THE chairman of Kent County Council has apologised after complaints about the way he ran a Thanet Local Board meeting. Residents and councillors were angered by Bill Hayton's chairmanship of the meeting at Chatham House school on 27th September. They claimed Mr Hayton rudely curtailed and interrupted questions from the public on the issue of increased night flights from Manston airport.
Responding to a complaint by KCC councillor Liz Green, leader of KCC Paul Carter said Mr Hayton had the job of chairing a "highly charged and potentially difficult" meeting and was trying to ensure as many people as possible could put their points. Mr Carter denied Mr Hayton was antagonistic or aggressive, but added:
"Having said that, I have spoken to Mr Hayton about this and he apologises sincerely if his chairing of the meeting caused any annoyance or frustration to people attending the meeting."
Further complaints came after it was revealed that a video recording of the meeting did not work. A spokesman for KCC said:
"There was every intention in recording the meeting and we want to be as open and transparent as possible. Unfortunately, the meeting was not recorded due to a mistake made by the operator. Minutes of the meeting will be made available as soon as possible."