TCTV - "What?" Town Council Television!

14th NOVEMBER 2024

TCTV? Don’t you mean CCTV? Good question from the back there Derek, and we’ll get to that in a minute, but next time could you put your hand up if you don’t mind.

Are we getting closer to the launch of Town Council Television (TCTV)? The streaming of live Ross-on-Wye Town Council meetings to you dear reader, in the comfort of your own home, to watch on your phone or laptop?

Rumours abound!

Speculation is that a shortlist of presenters for the channel have been in Ross going in and out of the council offices. Morris from Chase Rd swears he saw ex-Blue Peter presenter Mark Curry darting into the premises last Wednesday, and the day after that Wendy is absolutely convinced that she served Maggie Philbin a frappuccino in Costa.

Others say that’s ridiculous.

Yes, (Derek) some say it’s just been heard wrong and it’s not TCTV at all, but CCTV... aaaaahhhhhhh!

Has anyone got one of those relatives that when you see them answer the phone their voice completely changes? As if they’ve become taken over by the ghost of a softly-spoken care worker or an emergency switchboard operator? Siblings looking at each other with a knowing glance that saves them a shake of the head. There’s certainly something very odd about electronic devices that change some people's behaviour.

If behaviour were to be an issue within the Town Council then maybe CCTV could have a magic effect? There was mention of a councillor being so upset by an exchange that they left a meeting in tears recently, so who knows.

What if it’s simply just plain-old streaming of meetings that people of Ross could have?

Well, a few middle-aged fans of retro kids TV are going to be bitterly disappointed that's for sure, and Ed the Duck’s not going to be very happy about going back into storage, although his expression will probably remain fixed as "spritely".

Whatever might or might not happen, the undeniable benefits of streaming all meetings are clear:

Accessibility: Most people can’t get to council meetings in person, for a variety of reasons.
‍Transparency: Constituents could see what the councillors that represent them are doing.
‍Accountability: Viewers could see first-hand the decisions being made on public money spending.
….and everyone just gets to see if the very councillors they have voted for are contributing how they'd like them to.

Is streaming of Ross-on-Wye Town Council meetings something that you’d like?

Well who knows what the wait is, and it’s certainly something that instead of councillors just getting on with and voting through that there has been resistance to. Has it conveniently been kicked like a can down the road by some councillors who don't really want it?

It's said that one councillor a few years back was very adamant they wouldn't be voting for it were it to come up, and that they might well leave the council if meetings were streamed, so don't get too excited just yet!
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**NOTE: Some councillors have certainly repeated their requests that meetings are streamed and are hugely supportive of it. Watch this space to see if there is news of it actually happening - until then we can only hope.