvement. In informal conversation with residents in the
parish it would appear that people do not feel it is always easy to discuss
the problems they face. The public session open to residents at the Parish
Council meeting allows only a short time slot for residents to state their
case. Of course not everyone feels confident speaking in public and
standing up to voice their thoughts. The Parish Council office is open at
specific times but this again is not always convenient for everyone. The
introduction of a Parish Council surgery could help make a difference to our
intention to improve communication.
The aim is to hold a monthly surgery to provide an opportunity for local
Langton Matravers residents to meet with parish councillors in person.
Each month Parish councillors would be present to answer questions and
discuss local issues.
It is anticipated that monthly surgery will be held in the Memorial Room at
the village hall between 4pm and 6 pm on the 4th Thursday of the month.
That is, 2 weeks after the Parish council meeting and approximately 2
weeks before the next meeting is due. In the future we could consider
introducing an additional session in the month and it is anticipated that the
Parish Council surgery would have a 6 month trial.
The Memorial Room is an ideal venue as it has a window onto the High
Street which is a visual reminder to people passing that the surgery is in
situ.
A rota of councillors would be devised and published and sensibly 2 Parish
councillors would be present and work together at these sessions.
We will need to advertise the surgery which could be achieved through the
Parish Council website, the Dubber, flyers and potentially social media.
As Parish Councillors we would be there to listen to residents’ concerns
although we can not promise that we are able to sort every problem.