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;

Debbie Andrews made a statement regarding the nuisance from seagulls.  A copy of the statement has been placed on the Minute book and attached to the online record.  Mrs Andrews provided a number of examples of how seagulls were negatively impacting residents’ lives and called on the Council to provide funding for a solution.  Councillor June Player asked Mrs Andrews if she would like the Council to petition Natural England to allow egg and nest removal, to which Mrs Andrews replied that she definitely would like that, as the chicks needed to be taken to a more appropriate place.  Councillor Tim Warren commented that nest removal used to take place and asked if Mrs Andrews had noticed an increase in the problem since this had stopped.  Mrs Andrews replied that she definitely had.

Adam Reynolds made a statement raising two concerns; the Somer Valley Links consultation and urged councillors to attend the consultation events and delivery issues of the Liveable Neighbourhood trials, calling for the focus to change so that officer time was not spent on the wrong aspects.  A copy of the statement has been placed on the Minute book and attached to the online record.

Chad Allen made a statement outlining his concerns about the destructive effect of English Ivy on buildings and other trees and challenged the position of the Royal Horticultural Society on ivy.

Natalie Barnett from Climate Hub B&NES made a statement calling for a permanent Climate hub to be provided in Bath city centre and setting out the reasons why this was necessary.  A copy of the statement has been placed on the Minute book and attached to the online record.  Councillor Kevin Guy asked if Ms Barnett would like to meet with the relevant Cabinet Member to discuss this, to which she replied that that would be great.  Councillor Liz Hardman asked why a physical space was needed to which Ms Barnett responded that they had considerable experience doing pop ups, but there were benefits that arose from a permanent physical focus.  Councillor Shaun Hughes asked about plans to expand into North East Somerset, to which Ms Barnett responded that Bath was the current focus, but they would like to expand to other areas such as Keynsham and Midsomer Norton.

Leigh Samways from the Moorland Road Traders’ Association made a statement expressing the community’s concern about the Residents’ Parking zone (RPZ) in the Westmoreland/Oldfield Park area and the impact it will have on local businesses and shops.  She acknowledged the efforts that had been made recently by the Council to listen to and address their concerns and called on the Council to keep engaging with them so that their vibrant community was not negatively affected.  Councillor Colin Blackburn noted that the signs for the RPZ had already gone up, 6 weeks before the scheme starts, and wondered if they felt this would have a detrimental effect on the community while they were trying to prepare for its introduction, to which Ms Samways replied that she did think so as customers were already confused and unclear about whether they could park.  Councillor Tim Warren asked Ms Samways if she considered this might signal the end of their business to which she responded that she hoped that was not the case but did think it will do so for some businesses and shops and it was not good to see gaps on the High street.

Andrew Dawes, Operations Manager at St Bartholomew's Church in Oldfield Park made a statement on behalf of 'The Oldfield Park Community Alliance' and presented a petition of over 1800 signatures with the following wording;

“We, the undersigned residents of Oldfield Park & BANES ask that the Council cancel plans to introduce their proposed RPZ scheme and instead introduce a scheme that still prioritises residents but which also accommodates the needs of our valued community shops & institutions.”

Mr Dawes urged the Council to re-think their proposals and continue to engage with the community to come up with a better solution.  Councillor Shaun Hughes asked Mr Dawes if he was aware if the plan was still for the Permit app to be rolled out, which would allow organisations such as St Bartholomew’s to book large volume visitor events such as weddings and funerals. Mr Dawes replied that he thought it was still on the table, but at the moment, parking was not possible for a large event over 200 people.

Malcolm Baldwin made a statement calling on the Cabinet to press ahead with implementation of its programme.  A copy of the statement has been placed on the Minute book and attached to the online record.

The Chair thanked the members of the public for their statements, and the petition, which would be considered by the relevant Cabinet Members.