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.

The Council noted the question from Sarah Warren, and response from the Leader, which had been circulated to Councillors and is attached to the online minutes and placed on the Minute book.

Statements were made by the following members of the public;

Andrew Dickens made a statement concerning the Lower Common East Allotment Association, calling upon the Council to recognise certain rights for the Association.  In response to a question from Councillor Sue Craig who asked if Mr Dickens had met with the Cabinet Member about this issue, he responded that the Leader had offered to meet following his last statement to Council but that, after seeking advice, Mr Dickens had not felt it was appropriate for him to meet the Leader on behalf of the Association and so he had set this out in a letter to Group Leaders.  Councillor Dine Romero asked Mr Dickens to please re-send this to them.  The Chair thanked Mr Dickens for his statement which would be referred to the relevant Cabinet Member and placed on the Council’s Minute book.

Paul Mallon made a statement regarding speeding traffic through Wellow village.  Paul explained how the village was used as a rat run and outlined the community’s extensive efforts to have a smiley face speed warning sign installed, which he hopes have resulted in a sign being installed soon.  He thanked Councillor Neil Butters for his support.  Councillor Butters asked Paul if he was aware that the Council had agreed budget funding for strips to measure traffic speed into and out of the village, to which Paul replied that he was now aware.  Councillor Sarah Bevan asked if the 20mph limit had resulted in any prosecutions, to which Paul responded that in the 2015/16 speed watch exercise, more than 10% of cars were found to be speeding.  The Chair thanked Paul for his statement which would be referred to the relevant Cabinet.

Lydia Halcrow made a statement calling on the Council to take immediate action regarding climate change and commit to being carbon neutral by 2030.  Councillor Tim Warren asked if Lydia was aware that the Council were supportive of this and planning to bring a motion to the next Council meeting in March, to which she responded that she was.  Councillor Richard Samuel asked Lydia to outline the implications of achieving this by 2050 not 2030 to which she responded by urging Councillors to read the full IPCC report, which set out very clearly why 2050 would be too late.  The Chair thanked Lydia for her statement which would be referred to the relevant Cabinet Member and placed on the Council’s Minute book.

Martin Blewett, Rector of Timsbury, Camerton, Priston & Dunkerton presented a petition from villagers of Timsbury, Farmborough, High Littleton, Hallatrow and Tunley, signed by over 1,000 local people, requesting that funding be provided to re-instate the weekend First Bus 179 service to these villages, to prevent the potential withdrawal of the whole service in the summer of this year and thirdly to argue for a more fully thought-out and strategic provision of rural public transport in the region.  In response to a question from Councillor Mark Shelford about the petition having now been referred to WECA as the office responsible for this service, Martin responded that he was aware that had taken place.  Councillor Neil Butters asked about the impact of the loss of this service, to which Martin reiterated those points covered in his speech.  Councillor Liz Hardman asked if Martin was aware that Paulton had also lost their 179 bus service and that Councillor John Bull and herself had met with Chris Hanson, FirstBus Head of Operations, about this; to which Martin replied that he hadn’t been aware, but welcomed that.  Councillor Sarah Bevan asked where the split of responsibility lay between the Council and FirstBus.  Martin responded that he wasn’t sure but stressed that rural services should be prioritised due to the lack of alternative transport options.  The Chair thanked Martin for his statement and the petition which would be referred to the relevant Cabinet Member and placed on the Council’s Minute book.

David Redgewell made a statement regarding public transport issues and stressing the need for a Bus strategy from WECA.  Councillor Tim Warren asked if David was aware that the Bus strategy should be out for consultation in a couple of months, to which he responded that he was.  In response to a question from Councillor Neil Butters about what could be done to inject some further urgency, David responded that it could be raised at the WECA Scrutiny meeting.  Councillor John Bull asked if David considered that the role of the WECA Mayor should be to look at franchising projects rather than leaving that to commercial operators, to which he responded that he was open to franchising but preferred quality bus partnerships.  The Chair thanked David for his statement which would be referred to the relevant Cabinet Member and placed on the Council’s Minute book.

Adam Ley-Lange made a statement calling on the Council to declare a climate emergency and suggesting some practical solutions for achieving this.  Councillor Tim Warren asked if Adam was aware that there were some ambitious measures planned that had cross party support. Adam replied that he was aware and hoped that they would all be in place by 2030.  Councillor Richard Samuel asked Adam if he was aware that the Liberal Democrat motion to March Council had 2030 as the target, to which Adam replied that he was and that his speech was to those who might be considering a later target.  The Chair thanked Adam for his statement which would be referred to the relevant Cabinet Member and placed on the Council’s Minute book.

John Chapman made a statement regarding litter enforcement contracts and problems associated with these.  Councillor Tim Warren asked John if he agreed that the Council should try to stop littering, to which he replied that he did agree but challenged the route for doing so. In response to a question from Councillor Alison Millar about the typical length of time contracts are in place, John responded that many are only for 6 months, and very unpopular.  Councillor Robin Moss asked John if he agreed that littler bins were the first port of call in addressing littering, to which John agreed and more effective than ‘bandits in the bushes’ (litter enforcement officers).  The Chair thanked John for his statement which would be referred to the relevant Cabinet Member and placed on the Council’s Minute book.

Jessica Johannesson made a statement calling upon the Council to declare a climate emergency and take steps to become carbon neutral by 2030.  Councillor Shaun McGall asked if Jessica considered that Avon Pension Fund (of which he is a trustee), in addition to its recent creation of a low carbon fund and renewable energy fund, should divest its assets out of fossil fuel extraction, to which she responded that she considered the Fund should divest out of fossil fuels entirely.  The Chair thanked Jessica for her statement which would be referred to the relevant Cabinet Member and placed on the Council’s Minute book.

Rachel Willis made a statement outlining frustrations with issues falling between Curo and the Council, and cited various examples of being passed between the two organisations.  Councillor Tim Warren asked Rachel if she was aware that Councillors shared some of these frustrations too, but were in discussions with Curo about how to address this.  Rachel welcomed this.  In response to a question from Councillor Tim Ball about whether Rachel thought it would be a good idea if Curo used the Fix My Street App, she replied that any mechanism for sharing data between the organisations would be good.   Councillor Robin Moss asked if Rachel was aware that in 2012, the Liberal Democrat Administration gave up Curo Board representation, to which Rachel replied that she hadn’t been aware and that seemed a bit short-sighted.  The Chair thanked Rachel for her statement which would be referred to the relevant Cabinet Member and placed on the Council’s Minute book.

Revd Philip Hawthorn made a statement calling upon the Council to become carbon neutral by 2030.  In response to a question from Councillor Tim Warren whether the Church of England had an environmental strategy for this at parish level, Philip responded that they did and it was mainly about carbon neutrality and awareness and they had a good team in the Diocese working on this.  Councillor Richard Samuel asked if Philip agreed that the highest priority should be tackling carbon dioxide emissions from petrol motor vehicles, to which Philip responded that it needed to be part of a portfolio of measures.  The Chair thanked Philip for his statement which would be referred to the relevant Cabinet Member and placed on the Council’s Minute book.