Ramsey Town Council has been forced to issue a public statement after a Full Council Meeting erupted into chaos.

On May 9, Ramsey Town Council held a Full Council Meeting which was open to members of the public.

The meeting was in part to allow residents to share their thoughts and views on Ramsey, as well as to elect a new Mayor, Cllr Val Fendley.

However, the meeting soon descended into disarray after the subject of 20mph zones was broached.

20mph zones are a widely contested issue amongst residents and councillors, and many people took to the council meeting to share their opinion.

Despite the "strength of feeling" about the traffic measures, the Chair of the council attempted to steer the meeting back to its original agenda.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Ramsey Town Council said: "Strength of feeling does not mean that a Full Council Meeting can turn into a public debate about a single issue, in this case 20mph."

However, the Chair was required to use Standing Order 3F to extend the allotted time for discussion from 20 minutes to 30 minutes, allowing people to speak for up to 3 minutes maximum.

Councillors began to respond to people's views, but during this time a member of the public was warned about disorderly conduct.

In their statement, a spokesperson for the Council said that the person was "speaking over, and not allowing the Councillor to finish what they were saying.

"Despite the warning the gentleman continued, therefore as per Standing Order 2B he was asked to leave the meeting.

"When he continued to vocalise, the Chair temporarily suspended the meeting as per Standing Order 2C."

Reports also began emerging of people not being allowed into the meeting and being forced to stand outside.

The council addressed in their statement, apologising to members of the public who were not allowed in:

"It was good to see so many people at the meeting, and as those attending witnessed, we reached capacity within the building under our fire regulations."

A spokesperson said that "at no point" was the Full Council Meeting advertised as a meeting relating to 20mph zones.

Instead, they said it was a "misconception".

Ramsey residents have said that they didn't feel consulted on the 20mph zones, to which the council responded.

A spokesperson said: "To that point, Ramsey Town Council would like to make clear that we received ten formal communications around 20mph, three complaints, two in favour and five asking questions about process.

"Councillors are unable to use social media commenting as valid written communication."

The council also defended the councillors who did speak at the meeting, saying: "Councillors should be able to respond without interruption, heckling or abuse.

"They are all volunteers, who commit their time to try and improve our community."

The minutes from the meeting will be made available to the public in due course.

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