The Bristol City Council coverage of the planning application for the new stadium at Ashton Vale drew a record number of viewers for a UK council webcast.

More than 5,600 people logged on via the council website and the Evening Post website to watch the debate into one of the biggest planning decisions the city has faced for years unfold.

Despite it being reported that the live video feed failed for a short period during the debate and that some users could not access the feed later on in the evening, council Leader Barbara Janke hailed the system as a way of  “opening the doors of the council chamber to every citizen.

“Of the 5,000 viewers some of these would be keen followers of football engaging with the council for the first time for the love of their club. Others would be campaigners keen to see that the council had ensured the club heard their concerns about environmental and neighbourhood issues.

“Councils across the country have been looking to our lead on webcasting to test its effect in opening up democracy to new audiences.

“A significant audience across Bristol witnessed the decision to take a great step towards a new multi-million pound stadium. So I think we can demonstrate that it works.”

The council broadcast its 100th webcast in July this year, representing more than 228 hours of programming watched by more than 28,000 viewers.

Meanwhile, thousands of people were able to follow and comment on the event via Twitter. An estimated 400 ‘tweets’ were sent with the #bcfcstadium hashtag – which allowed users of the site to follow the event – to give a running commentary of the debate.

Further reading

• No Related Links