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;

John Branston made a statement concerning the impact of HMOs in Oldfield Park.  He explained the threat to the social balance and detrimental impact on the community and commented that the Article 4 Direction of 2013 had been too little too late.  He cited examples from other areas of the country where measures had been taken to address this, and reminded Councillors of their Corporate Strategy priority of putting residents first in everything the Council does. The Chairman thanked John for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

David Redgewell made a statement regarding transport issues in the South West.  He welcomed more subsidy for bus services as a result of the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) but also urged the Council to work with Wiltshire, Gloucester and North Somerset. Further details can be read in the statement which has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and attached to the online minutes.  Councillor Shaun Stephenson-McGall asked for David’s view of the effect of not implementing the half hourly service he recommended through Oldfield Park; to which David responded that he thought there could be severe overcrowding for passengers coming in from West Wiltshire and Frome, and also difficultly moving students into Bristol and Bath.  Councillor Liz Hardman asked David if, as he was aware that there was no bus service from the Paulton area to Bristol on a Sunday, whether David felt this could be remedied, to which David responded that he hoped that the WECA transport review would enable working with the constituent authorities to restore some of the links. Councillor Sarah Bevan sought clarity from David about his reference to the 179 bus service. The Chairman thanked David for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Graham Thomas Widger, Chair of Broadmoor Lane Residents Association Weston, made a statement seeking the Council’s support to secure the future of their open space and playground, which was currently uncertain. Further details can be read in the statement which has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and attached to the online minutes. In response to a question from Councillor Tim Warren, Graham confirmed that the current owner of the land was Redcliffe Homes. Councillor Dine Romero asked Graham if he knew why this open space had not been adopted by the Council, to which Graham responded that recently they had been told there were financial reasons, but added that they had been trying to secure this for 10-12 years which was why they were bringing it to Council now.  Councillor Eleanor Jackson asked if the Group were in a position to form an Association to lease and maintain the land, to which Graham responded that they probably could, but at this stage they were just trying to achieve clarity over the status of the land and a response to their proposals. The Chairman thanked Graham for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Alice Murphy, a 12 year old resident of Broadmoor Lane, presented a petition (approximately 500 signatures) on behalf of the Broadmoor Lane Park Action group entitled “We want to save our park at Broadmoor Lane and want B&NES Council to work with us to save the park from closure!” She explained that she had been visiting the park since she was 3 years old.  Further details can be read in the statement which has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and attached to the online minutes.  Councillor Tim Warren offered to put the Group in touch with some Parish Councils who had found themselves in a similar situation, which was welcomed.  Councillor Dine Romero asked if there was a similar idyllic location close by, to which Alice responded that there was another park about 2 miles away. The Chairman thanked Alice for her statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Bob Hollingdale, Chair of the Bath Taxi Association, made a statement calling for Uber’s operating licence to be withdrawn.  He set out his many concerns with how Uber operate and cited examples from other parts of the UK where their licences had been removed.  In response to a query from Councillor Tim Warren, Bob clarified that Uber had been operating for 18 months. Councillor Eleanor Jackson asked if Uber took disabled people, to which Bob responded that they did not. The Chairman thanked Bob for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

At the end of the above statement, Councillor Caroline Roberts called for a 10 minute debate on this issue, which had the agreement of the qualifying Group Leaders, in accordance with Part 4A, rule 34 of the Constitution.  The Chairman agreed to take this debate at the end of the public speaking item.

Robert Kirkwood made a statement on the same issue.  He explained how the city had been swamped and the detrimental effect this was having on his livelihood and that of local taxi businesses.  He outlined his concerns over safety and related an incident when he had been physically threatened by an Uber driver, which he had reported but no action had been taken.  Councillor Tim Warren asked if it was the case that Uber, like other private hire companies, were not permitted to pick up passengers from the street; Robert responded that this was correct but recounted an incident where he had seen this happening.  Councillor Caroline Roberts asked if Robert considered that he had gone through a rigorous process to test if he was a fit and proper person to be a taxi driver, to which he responded that he certainly agreed and was proud that it was a rigorous process and that drivers wanted to be accountable.  Councillor Robin Moss asked why Enforcement officers had not been able to take action following his report of the assault, to which Robert explained that he had not had proof.  Councillor June Player asked if Robert had considered leaving the profession due to difficulties he had experienced, to which he replied that he wasn’t thinking of it personally, but did consider there needed to be a level playing field.  The Chairman thanked Robert for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Sarah Harrington made a statement on the same subject.  She described many examples of how her local knowledge had enabled her to enhance her customers’ experience by advising on local facilities or going the extra mile carrying in shopping for an elderly person.  Drivers from outside the area could not offer this same level of service. Councillor Robin Moss asked if Sarah felt a London style Knowledge test would be a good idea, to which she responded that local drivers certainly knew all the shortcuts so were able to deliver a faster and cheaper service, something which Uber drivers from outside the area could not provide.  In response to a question from Councillor June Player about how safe Sarah felt in the job, she replied that she had an emergency button so personally felt safe, but would be concerned for young people.  The Chairman thanked Sarah for her statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Paul Roles made a statement on the same subject, explaining that he had set up a Facebook site for taxi drivers.  He gave some statistics about how taxis from out of town were not able to cater for disabled people.  He questioned how drivers from outside the area had been able to get their licences and explained that he didn’t think they had a proper office base, displaying their liability insurance.  Councillor Caroline Roberts asked when he had been told about Uber’s licence being granted, to which Paul responded that they had learnt this from a Council press release on September 22^nd, although the licence had been issued on August 10^th.  Councillor Sarah Bevan asked if Paul knew if Uber allowed guide dogs, to which he cited a recent article in a national newspaper of a man with a guide dog being refused a pick up 13 times by Uber.  The Chairman thanked Paul for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.