
NEW: In the test coverage of the Vale Planning Committee this week Cllr Nic Hodges, Cllr Ian Johnson and Cllr Lis Burnett all appeared to have been “squeezed”
Vale of Glamorgan councillors and officers appeared to be dramatically thinner and slimmer in the initial trial this week of the council’s new replacement new council-chamber camera system.
The system is meant to give the same kind of coverage of council meetings as the live tv coverage provided by the House of Commons and the Welsh Assembly.
The original German-made cameras installed the Vale council chamber back in 2014 are no longer in use. They have now been replaced by a new system provided by an independent company called Civico.
The system went live for the first time at 16:00 on Wednesday this week – with mixed results.

NEW: The planning chairman Cllr Ben Gray (centre) as he appeared on camera in Wednesday’s meeting – covered by the new TV system
The Vale Council is due to upload an edited version of Wednesday’s planning committee coverage onto its website within the next few days.
I don’t think their aspect ratio is of any great concern. Their ability to do their job is.
The point is they are trying to con the public into believing they are not Pigs at the Trough just like Stephen Doughty.
And Andrew Davies, Tory AM for South Wales Central (which includes Penarth). Can you believe he’s only 50?
@ ‘Lucille W’/’Lesley’/’Lou’/usually begins with an ‘L’ (but probably won’t from now on…)
If this comment had been aimed at a female by someone other than you or your associates, I suspect you would be the first to point out that personal comments are unnecessary, unkind and immature.
Another waste of money
So they are happy to spend the money on something no one will ever watch rather than on cctv for Penarth 🙈
Well they need wide angle lenses in order to get the gold plated chairs in the picture.
THE Vale council has spent more than £52,000 on chairs as part of its council chamber renovations.
The revamp, which is nearing completion, cost £248,130 and includes a stairlift, a suspended floor and chairs which allow for adjustment in height or back position.
There are 60 new chairs at £786 each and ten at £569. Presumably the ones in the “cheap” seats are of a lower order 🙂
This is outrageous and despicable. Here is an Executive Chair on Amazon for £69.99 which allows “for adjustment in height or back position.”They could have paid poor British people to assemble Amazon chairs and given the rest to reduce the poor’s council tax.
Looking at these councillors’ actions it is easy to understand how revolutions take place.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Executive-Recline-Padded-Office-Standard/dp/B00K5SD3DS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1543783395&sr=8-2&keywords=executive+chair
How could they spend so much in chairs? Honestly, have they really no sense or shame?!
No they have no shame- just an inflated sense of self worth. Not one of them would spend this sort of money on their own office chair- oh unless on expenses heh. And one wonders what the criteria was for “cheap” £569 chairs and the astronaut version @ £786?