LOOE believes it is the first town in Cornwall to install a 'video conference' system which will allow disabled and infirm residents to view public meetings taking place in the Guildhall. In the Rest Room next to the Rose Garden in East Looe, there are now two screens on which local residents, such as the wheelchair bound, will be able to watch and listen to town council meetings and other events of interest. They will also be able to press a button if they wish to speak and they in turn can be seen by the mayor who will have a small screen in front of him. The cost of the system, £3,700, has been shared by the East Looe Town Trust, owners of the Guildhall, and the town council. The Trust's temporary manager, Wally Scarah, also a town councillor , says he was asked to take charge of sorting out the Guildhall's access to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act, and came up with the idea of the screens. The Guildhall's council chamber is the only available place large enough to accommodate public meetings but unfortunately lies at the top of a flight of steep granite stairs. 'We looked at the idea of a stair lift at the cost of £15,000 but then there was the problem of evacuating the disabled if there was a fire,' said Cllr Scarah. 'The screens on street level will work very well, and we have also added a loop system in the Rest Room as well as the council chamber to help the hard of hearing.'
