The Alliance Party has pushed for greater openness and transparency at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, ensuring officers investigate how to live cast meetings going forward, allowing the public full access.

The move follows a meeting of the local government authority on Thursday, as Councillors agreed how Council business would be carried out in the weeks and months ahead.

He said: “It is absolutely essential that local Councils get as back to normal as possible in the weeks ahead. We are going to be living with Covid-19 for some time, but that should not mean decisions are not made in a fully open and transparent manner.

“The public have a right to know what decisions are being made and how they affect them, and to do this right they must have full access to the meetings as and when they happen.

“I’m delighted to see this move accepted across all political parties and look forward to hearing how officers propose this can be made a reality.

“In such an unknown time, we must ensure our Council maintains a service everyone can rely on.”