Agenda and minutes

The Chairman drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out on the agenda.

It is a legal requirement that the first formal business at the Annual General Meeting shall be the election of a Councillor to be the Chair(man) of the Council.  The term of office of the Chair(man) expires on the election of his/her successor at the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2015.

The present Chair(man) of the Council is Councillor Neil Butters who will preside over the election of his successor.

Once the new Chair(man) is elected, he will make and sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office, and receive the Chain of Office from the former Chair(man), after which he may address the Council.

The newly elected Chair(man) will preside from this point in the proceedings.

It was proposed by Councillor Tim Warren, seconded by Councillor Sarah Bevan and supported by Councillors Dave Laming and John Bull and

RESOLVED that Councillor Martin Veal be elected Chairman of the Council for the year 2014/15.

Councillor Veal made and signed his Declaration of Acceptance of Office and received the chain of office from Councillor Neil Butters and presented the consort’s badge to his wife, Sarah.

Councillor Veal then addressed the Council.

FROM THIS STAGE OF THE PROCEEDINGS, COUNCILLOR MARTIN VEAL, AS CHAIRMAN, PRESIDED AT THE MEETING.

The Council will be invited to appoint a Councillor to be the Vice-Chair(man) of the Council.  The term of office of the Vice-Chair(man) expires on the election of his/her successor at the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2015.

Once the new Vice-Chair(man) is elected, he will make and sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office, and receive the Badge of Office from the Chair(man), after which he may thank the Council for the appointment

It was proposed by Councillor Katie Hall, seconded by Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones and supported by Councillors Dave Laming and John Bull and

RESOLVED that Councillor Ian Gilchrist be elected Vice-Chairman for the Council year 2014/15.

Councillor Gilchrist made and signed his Declaration of Acceptance of Office, received the chain of office from Councillor Veal and thanked the Council for his appointment.

On a motion from Councillor Paul Crossley, seconded by Councillor Tim Warren, it was

RESOLVED that the minutes of 18^th February 2014 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to complete the green interest forms circulated to groups in their pre-meetings (which will be announced at the Council Meeting) to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officer before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest made.

Councillor Martin Veal presented Councillor Neil Butters with his past Chairman’s badge.  Councillor Butters then presented the past Chairman’s Consort’s badge to his wife, Charlotte.

It was proposed by Councillor Paul Crossley, seconded by Councillor Tim Warren and supported by Councillors Dave Laming and John Bull and

RESOLVED that the Council places on record its appreciation of the services performed by Councillor Neil Butters in the office of Chairman of the Council for 2013/14.

Councillor Butters addressed the Council and, in so doing, thanked Members and officers for their support during his year in office.  He outlined some of the highlights of his year, made reference to the charities he would continue to support and paid tribute to the support which he had received from Councillor Martin Veal in his role as Vice Chairman over the previous Council year.  He wished him well for his term of office as Chairman.  Councillor Butters also thanked his wife Charlotte for her support throughout his year as Chairman.

The Chairman then asked the Council to stand in silence as a mark of respect following the deaths of Councillor Gabriel Batt, former deputy Mayor of Bath Sheila Sheppard, former Bath City Councillor Brian Roper and former Bath City Councillor and Group Leader Tony Clark.

In accordance with the rules within the Constitution concerning Chief Officer’s action (Urgency, Part 4G, rule 3), it is reported that the Chief Executive has taken the following decision since the last meeting of Council;

·  To approve amendments to the Public Rights of Way delegation scheme to include new statutory duties relating to landowner deposits.

The updated scheme is contained within Appendix 2 to the annual business report.

This decision was deemed as urgent and was taken following consultation with Political Group Leaders, Strategic and Divisional Directors and the Monitoring Officer.

The Council noted the urgent decision which had been taken by the Chief Executive since the last meeting of Council to approve amendments to the Public Rights of Way delegation scheme to include new statutory duties relating to landowner deposits.  The updated scheme was contained within Appendix 2 to the annual business report.

This decision was deemed as urgent and was taken following consultation with Political Group Leaders, Strategic and Divisional Directors and the Monitoring Officer, in accordance with constitutional rule Part 4G, rule 3.

This report invites Council to consider its non-executive and regulatory committee arrangements for the Council year May 2014 to May 2015.

On a motion from Councillor Paul Crossley, seconded by Councillor Dave Dixon, it was

RESOLVED to

1.  Approve the structure for non-executive and regulatory decision making and Policy Development & Scrutiny working (set out in its current form in appendix 2 to the report);

2.  Accordingly, appoint those bodies with membership, terms of reference and delegated powers as set out in the Constitution;

3.  Note that the operation of the Parishes Liaison meeting (Terms of Reference attached as part of Appendix 2) will be reviewed if the outcome of the review of the Connecting Communities pilot project recommends rolling the programme out to other communities;

4.  Approve the allocation of seats on those Committees and Panels (such seats to be filled in accordance with the nominations made by the political groups);

5.  Note the current arrangements for chairing committees and panels (as set out in Appendix 1 to the report) and defer until the July Council meeting the review of such allocations;

6.  Authorise the Monitoring Officer to fill any casual vacancies in membership of all the bodies constituted and vacancy in the office of Chair of such bodies in accordance with the wishes of the political groups;

7.  Determine the bodies on which co-opted members are to have seats  as either voting or non-voting members and appoint such members accordingly (as set out in Appendix 1 to the report);

8.  Authorise the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Chairs of the Policy Development & Scrutiny Panels, to constitute and support any required Panel joint working as outlined in section 7 of the report;

9.  Authorise the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with Group Leaders, to make appointments on such outside bodies as are for the Council (rather than Cabinet) to fill;

10.Note the arrangements for the conduct of Cabinet business;

11.Note the calendar of meeting dates that has been prepared up to May 2015 which is available on the Council’s website;

12.Note the changes that will be required to the Constitution with regard to voting at budget meetings, and filming at meetings, as set out in section 10 of the report;

13.Authorise the Monitoring Officer to make and publicise any amendment to the Council’s Constitution required, or take any other necessary action, as a result of decisions taken at this meeting on this and other reports within the agenda, or otherwise as required by law;

14.Note that a formal review of political balance will take place at the July meeting; and

15.Agree that a cross-party working group (with a membership proportionate to the make-up of the Council) be established to consider, with officer support, options to strengthen community representation and civic governance within Bath, and to report back on these options, including a preferred option (with proposed Terms of Reference) to the July Council meeting, or if this is not possible than no later than the September Council meeting, for consideration.

[Note  - the underlined wording in resolution 15 above was moved as an amendment by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Statements were made by the following people;

·  David Redgewell made a statement urging delivery of the Bath Transport Strategy and expressing concern about the removal of the Bus Gate which he said had taken place with no consultation.  He described the city as being gridlocked – an unsustainable situation which needed addressing.  A copy of the statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and is attached electronically to the minutes.  The statement was referred to the Cabinet Member for Transport.

·  Lesley Mansell, Chair of Radstock Town Council, made a statement regarding the hydrotherapy pool at the Connections Centre, Writhlington, Radstock.  She called on the Council to take responsibility for the refurbishment of this valuable facility following its closure by Sirona Care and Health on health and safety grounds.  In response to a question from Councillor Simon Allen asking if Ms Mansell was aware that he had met the Chief Executive of Sirona on site the previous day and had been told the nearest pool offering a similar service was 2.5 miles away.  Ms Mansell responded that she hadn’t known about the meeting but the pool to which Councillor Allen referred was fully booked.  In response to a question from Councillor Eleanor Jackson enquiring whether the pool could be used not only for those with a severe disability but also for the wider community with conditions such as arthritis,  Ms Mansell responded that it would be a great idea as the pool was only used during the day and it would make sense to open it up more widely.  The full statement can be viewed on the Council’s Minute book and is attached electronically to the minutes.  The statement was referred to the Cabinet Member for Wellbeing.