Council officers are refusing to attend meetings in person because they are "cold", a Conservative has claimed.

Thanet representative Trevor Shonk made the comment before storming out of a meeting because a highways official was not present.

The Tory councillor said: “I’ve got a whole raft of issues to discuss. There’s no point in me sitting here because there’s no officers to talk to. So therefore I shall pack up and go home.

“It’s absolutely disgraceful that we give up our time and I’ve heard excuses from KCC [Kent County Council] that they can’t come out because they’re cold. These people are on different planets.

“I do try to represent Ramsgate and Newington and at the moment I’m hitting a brick wall.”

The issue has arisen because Thanet District Council (TDC), unlike other authorities, does not have the technology to simultaneously live-stream a meeting on YouTube and have someone speak virtually.

This means anyone wanting to speak at one of its meetings must attend in person.

But no one from KCC did so when Thanet's joint transport board (JTB) met earlier this month.

Councillors had been due to discuss a 30mph speed limit on Nash Road in Margate among other topics.

The JTB hearings, held four times a year, see district councillors discuss issues with a KCC officer - which would usually be highways district manager Paul Valek.

But the meeting on Thursday, June 9, was derailed when it emerged an official would not be present, without sending apologies for absence.

"I believe in the Elon Musk view if you don’t turn up on a Monday we’ll assume you’ve resigned..."

Cllr Shonk walked out and other members were further damning of the situation.

Chair of the committee, Cllr Rosalind Binks (Cons), said: “I believe in the Elon Musk view if you don’t turn up on a Monday we’ll assume you’ve resigned.

“Officers should be here. I know it’s inconvenient to come in the evening but I think it’s part and parcel of the job at a certain level.”

She did also confirm her quarrel wasn’t with officers, but the KCC cabinet member for transport, Cllr David Brazier, who she claims told officers not to be present.

Signing off the meeting, Thanet Cllr David Hart (Cons) said: “I think it’s disgraceful the officer isn’t here, but maybe the cabinet member [Cllr Brazier] should be here instead.

“Realistically someone should be here, because if we do have an issue I can go to an officer and I was going to talk to them about a couple of things tonight.

“If the cabinet member wants to stop his staff coming here then maybe he should get off his backside and come here.

“The officer we have is a very good chap, works very hard for this area and we are very lucky to have him, but I think he’s doing a disservice by not turning up.”

Responding to the claims, a KCC spokesman said the decision wasn't made by Cllr Brazier.

“Decisions on managing the most efficient and effective use of staff time are taken in every local authority by senior officers, not council members," the spokesman said.

“As a council we are committed to participating in joint transportation boards (JTBs), which are a vital mechanism for discussing how we can develop our infrastructure to help keep Kent moving safely.

“Technology allows us to do this virtually for routine business in a way that is environmentally-friendly and reduces the amount of time travelling to and from meetings.

“Unfortunately, Thanet District Council is currently unable to offer KCC a virtual platform while simultaneously live-streaming the meeting to the public.

“While we will always address any concerns raised at JTBs outside of the meeting, we would encourage Thanet District Council to introduce a system that allows KCC’s virtual attendance.”

Meanwhile, a Thanet District Council spokesman said it would "encourage" anyone wanting to speak to the council to do so in person.

"We live-stream all of our public council meetings so that as many members of the public as possible can view proceedings," the spokesman said.

"There is often a high level of interest in the items discussed at the JTB meetings.

"We do not have the ability to conduct ‘hybrid’ meetings (meetings with virtual and in-person attendees that are also simultaneously live-streamed to the public). To do this would require significant levels of financial investment in our audio-visual equipment.

"In June 2021, KCC officers remotely accessed a Thanet JTB meeting, which meant that we were unable to live-stream the meeting, thus depriving members of the public the opportunity to observe.

"As we are unable to facilitate hybrid meetings, we would always encourage external participants to attend JTB meetings in person to present their reports and take questions from councillors."

Cllr Shonk has been approached for further comment.