With no full Town Council meeting scheduled for August, this column had planned to spend a well-earned month off from covering the frenetic pace of progress at Wymondham Town Council. But August saw the first ever council session live streamed on YouTube. And that, for any superfan, was always going to be too much of an allure to resist. So come on, let’s log on, tune in and see how it all went. It’s Town Council Watch time.

The purchase of new audio-visual equipment approved in June means all public proceedings from the council’s £2 million+ headquarters can now be beamed live to every home in the country, nay the world. And so it fell to a committee on the laugh-a-minute topic of Planning, Lighting and Highways to step into the limelight for the channel’s debut on 16th August.

So what’s the Town Council’s new YouTube channel like?

First Impressions

The new digital era of openness, transparency and engagement was heralded with that rallying call of liberty and freedom of expression: “Comments are turned off”, underneath the video. This column is itself no stranger to feedback, whether positive or absolutely delighted, so it's hard to imagine what they're worried about…

You can look up the video yourself on YouTube. It’s called “Wymondham town council stream”. Say what you see. It’s easy enough to find though, it’s in there with five other test videos with the exact same name.

If every video does end up with the same title, it’s going to make locating specific past sessions difficult for us council devotees, whenever we want to go back and rewatch our favourite meetings for the hundredth time. It’ll be like choosing from a menu where every item is listed simply as “food”.

It’s a shame really. They could use the chance to get creative with future video titles. Next month for instance, we could have: “Wymondham town council stream 2: return of the neighbourhood plan”. Bulk order the popcorn…

Video Quality

As a parent of two, this columnist is no stranger to teething issues. So a dab of virtual Bonjela might be in order to sort out some of the glitches in the video quality witnessed throughout the stream.

The brightness levels seemed to twitch up and down every few seconds and we were treated to various blackouts and wobbly green static screens throughout. The casual viewer might have wondered if it was all just a ploy to keep us stimulated.

At one point the Clerk can be seen to get up from his place to do something off-camera - presumably to press the tracking button on his VHS remote…

Either way, it might be worth checking the settings on the £3k worth of equipment that’s been installed. Or the warranty.

Yeah But What Actually Happened In The Planning Meeting, Jimmy?

In among the usual humdrum planning applications, there was one item of interest to the wellbeing of society at large in Wymondham: an application to extend the use of land at the Forest School For Life in Silfield. This would see the site used not just for educational purposes as per today but also to provide outdoor mental health therapy for young people.

Given the subject matter, the planning application had registered large numbers of comments in support of the move. But there were a notable number of local objections too, mainly around an expected increase in cars accessing the site, on what is a tight country lane.

Committee members, Cllrs Annette James and Suzanne Nuri-Nixon (Lib Dem) approved the application - not the easy decision it might seem from the outside, given the objectors are all electors in the two councillors’ own South Wymondham ward.

The Town Council’s role is only advisory on planning matters and the application now goes to South Norfolk Council.

Catherine Gray (CEO and Lead Therapist, Cup-O-T: Wellness and Therapy Services) said:

"We are pleased that Wymondham Town Council have consulted and considered our application should be approved. Our aim is to increase access to much needed mental health services in the heart of our community. If planning permission is granted by South Norfolk Council we will be delivering occupational therapy and EMDR therapy sessions and groups in this beautiful woodland setting. Delivering mental health and wellbeing interventions in the outdoors can feel less daunting than being in a clinic room, making therapy more successful. It can also increase a person's sense of connection to the environment and belonging in their community".

Roll On September

And with that, the very first YouTube live stream of a Town Council session was over. The first full council meeting you can tune into takes place on 6th September 2022. That'll be more than enough time for the boffins to iron out the creases in the streaming experience for when the big audiences arrive.

It'll be alright on the night.