WEYMOUTH'S town clerk will be making decisions on behalf of elected councillors after the Government banned virtual council meetings.

Despite the ruling, which was upheld by a High Court judge at appeal, virtual meetings will still take place - but votes cast by committee members will no longer be legally binding.

Instead town clerk Jane Biscombe has been delegated to make decisions on councillors' behalf until face-to-face meetings are deemed safe to restart.

Dorset Echo: Weymouth town clerk Jane BiscombeWeymouth town clerk Jane Biscombe

Weymouth Town Council said the Government decision is "disappointing" as the size of the council's committee room poses social distancing challenges - particularly if the public want to attend.

In fact, the virtual council meetings streamed on Facebook have seen high numbers of residents actively participate in local democracy with some gaining thousands of views.

The council said it hopes to continue this service when face-to-face meetings eventually resume.

A spokesman said: "Weymouth Town Council was disappointed when the Government confirmed that it would no longer be legal to hold virtual decision-making meetings after May 6.

"We felt it was impossible to hold safe, socially distanced meetings in the council chamber where all 29 councillors, 5 officers and members of the public could safely attend.

"We considered options and decided to agree a temporary scheme of delegation backed up by public meetings to enable residents to still see local issues and projects debated. A scheme of delegation has always existed at the council and this is a temporary amendment for a maximum of six months."

Describing the delegation as "a formality" rather than a change to the decision-making process itself, the spokesman added: "It's felt that a return to face-to-face could be less democratic, excluding councillors or members of the public who aren't able to attend, or whose health might be especially at risk.

"When councillors take the decision to return to face-to-face meetings, we hope to be able to offer a hybrid approach, where members and residents have the choice to join in person, or virtually.

"We have seen an increase in engagement since our meetings have been held virtually and we want to continue this by making meetings as accessible as possible."

Recordings of virtual council meetings can be viewed at Facebook.com/WeymouthWTC