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;

Ian Herve made a statement about microplastics and specifically pollution from artificial pitches.  Councillor Matt McCabe asked Ian about Sport England’s advice about this, to which he responded that their advice was scant regarding the environmental impact, but plenty of alternative advice was available.  Councillor Colin Blackburn asked about international research, to which Ian responded that a very long-term study was being conducted in California and was due to report next year, but there wasn’t funding for such research to be done in the UK.  A copy of Ian’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and attached to the online minutes.

Nicolette Boater made a statement about the robustness of the Climate emergency action plan.  She welcomed the report but stressed that it was vital to now deliver on this and suggested a number of recommendations to achieve this. A copy of Nicolette’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and attached to the online minutes.

Lin Patterson made a statement on behalf of Climate Emergency Watch - B&NES, a new group that has been established to keep an eye on the Council’s efforts to meet the climate emergency.  They welcome the 3 initial priorities that have been outlined.  Lin stressed the need for a collaborative approach and invited new members to contact them through 3SG.  Councillor Vic Pritchard asked if there were members from North East Somerset, to which Lin replied that there were a few, and they would welcome more.

Faye Dicker made a statement about the Joint Strategic Plan and the impact of housing development and roads in and around Whitchurch.  She called upon the new Council to remove the threat of the housing blight and negative traffic impact such proposals would have on their beautiful part of the green belt. A copy of Faye’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and attached to the online minutes.

Robin Kerr made a statement about the Recreation Ground Trust, calling on Councillors to use their influence to urge the Trust to improve their governance and accessibility. Councillor Dine Romero asked Robin if he was aware that the Council no longer had the right to nominate trustees or influence their processes, to which Robin responded that he was aware of that, but that the Charity Commission might respond more readily to an approach from the Leader of the Council.  A copy of Robin’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and attached to the online minutes.

John Branston, a resident of Oldfield Park, made a statement about the negative impact of the high density of HMO conversions on his area.  He explained that existing HMOs were now being further expanded creating additional pressure on the area.  Residents responded to the draft Local Plan consultation nearly a year ago.  He called for officers and the Planning Committee to be given the necessary powers to deal with this and called upon Councillors to do whatever is possible to enable this to happen.  Councillor Tim Ball asked if John understood the delay with the Local Plan and offered to meet him to discuss this further.  John replied that he didn’t and so would welcome the opportunity to meet.

Caroline Kay from Bath Preservation Trust (BPT) made a statement welcoming the Climate Emergency declaration and outlined the ways in which BPT could help as a property owner and advocate.  Councillor Sarah Warren asked Caroline if she would like to meet to discuss various aspects of her speech, to which Caroline responded that she would.  Councillor Paul Myers asked Caroline to confirm that she was talking about ways in which historic buildings could be made more energy efficient, to which she responded that she was, and referred again to the 2011 ‘Warmer Bath’ report which had addressed this.  A copy of Caroline’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and attached to the online minutes.

Wera Hobhouse, MP, made a statement in which she congratulated the Council on declaring a Climate Emergency and committed to do whatever she could at government level to support the Council.  She ran through the range of measures that would be needed and urged the Council to act now.  Councillor Dine Romero asked Wera whether there would be funding from national government to support Councils in implementing these measures, to which she responded that, in her opinion, the current government was not doing this effectively but she would be standing up for her local area and trying to get government support.

Mark Baptist made a statement supporting the Climate Emergency commitment and raised the issue of refurbishment versus new build, which was not always the most sustainable option due to the embedded carbon and called on the Council to be making good, science based decisions.

Mary Walsh made a statement reiterating objections to the prospect of a park and ride at the entrance to Whitchurch village and tentatively welcomed the Inspector’s decision in regards to this.  She raised a query about the provision of low cost housing.  Councillor Tim Ball asked if Mary would like to meet in the new year, to which she responded that she would.  A copy of Mary’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and attached to the online minutes.

Annabel Tall, parliamentary candidate for Bath, made a statement calling on the Council to reverse plans to close 5 play parks and urged the Council to look at innovative solutions that had been used by other Councils, with the same constraints, to provide more play parks.  Councillor Dine Romero asked Annabel if she was aware that the Council were not planning to close any play areas but were looking at more imaginative ways to provide them and wondered if Annabel considered that the previous Administration had been right to propose this.  Annabel responded that it was up to the Council to look at how other Councils were able to manage this. Councillor Paul Myers asked Annabel if she thought that the budget should now be reprioritised to address this, to which she responded that she did.  Councillor June Player referred to Loxton Drive play area and asked if Annabel agreed that it was important for a safe area to be maintained for very young children, to which Annabel responded that she did.  Councillor Robin Moss asked for Annabel’s view of Boris Johnson’s statement regarding personal responsibility for obesity, to which she responded that her party took the issue seriously.  A copy of Annabel’s statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and attached to the online minutes.

The Chair thanked all the speakers and referred their statements to the relevant Cabinet Members.