Warwick District Council has blamed its decision not to broadcast tonight's full council meeting on a change of venue.

District councillors will tonight vote on changes to council tax, new green bin charges and increases to councillors' salaries.

Whilst the public and press can attend in person, the meeting will not be streamed on WDC's YouTube channel as per usual.

With the meeting taking place at Warwickshire County Council's Shire Hall premises, the district council said it could only access YouTube "through the county council's system".

WDC said this may have "caused more confusion" and so decided not to stream the meeting online.

Tonight's meeting had to be moved to the Market Square venue because the council's usual meeting place - Leamington Town Hall - is not big enough to accommodate councillors, officers and the public and still meet Covid-19 guidelines.

WDC's last full meeting, in November, was held at The Pump Rooms in Leamington Spa.

A WDC spokesperson said: "Warwick District Council is using the chamber at Shire Hall to hold its council meeting.

"In order to broadcast live from Shire Hall, WDC would have had to have done this through the county council's system which would have broadcast the meeting on the WCC website.

"It was considered that this was not appropriate and may have caused more confusion.

"We are disappointed that we are unable to broadcast live."

When the full council met in December to vote on the merger with Stratford-on-Avon District Council councillors

moved to the University of Warwick to allow people to watch the 'historic' meeting online.

The spokesperson continued: "We have had to use a different venue as the council chamber at Leamington Town Hall cannot safely hold all 44 councillors plus officers and members of the public, in line with current advice on meeting indoors.

"However, we envisage that as restrictions ease over the coming months the council meetings will return to the Town Hall where they will be broadcast live.

"There is a reasonable amount of seating at Shire Hall should any members of the public wish to attend."

(Image by Michael Dibb via geograph.org.uk)