Agenda item

The Democratic Services Manager will announce any submissions received. The Council will be invited to decide what action it wishes to take, if any, on the matters raised in these submissions. As the questions received and the answers given will be circulated in written form there is no requirement for them to be read out at the meeting. The questions and answers will be published with the draft minutes.

Statements were made by the following people;

Paul Roles drew Members’ attention to a report ‘Taxi and Private Vehicle Licensing’ which had been updated in August 2017. He highlighted particularly various points from the Councillors Checklist section, which asks if the needs and safety of passengers are at the centre.  He raised a perceived discrepancy with licensing policy on the Council’s website, and illustrated a particular example of a banned Uber driver operating in Bath.  In response to a query from Councillor Dine Romero as to whether Paul was aware that they had asked the Member of Parliament to pursue a national register of taxi drivers, he responded that he was aware that one existed in Scotland which stopped drivers who have had their licence revoked from working in another city, which he maintained happens in Bath.  The Chair thanked Paul for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Gene Kerr made a statement in support of a petition which he presented calling on the Council to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists on the approaches to and at the junction of Claverton Down and Oakley Road in Bath.  A full copy of the statement has been attached to the online minutes.  In response to a question from Councillor Neil Butters about the preferred road safety solution, Gene responded that a mini roundabout would be their preference; however, Highways officers had said there wasn’t sufficient space for one, so raised pedestrian crossings on speed tables on each road would go towards reducing car speed.  The Chair thanked Gene for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Alison Lampard, a resident of Whitchurch, made a statement opposing the number of dwellings proposed for Whitchurch village in the Joint Spatial Plan and highlighted a number of reasons why this would not be beneficial for the community.  She asked how it was fair that Whitchurch was taking a disproportionate amount when it did not have the infrastructure to support this level of development.  In response to a query from Councillor Tim Warren about whether Alison was aware that that the Joint Spatial Plan was being developed alongside the Transport plan so that there would be no houses if the infrastructure was not in place, Alison responded that it would be good to get that commitment, as the village could not support this level of development. The Chair thanked Alison for her statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Rachel Chandler made a statement as a resident of Whitchurch also opposing the proposed development.  She explained that they had worked with the developers and were not against reasonable housing proposals but this would decimate, not extend the village.  The Chair thanked Rachel for her statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Mary Walsh, a resident of Whitchurch for 35 years, made a statement challenging the development proposals and outlined a number of reasons why it was not appropriate for the area.  Councillor Neil Butters asked what would be the number one action they would like to see to address this, to which Mary responded that they would like to see all small villages take a small amount of housing, but she acknowledged that that wouldn’t be popular with developers.  The Chair thanked Mary for her statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

William Gaskell made a statement about various issues including student voting, support to local people and promoting the Wild Camden scheme.  Councillor Dine Romero asked William to clarify his points about voter registration to which he responded that he would like to see 90% of people registered and temporary workers and students not being registered.  A full copy of William’s statement has been added to the online minutes. The Chair thanked William for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

John Hamer made a statement, on behalf of the Welton Road Neighbourhood Association, which has the backing of Westfield Parish Council.  He outlined traffic problems which had been going on for nearly 40 years of the narrow road with no pavements.  He stated that Police weren’t enforcing the 20mph speed limit and the situation was now considerably worse with 500 extra students at the local college, which was endangering local residents.  John explained that he had met with the Area Traffic Engineer who had recommended a feasibility study at a cost of £5000.  Councillor Rob Appleyard asked John about a recent piece of work which had recommended the road be made one way, but hadn’t proceeded as agreement wasn’t reached about the direction for the one way proposal, to which John responded that the problem with one way traffic was that it tended to speed up and so traffic calming measures would still be needed.  Councillor Robin Moss asked if any solution was one that needed to be discussed with the whole community to which John responded that he did not: they needed £5000 for a feasibility study.  The Chair thanked John for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

The Chair permitted Councillor Robin Moss to refer to his statement on Curo at this point in the meeting, which had been deferred from the last meeting.  Councillor Moss reserved his right to read out his statement which had been circulated and is attached to the online minutes.