MEMBERS of the public will be able to attend meetings of Malvern Hills District Council's executive board.

The decision was made as part of a some times heated debate at the council's meeting on Tuesday (September 12).

Councillors were discussing a review of MHDC's political structure, which was reformed some 14 months ago with the replacement of the old committee system.

Since the change, concern about the new system has focused on the fact that meetings of the executive board have been held in private.

At Tuesday's meeting, council leader Reg Farmer (Con/Ind, Lindridge) proposed a motion to end the board's privacy.

And the Liberal Democrat/Green group put up its own proposal, which also aimed to open the board up, but went further, with proposals to restructure the board as an "executive committee", to allow local members to speak at board meetings, to add three more councillors to the board, and to allow public participation, among others.

The council supported the motion to open the board up, but after detailed discussion, the next two of the LibDem/Green proposals, to turn the board into a committee and two allow local members to speak, were put to the vote and defeated. The executive board is meeting on Tuesday (September 19), at Portland House, at 5pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend.