THE borough council has announced that all scheduled meetings have been postponed in line with the latest government advice on social distancing.

After government announcements about the Covid-19 outbreak over the weekend, Basingstoke and Dene Borough Council leader, Councillor Ken Rhatigan, and Chief Executive, Melbourne Barrett have taken a joint decision to postpone all council meetings with immediate effect.

It means a number of key meet-ups will not go ahead as scheduled, including that of the Development Control Committee tomorrow (Tuesday) when the the Manydown outline planning application was due to be discussed.

Others including the full council meeting set for Thursday, March 26, the Audit and Accounts Committee scheduled for March 30 and the Development Control Committee scheduled for Wednesday, April 1, will not go ahead.

Cllr Rhatigan said: “We are facing a fast moving and challenging situation. We continue to review all our operations, including decision making, on a daily basis.

“Based on the latest advice on the importance of social distancing, the decision to postpone all scheduled meetings has been taken to protect the safety of councillors, officers and members of the public who would ordinarily wish to attend.

“I would like to take this opportunity to urge all our residents to listen to the life-saving advice about social distancing.

“By keeping apart we can best pull together as a community to fight this virus, protect our most vulnerable people and support the vital work of the frontline NHS staff.”