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.

Susan Charles made a statement about Access, Planning and Buses.  Susan called on the Council to have accessibility in mind for all aspects of travel use and gave some examples of recent problems.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the Minute book and the online record.

Jason Towells made a statement about Fosse Way school and called on the Council to reconsider funding students at this vital service.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the Minute book and the online record.  Councillor Shaun Hughes asked whether there had been any changes in the children’s needs that would support the Council’s decision, to which Jason replied that the children’s needs had not changed.  Councillor Sarah Evans asked if this would potentially affect school attendance, to which Jason replied, potentially it would.  He explained that transition is very difficult and traumatic for these students and being on site means this is minimised so they are able to able to access school calmly, and challenging behaviour at home is reduced.  Unfortunately, some children may refuse to attend at all.  Councillor Lesley Mansell asked if Jason was aware that the Children, Adults, Health & Wellbeing PDS Panel had considered this issue and specifically the disproportionate number of young people with special educational needs within the youth justice system and whether he considered that withdrawing funding may mean these young people are more likely to end up in the youth justice system. Jason replied that, as some of these young people were severely autistic, their needs were different.  Councillor Joanna Wright asked if the closure of the residential provision might lead to some children going into care, to which Jason replied that potentially it could mean that for a small group of children.

Joanne Meredith made a statement calling for a new community hall in Keynsham.  She spoke as a member of Keynsham light opera group for 25 years, serving as chair of committee for over 10 years and a director for the group since 2010 and also the volunteer artistic director of Phoenix Keynsham Youth Theatre.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the Minute book and the online record.  Joanne set out the reasons why a community facility was needed and would benefit the Keynsham community.  Councillor Dave Biddleston asked whether the problems Joanne had described were experienced by other organisations in the town, to which Joanne replied that she was on a local working group and these difficulties were shared by other groups.  Councillor Kevin Guy asked if there was any kind of business case whereby the Council might be able to match funds raised by the community, to which Joanne responded that she wasn’t aware that there was.  Councillor Chris Warren asked for clarification on the age range for the Phoenix group, which was given, and mentioned the hall at the new Pixash facility.

Bethany Claus Widick made a statement about the Winifred’s Lane ETRO, a copy of which has been added to the Minute book and the online record.  Bethany explained that the ETRO had made a clear and positive impact on the quality of life and safety in her neighbourhood.

Charlie Knight, a student at the University of Bath, made a statement about making WECA work for Bath, a copy of which has been added to the Minute book and the online record.  Charlie thanked the Council for a number of positive impacts the Council had had on the city.  Councillor Robin Moss asked Charlie if he was aware that the Council also represented North East Somerset.  Charlie agreed that he was aware.

Adrian Inker made a statement making the case for a community hall in Keynsham, a copy of which has been added to the Minute book and the online record.  He presented data about the population increase and set out the many benefits such a facility would bring, including bringing together charities and community organisations to encourage joint working and support.  Councillor Kevin Guy asked if there was yet a business plan for this proposal, to which Adrian replied that they could work on one, but that it would be helpful to know at the outset that they had the Council’s support before investing time and effort.  Councillor Dave Biddleston queried whether Adrian was aware that plans for a theatre complex at Broadlands school had been included in the Building Schools for the Future programme some years ago, which had been cancelled by the Conservative government.  Adrian replied that he had been involved in the plans for that project, which had coincided with the Academy programme which took this out of the Local Authority’s remit which had been very unfortunate.  Councillor Sam Ross asked if Keynsham Town Council would be involved in plans, to which Adrian replied that they would be part of any consultation and planning process, but ownership would need to remain with the community.

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Taylor Wilson-Quon made a statement about the National Highways recommendation to make the A350 a strategic route from the M4 to the Dorset coast, thereby diverting traffic and particularly HGVs from driving through Bath.  He welcomed this as a positive step forward, leading to less congestion and pollution in the city.

Simon McCombe made a statement about rural transport (a copy of which has been added to the Minute book and the online record) and in particular the ‘Big Lemon’ bus service (X91 and X99) which serves the Chew Valley.  He outlined how vital this service was to the community and hoped that WECA would continue to provide this.  Councillor Kevin Guy asked if Simon would like to meet with Councillor Fiona Gourley, the new Cabinet Project Lead for Rural connectivity.  Simon replied that he was sure the Chew Valley Sustainable Transport Project group would be interested in doing so.

The Chair thanked the speakers for their statements, which would be referred to the relevant Cabinet Member.