The outcome of a planning application has been left in limbo after an online planning committee meeting was inadvertently held in private.

Cornwall Council’s west sub-area planning committee met on Monday, with the meeting due to start at 10am.

Councillors were meeting online using Microsoft Teams software and the meeting was to be broadcast live online due to restrictions on meeting because of Covid-19.

However, unknown to councillors and staff, the livestream of the event failed and so the public and press were unable to watch the meeting.

The livestream was restored by 11am, but by that time the committee had already considered and decided one planning application – for an agricultural building at Carnkie Farm, Carnkie, Wendron.

Councillors considered the second application on the agenda and the presentation, discussion and vote were all held in public on the livestream.

At the end of the meeting committee chairman Roger Harding was informed by a member of staff from the council’s democratic services department that the livestream had failed for the first half of the meeting and legal advice had been sought for how they should proceed.

It was explained that the committee may have to consider the first application in full again in order to meet legal requirements to hold meetings in public.

This could have meant that the committee would have to carry out a repeat performance of its earlier discussions to ensure that all was done and heard in public.

The meeting was adjourned so that councillors could discuss the issue with officers in private.

On their return Cllr Harding proposed that the meeting be adjourned so that they could consider what to do with regards to the Carnkie planning application.

By adjourning the meeting the committee would be able to get further advice from council staff on the best way forward.

The committee voted unanimously in favour of adjourning the meeting so that further advice could be obtained.