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 people;

Chad Allen made a statement about English ivy.  He explained how it takes over buildings, trees, walls, telegraph/lighting poles and can cause significant damage.  He called on the Council to acknowledge that action was needed to remove this hazard. The statement was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Jeff Manning made a statement, supporting a petition from the residents of Foxhill, which called on the Council to take a radical fresh look at its working relationship with Curo.  He cited various examples of recent problems and called for closer engagement to resolve issues. A copy of the statement is linked to the online minutes and placed on the Minute book.  In response to an offer from Councillor Kevin Guy to meet him and the ward member, Mr Manning replied that he would welcome that.  Councillor Joanna Wright asked Mr Manning for his view of the mental health implications on residents if there were poor quality services, to which he replied that the effect was significant on the individuals and the community. The statement was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Gavin Hambrey spoke on behalf of the Bath Riverside Residents’ Association gull action group, and in his own capacity, about urban gulls.  He outlined the problems they caused, the steps they had taken to improve the situation and called for further measures to reduce the negative impact gulls have on local residents.  Councillor Kevin Guy asked if Mr Hambrey considered that Local Authorities need more power to deal with this issue; to which he responded that what was key was getting Natural England to understand the impact gulls are having on people.  Councillor Grant Johnson asked what else might be done, taking into consideration that their protected status prevents the use of greater control measures.  Mr Hambrey replied that the regulatory approach from Natural England needed looking at, and called for a collective voice about potential law changes.  Councillor June Player asked if Mr Hambrey agreed that the Council should be engaging more robustly at a senior level to address the residents’ concerns, to which he replied that he did agree.  Councillor Tim Warren asked if egg removal was taking place, to which Mr Hambrey replied that targeted removal was taking place but the numbers were very limited, required a separate regulatory process each time and were funded privately by the management company.  Councillor Joanna Wright asked if it would be helpful for the Council to host a portal where residents could register gull activity; Mr Hambrey replied that he believed there was already an arrangement such as this but anything that could be done to make that more widely known and used would be helpful.  A full copy of the statement is linked to the online minutes and placed on the Minute book.  The statement was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

Matt Cooper made a statement about the merits of switching to a plant-based diet and urged the Council to prioritise plant-based food options wherever they could.  A copy of the statement is linked to the online minutes and placed on the Minute book.  In response to a question from Councillor Kevin Guy, Mr Cooper confirmed that he would be pleased to meet with Councillor Sarah Warren to discuss this.  Councillor Grant Johnson asked Mr Cooper if this proposal was not counterintuitive to a sustainable diet as it would lead to greater deforestation to provide enough protein and higher levels of waste.  Mr Cooper referred the councillor to the National Food strategy and the Committee on Climate Change, both of which state that a significant reduction in meat and diary options are necessary in order to meet our Paris climate obligations.  Councillor Joanna Wright asked which other Councils had committed to this and what type of measures were involved.  Mr Cooper replied that 12 Councils had passed a motion to move towards plant based eating.  Oxfordshire County Council had adopted this fully, and various other Councils including Leeds, Norwich and Exeter were taking steps such as no meat on certain days or no meat for internal events.  The statement was referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.

The Chair thanked the members of the public for their statements.