Medway Council has held its first virtual public meeting amid the coronavirus crisis, but received criticism over the "appalling" sound quality.

At least six senior councillors and officers met in the unitary authority's main offices at Chatham's Gun Wharf for a 45-minute cabinet session yesterday afternoon.

Other cabinet members joined the meeting via a Microsoft programme while members of the public were able to watch the broadcast alongside them.

Medway Council leader Alan Jarrett (Con), who chaired the ad-hoc virtual session, described the move as reflective of "exceptional times" but some criticism was levelled by opposition members.

Cllr Pat Cooper (Lab), who watched the meeting remotely from her home, described the audio as "appalling" while Medway Labour Group leader Cllr Vince Maple said he hoped virtual meetings would remain after the Covid-19 crisis concludes.

He added: "I want people to continue to have access to our local democracy."

After the meeting, Cllr Jarrett called for more "discipline" around microphone technique and said sound quality "refinements" should be made.

He added: "Many local authorities decided not to hold their cabinet meetings. I believe Medway, as a unitary authority, has such a wide arrange of services that we have items of sufficient importance for a live meeting."

The decision to hold public meetings comes less than a week after powers were extended to hundreds of local authorities in England allowing them to hold virtual meetings as part of emergency government legislation.

Councillors and officers who attended the council session observed the strict social distancing guidelines set by government and kept two metres apart from each other.

However, opponents criticised the sound quality of the meetings. One cabinet member was told to turn his computer microphone off in the middle of the meeting, to enable his colleagues to be better heard.

Cllr Cooper said: "I do not want to be overly critical because this is the first virtual meeting, but the sound quality was quite poor."

She added: "I could hardly hear what was being discussed. The voices were muffled. When one of the councillors turned his head away from the mic, it was unintelligible."

Consequently, Cllr Cooper has sent a written feedback form to the council's democratic services, advising them of future changes to make.

Speaking about whether virtual meetings could be held beyond the Covid-19 outbreak, Cllr Jarrett said: "My view is things will never be the same again. There will be a new norm and this could be part of an evolutionary process."

See what you think – you can watch the meeting again by clicking here.

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For Medway Council's meetings calendar click here.