Two council meetings will take place this week remotely to protect the safety of councillors, officers, and members of the public.

But Hertsmere Borough Council is making sure the processes of the meetings are carried out democratically - and this follows consultation with the borough's three party leaders.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is not safe for council meetings to take place in the normal setting of the council chamber in Borehamwood.

For the latest coronavirus updates for Hertfordshire, follow our live blog

But some upcoming meetings have not been postponed - although the full council scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday) has been put back until May 20.

Instead, the Executive and planning committee meetings, tomorrow and Thursday respectively (both at 6pm), will be done remotely and streamed online for the public to watch.

Council, executive, and planning meetings in Hertsmere are already available to be streamed live from home - but the difference now is no members of the public will be allowed to observe in the chamber and the councillors and officers will be at home too.

Managing Director of Hertsmere Borough Council, Sajida Bijle, said: "Our priority is to protect the health and safety of everyone and we have been drawing on guidance from central government around conducting some of our key meetings through remote access technology.

"This is in order to keep everyone safe and to ensure that the council’s democratic decision-making processes continue and business operates as near to normal as possible at this time."

Leader of the council, Cllr Morris Bright, said: "Executive and planning committee meetings later this week will be conducted very differently to normal, but everyone has been working very hard to ensure that the basic principles of enabling constructive dialogue and transparent decision making are upheld."

Labour leader Cllr Jeremy Newmark added: "During these challenging times, all three of the political groupings at Hertsmere have been working collaboratively and I’m proud to be part of that process.

"As elected members right now, our focus is rightly upon supporting and guiding the sterling work of our staff in keeping vital services running and directly supporting the needy and vulnerable across the borough."

While Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Andrew Melville said: "I have remained in contact with Sajida, Cllr Bright and Cllr Newmark and we have had various and constructive meetings in how to best deal with this situation. We have worked together and in unison."

To watch the meetings, visit https://hertsmere.public-i.tv/