The first meeting of Canterbury’s councillors since the election turned into a farce - because not enough of them turned up.

Just five of the 11 members showed their faces at the city’s Guildhall, leaving officers no choice but to call it off and reschedule.

It is thought to be the first time a meeting has been declared non quorate - where not enough attend to make it official - for as long as 15 years.

Among those who failed to attend were newly-elected councillors from the Labour and Tory groups and a senior Lib Dem.

Councillors were outnumbered by members of the public and it was decided to hold an unofficial discussion with them sitting on the seats usually reserved for elected members.

The meeting last Monday was the first of the Canterbury Area Member Panel (CAMP) since the May 7 council elections.

Sian Pettman, of the Campaign for Democracy in the Canterbury District, said: “It was a surprise and a disappointment that so few councillors attended, especially as one of the big things of recent years is the growing interest in the council and the demand for public engagement with councillors. For that reason it was poor so few attended.”

Fellow campaigner Rick Norman added: “All the absentees had a reason for missing the meeting.

“They were all in other parts of the country or abroad, I think. But it’s worrying that so many of them see a CAMP meeting as one for which they can give their excuses.”

Much of the unofficial discussion centred on how the CAMP will function and how it involve members of the public and even whether meetings should be held at the Guildhall or at other venues across the city.

"It was a surprise and a disappointment that so few councillors attended, especially as one of the big things of recent years is the growing interest in the council..." - Sian Pettman, CPCD

Mrs Pettman believes there were positives to be drawn from it.

“The councillors who did attend were very keen to listen to the public and entered into a valuable informal conversation about ways in which CAMP meetings could be reformed to make them more welcoming and inclusive for local residents,” she said.

“Hopefully, the rescheduled first meeting of CAMP will start putting some of these suggestions into effect.”

Of the 11 members on the committee, the five who attended were Tories Steve Williams and Terry Westgate, Labour’s Alan Baldock and Lib Dems Michael Dixey and Charlotte MacCaul. Conservative John Brazier arrived 20 minutes after getting a train from Oxford. Six councillors would have been enough to hold an official, properly-minuted meeting.

Those who failed to attend were Lib Dem Nick Eden-Green, Labour’s Jean Butcher and Conservatives Oliver Fawcett, Louise Jones and Sally Waters, who as Lord Mayor is typically expected to remain apolitical. The unofficial discussion heard the rest were all believed to be abroad or in other parts of the country.

After the discussion, Cllr Williams said: “This actually may have helped change the way we hold these meetings with residents able to interact freely with councillors.

“It was an informal chat and some positive has came out about how we engage with people.”

Council leader Simon Cook described the poor turnout as “one of those things”.

He said: “The expectation is that councillors attend meetings, but I’m sure those from all sides who didn’t attend had good reason to and I’m sure we will exert all our sinews to make sure there is a quorum next time.

“I’m sorry this has inconvenienced the public speakers, but I gather that the informal meeting saw some very good round table discussions and they have managed to put a lot on the agenda for the next meeting.”

What do you think? Email kentishgazette@thekmgroup.co.uk or write to Gazette House, Estuary View Business Park, Whitstable, CT5 3SE.

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