AREA committees in the Rochford district could meet less often to allow more progress to be made between meetings.

Rochford district councillors are proposing changes to the meeting system, introduced after last year's local elections.

The three committees - West, Central and East - currently meet every six weeks.

But the council's review committee has carried out an assessment and one recommendation has been to reduce the frequency of the meetings to quarterly. Special meetings could be called if they were needed.

June Lumley, review committee, said it was also difficult for some organisations, such as the police and the county council's highways department, to send representatives to every meeting.

She added: "There was also insufficient time between meetings for any real progress to take place on many items raised by the public."

The committee is also calling for better means of publicising the area committee meetings, as the public only turned up in large numbers when controversial issues such as housing and dog control were under discussion.