Attending Council Meetings

Council meetings are open to the public and press to view from the public gallery.

When and where does the Council meet?

The Council, and its committees, meet on an eight weekly cycle, with a break during the summer. A timetable of meetings can be found here. 

Special meetings can be called if a decision is needed before an item can be discussed at an ordinary meeting of the Council or its committees. Public notice will be issued in such an event.

The meetings are normally held in the Council Chambers, Elgin and disabled access is available.  Any person wishing to attend a meeting who requires access assistance should contact Customer Services on 01343 543451 in advance of the meeting.

Can the public come to the meetings?

The Moray Council welcomes visitors to the Council Chambers and most of our meetings are open to the public and representatives from the press who are welcome to sit in and listen to the proceedings. The seats for the members of the public are at the back of the Council Chamber.

Occasionally, for legal or confidentiality reason, business may have to be taken in private. These exempt items are usually the last on the agenda and public and press will be asked to leave the meeting before the debate begins.

Members of the public who are admitted to meetings must comply with the conditions of behaviour. Conditions include:-

• Avoid speaking aloud;
• Do not be disruptive;
• Mobile phones are to be switched off or turned to silent mode; and
• No banners are allowed within the Chambers

The Convener/Chair may order that any member of the public who does not observe these conditions be removed from the Chamber, and may be excluded for a period determined by the Chair.

If any disturbance in the meeting threatens the orderly conduct of business, the Chair may close the meeting, or adjourn or suspend it for a specified period to allow order to be restored.

Can the public speak at meetings?

Members of the public may not speak at ordinary meeting of the Council.  

Exceptions to this are when a petition is submitted to the Council.  When a petition is submitted to the Council and meets the required criteria, it will be heard at an initial hearing during the next appropriate scheduled Committee meeting.  The person submitting the petition (petitioner) will be invited to introduce their petition to the Committee, who will consider the issue.  Full information about the process of how the petition is heard can be found here.

At special meetings of the Planning and Regulatory Service Committee, where a hearing has been convened, those submitting representatives on the application can speak on planning applications. Details on submitting a comment on a planning application can be found here.