South Tyneside Council pledges more welcoming and productive community forums in big shake-up

South Tyneside Council has five community area forums (CAFs) which are public meetings attended by councillors and residents involving discussions on crime and housing, as well as presentations from local groups and decisions on funding.

During 2024/25 the local authority’s constitution committee undertook a full review into the CAFs, involving engagement with residents, councillors and partner organisations who attend, such as police.

This found that although there was “positive feedback” and CAFs are “clearly valued”, this was “outweighed by challenges and frustrations.”

A council report noted “politics and conduct were a recurring theme where most of the challenge and frustration was directed” and concerns were raised around “CAFs being used as a political opportunity, rather than a community opportunity.”

It noted a recurring theme was attendees “don’t want a generic council meeting” but “a forum which is a genuine opportunity to engage with the council.”

The constitution committee therefore proposed a raft of recommendations to improve CAF meetings which were agreed at the annual meeting of South Tyneside Council.

This includes introducing a formalised public question time at each CAF, with a 15-minute allotted debate time after each topic is presented, while meeting chairs are to be given training on this.

Residents will also be able to bring up issues through submitting questions ahead of the meeting and through the community being consulted as part of the work programme and agenda planning.

Efforts will also be made to make a “more welcoming environment” by incorporating the CAF vice chair as a ‘meet and greeter/host’ whose job is to welcome people and to direct any issues to the correct channel prior to the meeting starting.

The agenda will be more clearly itemised with start and end times for each item and will note which sections involve opportunities for interaction from residents, while chairs will evaluate presentations prior to meetings and emphasise the need to be succinct.

Other measures include raising the profile of CAFs with a view to increasing attendance and introducing a tracker for issues raised in a “you said, we did” way and reporting on their impact.

Engagement with residents and partners will also become an “ongoing element of CAFs” with feedback gathered throughout the year to inform future operations.

Councillor Tracey Dixon, council leader, speaking at the annual meeting, said the recommendations came following “extensive work” and they have made “every effort” to ensure CAFs are a “more welcoming and productive environment for residents.”

The Labour councillor said: “Our recommendations seek to update our CAF operating model against the insights gathered and key themes identified from the engagement activity.

“Many of the recommendations are as a direct response to the feedback received from residents and will ensure key improvements.”

Councillor Glenn Thompson, South Tyneside Alliance Group representative, said the improvements come following “a lot of contributions from the public, partner organisations and elected members.”

He said: “The agreed CAF recommendations will hopefully enhance and improve our CAFs, with an emphasis on prioritising our residents and our communities.”

Councillor Sue Stonehouse, Green Group councillor, urged residents to get involved and go to their local CAF meeting.

She said: “We have put the residents at the core of the meetings and things have changed.

“There is a lot more input which is going to happen from residents and it is going to be more of a community meeting as opposed to a political one.

“Get along to your local CAF, take notice, be informed, it’s there for you, we’re just waiting for you to come along.”

The annual council meeting, which took place on Tuesday, May 13, was broadcast live on South Tyneside Council’s YouTube channel and is still available to view here.