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 following members of the public had registered to address Council;

Deborah Collins made a statement about Active travel, a copy of which has been placed on the Minute book and is attached to these minutes.  Councillor Vic Pritchard asked Ms Collins whether she agreed that an acceptable balance was needed between car travel and other forms of travel.  Ms Collins agreed that a balance was needed but the problem is that moving to car friendly policies in the short-term may be convenient, but this means traffic then increases and it becomes harder for everyone.

Onkar Saini made a statement about community engagement with regard to the Voter ID item later on the agenda, a copy of which has been placed on the Minute book and is attached to these minutes.  Councillor Vic Pritchard checked which ward Mr Saini was standing in, and was informed it was Combe Down.

Naomi Johns, Director of the West of England Falconry centre, made a statement regarding the ecological emergency item and how that aligns with the work of the centre, a copy of which has been placed on the Minute book and is attached to these minutes.  She briefly outlined the work of the charity and explained that they were forming relationships with key groups, looking for funding opportunities and to share research and raise awareness and would love to align with the Council too.  Councillor Guy asked if she would like to meet with a Cabinet member to take this further, to which Ms Johns replied that she would.

Fiona Gourley had registered to make a statement about the Village Agents’ scheme.  As Fiona had tested positive for covid and was unable to attend the meeting, David Harding presented the statement on Fiona’s behalf.  A full copy of the statement has been placed on the Minute book and is attached to these minutes.

Bob Goodman made a statement about this Administration’s approach to residents, a copy of which has been placed on the Minute book and is attached to these minutes.  In reference to comments made during his statement, Councillor Richard Samuel asked Mr Goodman if he was aware that this Administration had followed all financial procedures and policies that were in place when Mr Goodman was a councillor, and further whether he was aware that the Council deferred millions of pounds to the business community during the covid period, without a single complaint.  Mr Goodman did not agree with this position.  Councillor Colin Blackburn referred to Mr Goodman’s comment regarding inept consultation and asked if he had any examples of that, to which Mr Goodman referred to the recent Parks department consultation on Backstones Open Space.

Dana Lazarevic made a statement about institutional discrimination, a copy of which has been placed on the Minute book and is attached to these minutes.  Councillor Eleanor Jackson asked Ms Lazarevic if she was aware that only 15% of senior academic posts are held by women, to which Ms Lazarevic responded that she was aware and added that she had applied for non-academic positions too, and had still been rejected.

David Harding made a statement about public transport within the Chew Valley and specifically the supported bus service 672 which had not been funded by WECA and would shortly lose its funding from the Council.  He outlined the reasons why this service was so vital and potential problems with the Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) proposals and asked if the Council would consider a further extension of the financial support while the DRT service was being established.  Councillor Richard Samuel asked Mr Harding if he was aware that, due to the specific circumstances around public transport in the Chew Valley and the untested nature of the DRT service, he had today approved further finances, in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Climate and Sustainable Travel to extend the support to the 672 service to the end of July 2023.  Mr Harding responded that he had not been aware, and greatly welcomed this news.  Councillor Liz Hardman asked Mr Harding if he was aware that all the supported bus services subsidised by B&NES Council were in Bath and none in North East Somerset, to which Mr Harding responded that he was aware and was also aware that the proposal to WECA included a spine service and a Chew Magna to Bristol service being retained.

Angela Goldson made a statement about HGV traffic.  A full copy of the statement has been placed on the Minute book and is attached to these minutes.  Councillor Vic Pritchard asked Ms Goldson if she was saying that a chicane road layout was against public opinion, to which Ms Goldson replied that she was.  Councillor Robin Moss asked if residents were consulted on the parking model, to which Ms Goldson replied that the original model they were consulted on had a continuous line of parking on both sides of the road, using inaccurate measurements. When residents pointed out this would not work, the alternatives presented were for residents to keep parking on the east side of the road which currently works well, or the chicane so residents were only consulted on an unworkable model.

David Redgewell had submitted a statement about the public transport network.  As David was unable to attend due to the train strike, Councillor Hardman summarised the main points.  A full copy of the statement has been placed on the Minute book and is attached to these minutes.

Andy Stewart made a statement regarding the Climate & Ecological emergency item on the agenda.  A full copy of the statement has been placed on the Minute book and is attached to these minutes.  Councillor Sarah Warren asked if Mr Stewart was aware how many trees the Council had planted, to which Mr Stewart responded that he had planted a considerable amount and thought that the Council had planted over 11 thousand.  Councillor Vic Pritchard asked Mr Stewart if he was aware that the Clean Air zone was introduced by the Conservative Administration and Mr Stewart responded that it was implemented by the Liberal Democrat Administration.  Councillor Robin Moss asked if Mr Stewart shared his hope that the Administration’s tree planting figures were more accurate that its house building figures, to which Mr Stewart responded that he was acutely aware of the need for social and affordable housing in the city and commended the Council for all it was doing to try and increase that.

Chad Allen made a statement about English ivy and its negative effect on trees’ ability to photosynthesise.  He called on the Council to consider this in its tree planting programme and take steps to remove this invasive weed which is destroying our natural habitat.  Councillor Karen Walker asked if Mr Allen thought the Council should do more to stop the invasion of English ivy, to which he responded that he thought we all should be doing more.

The Chair thanked all speakers for their statements which would be considered by the relevant Cabinet Member.