Team of experts for area debate (From Kidderminster Shuttle)
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Team of experts for area debate
8:36am Thursday 21st February 2013 in Local
PANEL members have been announced for the second Wyre Forest State o f the Area Debate in Kidderminster.
The event was held for the first time last year and will again be chaired by Shuttle ed itor C l ive Joyce on Thursday, March 7.
Questions will be answered by a panel of experts, including Ken Wigfield, regional chairman of the Federation o f Sma l l Bus inesses – Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestersh ire, and John Andrews, partner of Wyre Forest estate agents Doolittle & Dalley LLP.
Jane Sm ith o f K idderm - inster Academy, Wyre Forest MP Mark Garn ier and Wyre Forest D istr ict Council Leader, Conserv - at ive John Camp ion, w i l l also be panel members.
T h e d e b a t e h a s b e e n e x p a n d e d t o i n c l u d e a regeneration fair followed by a forma l pub l i c m e e t - i n g t o b e h e l d i n t h e Council Chamber at Wyre Forest House.
Visitors will be able to discuss a lternat ive forms o f travel around the district and exp lore ways to grow local businesses.
Business leaders and residents can also share their views on the development of the area and get an update on ReWyre projects.
Mr Campion said: “This is an opportunity for people from across the district to see what has been achieved over the past year, hear about future plans and give us their views.
“We want to know about the type of initiatives they support, so we can work with our partners to deliver projects which will make a difference.”
The event will take place at Wyre Forest House, in Finepoint Way, at 5pm and the formal public debate will start at 6pm.
Local business owners and residents are invited to submit questions to be debated on the n ight at wyre for estdc.gov.uk or the council’s facebook and twitter page using #WFSOTA.
Comments(11)
stour67
says...
2:02pm Thu 21 Feb 13
walkerno5
says...
5:43pm Thu 21 Feb 13
"How do the panel habitually vote in local and national elections? There appears at first glance to be no representation of any political view diverging from the tories, which can hardly be conducive to an open and fair debate can it?"
Stephen Brown
says...
7:40pm Thu 21 Feb 13
DOEPUBLIC
says...
8:02pm Thu 21 Feb 13
Note it takes place just before the local elections as well.
FranOb
says...
10:24pm Thu 21 Feb 13
No idea how the Panel Members vote!
FranOb
says...
10:24pm Thu 21 Feb 13
No idea how the Panel Members vote!
walkerno5
says...
10:20am Fri 22 Feb 13
You make my case with "The only" in there. I'm not complaining about where Wyre Forest House is, or the bus routes to it in paritcular. It's more the time chosen for the event, which makes it impossible for very nearly anyone working full time, regular hours, to attend.
Anyone finishing work at 5pm, travelling home, then coming back out to catch another bus to the event has almost zero chance of making it at a sensible time.
I can only hope that enough of the people of Birchen Coppice attend in the place of virtually everyone else from the district who have been de facto barred by the start time.
On the other question, I just find it disappointing that there is no representation from other political voices. If one or other of the non-party panel members were known to have sympathies in other directions that might have been helpful, as it is it sounds like it might be a tory love-in all the way around the table, and therefore inevitably not a very good debate. I hope the panel members can be objective enough that this is not the case.
Cynical Sid
says...
9:36pm Fri 22 Feb 13
How about asking them in real time (at the time) without the need for ‘scripted’ replies and obvious spin.
Respectable
says...
9:10am Mon 25 Feb 13
John Campion
says...
5:39pm Mon 25 Feb 13
walkerno5 says...
9:38am Thu 21 Feb 13
"How would someone in a full time 9-5 job, relying on public transport or otherwise, reach Wyre Forest House by 5pm, or even 6pm, for the start of the event or the debate?"