The opposition leader on Redbridge Council has criticised the authority over the scrapping of monthly events where the public can ask direct questions.

During the Covid pandemic, the council held monthly local forums online, where residents could submit written questions to council leader Jas Athwal.

A council spokesperson has now announced the monthly forums are being replaced with Redbridge in Conversation events, starting from October and held only four times a year.

These will involve community events such as litter picking, followed by a meeting with councillors and officers to discuss “big issues” for the area.

Conservative group leader Paul Canal called the newly announced plans “another nail in the coffin of genuine local engagement”.

He added: “There is an inverse relationship between the PR department’s soaring prose and the reality of Redbridge residents being ignored and side-lined."

Councillor Canal claimed that “patronising events with hand-picked participants” will not replace the “real dialogue and scrutiny” that residents had through area committees, which were scrapped when Labour came into power in 2014.

Redbridge's spokesperson has not responded to Cllr Canal’s concerns, but has said the council wants to “engage with and empower” local people in a “meaningful way”.

They added: “As part of this work, Redbridge local forums will be replaced with regular interactive full and part-day Redbridge in Conversation events in different locations across the borough.

“Each Redbridge in Conservation event will be unique, involving council and community action which could include litter picking or an area walk-about with councillors, council officers and council partners.

“The activity will be followed by a meeting in a local venue to discuss the big issues that matter most to local people in their area and to work together to find solutions.”

Online local forums were introduced in November 2020 to replace in-person meetings that were held four times a year prior to the pandemic.

Covering the north, south, east or west of the borough, the online meetings required residents to submit written questions to ensure there was no “unsavoury content”.

The last forum was held in March 2022.