Scarborough Borough Council Meeting Adjourned Twice in 20 Minutes

Tuesday, 8 November 2022 13:51

By Anttoni James Numminen, Local Democracy Reporter

A full meeting of Scarborough Council was adjourned twice yesterday following interruptions from members of the public.

Less than 10 minutes into a full meeting of Scarborough Council on Monday November 7, the mayor adjourned the meeting which was taking place in the Town Hall.

The incident followed a discussion about the scrapped plans for a £15m hotel complex at the site of Scarborough’s former indoor swimming pool.

Councillor Bill Chatt was in the process of asking a question about the council leader’s statement regarding the scrapped plans for the four-star plus hotel and the way in which information about it had been made public.

The leader of the council, Councillor Steve Siddons, who described Councillor Chatt’s statement as “absolute rubbish”, was in the process of giving a full response when there was an interruption.

At this point the mayor, Councillor Eric Broadbent asked Councillor Siddons to pause while he dealt with the issue.

Councillor Broadbent said:

“Would the members of the public please stop what you are doing or I’ll have to adjourn the meeting”

Referring to members of the public, he stated:

“If you’re not interested, could you please leave?”

An ultimatum of “half a minute” was given to those in the public gallery.

The mayor said:

“Alright pal, are you done? Right, I’m going to adjourn the meeting for 10 minutes.”

A Councillor in the chamber stated loudly: “Absolutely pathetic!”

It's understood that two members of the public had put on masks with Councillor Siddons' face on them.

Following an adjournment, the council meeting was reconvened, however, less than two minutes into the proceedings another interruption followed.

Councillor Siddons was about to continue his answer to Councillor Chatt when the Mayor adjourned the meeting again due to loud “giggling” from the gallery.

Councillor Broadbent, the mayor, said:

“I cannot accept any giggling or talking going on, so I am going to adjourn the meeting for a further five minutes.”

Upon reconvening after the second adjournment, the mayor called for the meeting to be conducted in “an orderly manner” and said if there was “further hindrance to the democratic proceedings” he would clear the public gallery of those causing disruption.

It was agreed that Cllr Siddons would provide a written response to Cllr Chatt’s question and the remainder of the meeting proceeded without further interruptions.

Did you find this article useful?

This is the Coast is committed to providing a daily local news service for the Yorkshire Coast. We are a small locally owned and operated business which employs professional journalists and reporters. We do not receive any public funding or grants and we are entirely funded by our local commercial operations. We enjoy fabulous support from local businesses who work with us on their advertising and marketing campaigns, but the cost of providing high quality, well researched, fact checked local news coverage is significant.

If you appreciate what This is the Coast does, and would like to help support our journalism, please consider supporting us on a monthly basis today.

A small contribution from all our readers would really help support independent journalism for the Yorkshire Coast.

More from Yorkshire Coast News

Deputy Mayor- We Need Flood Funding for North Yorkshire

The high-ranking council official and colleagues in the fire service have been speaking to MPs to assist the county.
North Yorkshire Police To Expand Right Care Right Person Plan

North Yorkshire Police are expanding their right care right person initiative.
Scarborough Athletic Beaten at Promotion Chasers

Boro lost out at Scunthorpe, despite Harry Green's goal.
Whitby Town Win Six Pointer To Exit Bottom Four

The Blues gave themselves breathing space thanks to goals from Aaron Haswell and their midweek signing from Scarborough.
Yorkshire Coast Rugby- Scarborough Miss Opportunity

Scarborough RUFC suffered a rare loss on Saturday, but their nearest rivals in North East 2 were also beaten.
Brid Town Beaten In Thriller

The Seasiders remain in relegation trouble after a 3-2 loss in the North East.
Pickering Town March On After Fourth Win In Five

The Pikes are in great form and remain in contention for a play-off place.
North Yorkshire's "Most Difficult" Budget Approved

Councillors have approved North Yorkshire Council's budget for the next year which will see the maximum 4.99% increase to council tax bills.
New Site Proposed for Scalby School

Plans for a land deal with the Government to rebuild a Scarborough secondary school that was affected by crumbling concrete are set to be discussed.
Scarborough Sex Offender Jailed After Targeting Children Online

A Scarborough man who targeted children through social media for sexual gratification has been jailed.
Scarborough and Whitby Planners Approve Delay to High Mill Bridge Construction

The Scarborough and Whitby Area Planning Committee has approved an amendment to the planning permission for the High Mill development, allowing a delay in the construction of a pedestrian and cycle bridge over Scalby Beck.
New Dementia Support Services Coming to Scarborough

Dementia Forward has announced plans for new dementia support initiatives in the Scarborough area.