A spirited discussion about how Rye Town Council can engage with local people took up much of the council’s meeting on Monday, March 24. Discussions at the town hall also included the latest on Rye Leisure Centre, local government reorganisation, and a unanimous vote for Cllr Hoggart to continue as deputy mayor for another year.
Along with councillors, the deputy clerk, town crier Paul Goring and Revd Paul White, the meeting was attended by two representatives from both Rye Chamber of Commerce and Rye News, Anthony Kimber from Rye Neighbourhood plan, and four members of the public.
Leading the discussion on engaging with the public Cllr Hansen told the meeting the council should do more. “This isn’t about apologizing for ourselves, it’s about shouting about what we do. People talk about ‘the council’ but they could mean us, Rother or East Sussex. We need to talk about the positive things that are happening and encourage more participation.”
The discussion appears to have been prompted by Rye News coverage of the annual town meeting earlier this month. Cllr Hansen took issue with the paper’s suggestion it was poorly attended, a point backed up by Cllr Fiddimore. “Our first meeting had 16 people, now we have between 85 and 100. We have tried to find all sorts of ways to engage, but most people just want us to get on with our work. Rye News has limited readership so we should do more on Facebook.”
Support for the paper came from Mayor Andy Stuart and Cllr Creaser, who told fellow councillors: “Rye News does a fantastic job in keeping everyone informed, but a lot of our residents are not tech savvy. We are approachable and we do communicate. The change to the format of the annual meeting meant more people could talk to us. Not everyone wants to stand up at a meeting.”
“We’ve been here before,” said Cllr Boyd, “and not for the point of trying. The mayor’s speech at the meeting gave such a good update on what we all do and people will share what they learnt. As councillors we are known people and people do talk to us.”
Cllr Hughes shared how people talk to her on the community bus. “They tell us their concerns but perhaps we should do a print digest and share it on the bus. With all the uncertainty in local government we need to do more.”
The changes were also mentioned by Cllr Hoggart. “It’s important we do engage with local people. It will be good for our town and help stop it being marginalized by the changes.”
Cllr Brookless said 100 people at the meeting was good. “Unlike previous years there was no angry reason to protest. Our job is to get our views across and my role is to interact with constituents.”
A lack of engagement from younger people was an issue said Cllr Thorpe. “There is a lack of understanding about what Rye Town Council does. We need to update the website and make it more engaging – like the one Battle has. We need to do more on social media and discuss how we might work with Fixtures.”
The discussion ended with Cllr Hansen tasked to collate views to bring back to the council in the future.
There may be a further council meeting on Monday, March 31. It could be called if there are urgent Leisure Centre transfer-related matters to consider. A decision on whether it is necessary for the meeting to take place will be made during the evening of Sunday, March 30. On Tuesday, April 1 Rye Town Council officially takes over a twenty-year lease on the Centre. We’ll have a full report on the changes next week.
What do you think? How can Rye Town Council engage more with local people to encourage participation, discussion and decision making in Rye. Email us at info@ryenews.org.uk or leave a comment below.
Image Credits: Kt bruce .
Sorry but I did not suggest that RTC should do more on Facebook. I did say that we had tried Facebook in the past but it was too time consuming to keep up. Unfortunately such a public forum can attract controversy and misinformation so I would not be in favour of an increased presence
Very useful précis of Council business but should not the minutes be posted (with the exception of commercially sensitive matters)?
There would then be no need for corrections such as the post above.
I would just like to add that the Town Stewards engage with the public on a daily basis, and we make it clear who we work for and what the other Councils do and don’t do. I’m in regular communication with the Tilling Green Residents Association, I’ve offered my help with the new Youth Zone, as well as to Rye College to help students better understand what the Town Council can do for them and vice versa. Since taking over both allotment sites I carry out frequent visits to check the sites and will go out of my way to chat with any plot holders who see me. We used to have much more of an online presence on social media, but unfortunately to do these things properly and to reach the people you want to reach, it takes up a lot of time that we as a small council just don’t currently have. Yes, we can do more, but I wanted to make people aware that we are trying and we are out there spreading word of what we do.
I think Parish and Town Councils haven’t modernised their communication methods and can sometimes come across as very defensive, when new people make suggestions. It sounds like you do great work and it would be good to see a short video of ‘A Day In the Life Of A Town Steward’. That way people who probably would never attend a formal Public Meeting or just prefer to receive info via Facebook, can see what goes on and would appreciate your efforts.
I don’t think RTC should beat itself up too much. Communication is a challenge whether you’re a charity, a campaign, a political party or a national government, let alone a parish council made up of volunteers. Connecting and engaging with a target audience is a holy grail chased by organisations and states far better funded than RTC, and frankly, it’s not easy at all. Democracy is a hard sell today, local democracy’s even harder. I think Cllr. Thorpe is correct that a bit of social media would help. But RTC also needs to know the story it wants to tell and to tell it really simply and engagingly, bcs attention’s a valuable and sought after commodity. The magnificent Paul Goring must surely be an internet sensation waiting to happen? But in terms of engagement, RTC has to be representative and relevant. More elections would help. Accessing public Council meetings is practically impossible if you’re disabled, and addressing the meeting can also, ahem, be problematic… In terms of youth engagement, it was great to welcome the Mayor to Rye Youth Zone, but telling, alas, that none of the children knew who the nice man in the big gold chain was. When word did get round, however, they were genuinely interested… I think it would be wonderful if his visits became a regular fixture. Respectfully, it would be an excellent opportunity for Andy to engage with and listen to the next generation of Ryers. There may even be some future Town Councillors amongst them…