Council meeting ends abruptly after councillors forget to extend time limit

The full council met at the Urban Road offices in Kirkby for the final time this term to discuss issues such as social housing for the over 55s and the rollout of a new online platform to access council services from your home.

The full council meets for two hours between 7pm and 9pm and, if the council wishes to extend the meeting beyond the 9pm mark, a motion must be passed under Council Procedure Rule 23 to extend it to 9.30pm.

At the meeting there were plans to discuss questions on unallocated section 106 money for Hucknall, the area’s Christmas tree and the council’s plans for Brexit.

However the council spent almost a full hour debating Councillor Lee Anderson’s motion on creating a cross-party working group on social housing - to protect residents once-specified for the over 55s which he claims are “now becoming filled with nuisance tenants”.

It meant that, once councillors had voted on the motion and an amendment put forward and passed by Councillor Cathy Mason on its wording and focus, the council had ran out of time.

The motion under rule 23 means that an extension must be passed and carried by 8.55pm, however councillors voted on the Anderson motion at 9.01pm.

The meeting ended abruptly and councillors left the hall.