CLOSING the Lyme Regis Pact (Partners and Communities Together) meetings to the public is ‘making a mockery’ out of the process, it has been claimed.

The meetings are a chance for residents to raise issues and concerns with key community members.

But the last meeting in March was closed to the public, while the panel of community representatives discussed ongoing problems raised by residents in other ways.

Town council representative Coun Michaela Ellis, pictured, said public attendance has been low at previous meetings, so the police have instead held street corner meetings and sessions at Woodroffe School and Halletts Court and their views are fed into the meetings.

Speaking at last week’s Community Development Partne-rship Committee meeting, Coun Ellis said the police are also planning to close the next meeting to the public.

She said: “Personally I don’t feel it’s the way forward. I do believe that we need a public meeting to deal with the issues.”

Coun Mark Gage said: “The whole idea of these meetings is ‘partners and communities together’. To hold them as closed forums is actually making a mockery of what they were set up to do.”

Lyme Regis Town Council will urge the police to open the meetings to the public again.