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 members of the public;

Rachel Willis made a statement in which she outlined several aspects of period poverty and called on the Council to pass the motion on the agenda, and further open up debate on this issue.  A full copy of Rachel’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and attached to the online minutes.  Councillor Tim Warren asked if Rachel was aware that the Council had committed £50k in the budget to address period poverty, to which she replied that she had not been aware, and welcomed this news.  Councillor Liz Hardman asked Rachel if she considered more sustainable sanitary products were acceptable to young people, to which she responded that she thought they increasingly were, but often the expense was a prohibitive factor.  The Chair thanked Rachel for her statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Abbi Cole, a Bath resident and parent, made a statement explaining the recent steps she had taken in response to the climate emergency and urging the Council to pass the motion to declare a climate emergency later in the meeting.  A full copy of Abbie’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and attached to the online minutes.  The Chair thanked Abbi for her statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Richard Young, an environmental scientist, father and Bath citizen addressed the Council about the climate emergency.  He outlined the ways in which harm was being caused to the planet and the failure of leaders to tackle the enormity of the issue.  He called on the Council to show leadership tonight and going forward.  In response to a query from Councillor Dine Romero about whether Richard was aware of the cross party element of the agenda motion, he responded that he was and it gave him hope.  The Chair thanked Richard for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Sarah Warren made a statement in which she explained that she had been doing a master’s degree in sustainability over the last 3 years, through which she was becoming increasingly aware that environmental changes were happening faster than had been predicted, and cited some examples.  She called on the Council, as policy makers, to put this at the heart of all decision making.  Councillor Paul Crossley asked Sarah about the effects of arctic ice melting on the Somerset area, to which she replied that flooding would have a number of negative aspects on the area.  The Chair thanked Sarah for her statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Dr Alice Gardner, a GP in Wiltshire and resident of Bath, made a statement highlighting the negative health impacts of climate change such as air pollution and explaining how positive environmental changes also had positive health benefits. A full copy of Alice’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and attached to the online minutes.  In response to a query from Councillor Richard Samuel about safe levels of exposure to nitrogen dioxide, Alice responded that she was not aware of the different levels but confirmed that reducing these levels to near zero would be beneficial.  The Chair thanked Alice for her statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Joanna Wright made a statement outlining the numerous ways in which petro chemicals underpinned all aspects of modern urban society and highlighting the urgent need to take action now.  She urged the Council to vote for change.  Councillor Shaun Stephenson McGall asked Joanna if she considered now was a good time for the Avon Pension Fund to divest its investments away from fossil fuel extraction, to which she responded that she completely agreed that divestment away from these fuel sources was the only way forward.  The Chair thanked Joanna for her statement which would be referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Jonathan Oates, a writer, teacher and resident of Bath, made a statement supporting the climate emergency resolution.  He commended the world wide efforts calling for change, and challenged the Council to demonstrate what it could do in support.  The Chair thanked Jonathan for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Dr Julian Caldecott, an Ecologist and author, made a statement setting out the environmental aspects of excess greenhouse gases.  He called upon the Council to place ecology above politics in responding constructively to the global climate emergency.  Councillor Richard Samuel asked for Julian’s view of the most effective climate change mitigations that the Council could take, to which he responded that a joined up approach was needed to address a range of options, but a good starting point would be to look at insulation.  A full copy of Julian’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and attached to the online minutes. The Chair thanked Julian for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

David Redgewell addressed the Council about a range of transport issues at local and West of England level, set out in full in David’s statement which has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and attached to the online minutes.  Councillor Neil Butters asked David about a timescale for light rail.  David responded that the rapid transit study was positive with a timescale of 10 – 15 years.  Councillor Sarah Bevan asked David about the main stumbling block for the plans at Saltford station to which he responded that it came down to the number of slots available.  Electrification was needed to finish the project.  The Chair thanked David for his statement which was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Andrew Dickens from the Lower Common East Allotment Association referred to his 3 previous statements to Council all asking for recognition as an Association and the consequent rights for an association concerning the gates, noticeboards etc.  Councillor Dine Romero queried what was preventing him meeting with Councillor Bob Goodman, to which Andrew responded that he was not able to do so until the necessary confirmation from the Council was received.  Councillor Robin Moss probed further about a meeting to address this issue and Andrew explained that he did not have the mandate to speak on behalf of the Association and until they were able to advertise on the noticeboard to elect Members, the impasse would continue.  The Chair thanked Andrew for his statement which would be referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Sharon Gillings raised concerns about Curo Housing Association and the fact that the Council no longer had a much needed place on the Board.  She recognised that the Council did not have a legal responsibility in this area but stated they had a moral responsibility to have oversight over housing issues.  In response to a query from Councillor Will Sandry about whether Sharon had spoken to Curo about these concerns, she explained that there had been a lot of dialogue with them but as yet, no responses in writing.  She was due to meet them again on 27^th March 2019.  The Chair thanked Sharon for her statement which would be referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.