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;

Stuart Bridge spoke to Council about the 2 new pedestrian crossings on Bloomfield road, setting out the improvements this had made to safety in the area and thanking the Council for these upgrades.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the online record and the Minute book.

Hillary Carr, Chair of Bathford Parish councillor, made a statement about the collaborative relationship between BANES & Bathford Parish Council and its community.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the online record and the Minute book.

Theresa Franklin made a statement about bike hangars, expressing positivity for active travel and thanking the Council for increasing the number of bike hangars in the city from 21 to 41.  She urged the Council to continue to promote active travel.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the online record and the Minute book.

Phoenix Dewberry, a member of the Bath Pride Committee and founder of Safe Space Bath made a statement proposing measures to ensure the city protects trans and queer folks, assisted by their friend, Ross.  Councillor Lesley Mansell asked if Phoenix was aware that the Supreme Court ruling has not changed the requirements of the Equalities Act, to which Phoenix replied that they were aware, but it still had had a considerable impact.  Councillor Tim Warren asked Phoenix if they had personally been threatened, to which Phoenix replied that they had not personally experienced this, but had many friends who had.  Councillor Sam Ross asked how Phoenix would define a safe space.  Phoenix replied that it was somewhere that welcomes, celebrates and protects  trans people.  Councillor Kevin Guy asked if Phoenix would like to meet with the Equalities Officer and Cabinet Member, to which they responded that they would.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the online record and the Minute book.

Bob Goodman made a statement about the state of the Council.  He referred to listed buildings consent concerns that he has previously raised with the Council, and in particular, at 10 Wellington Buildings.  He gave his view that regulations had been breached and that the Council was not taking the action it should to deal with unauthorised activity.  Councillor Eleanor Jackson asked if Bob was aware that enforcement is left to the discretion of the Local Authority, to which Bob replied with his view that this was not the case.  Councillor Colin Blackburn asked how long the Chief Executive had known about the alleged criminal act that had been committed by the Council,* to which Bob replied that he had brought this to the attention of officers in January/February 2023 and had been told at the time that the Chief Executive had been informed.  Councillor Tim Warren asked what qualifications Bob had to be able to make these claims, to which Bob replied that he had been a trained Buildings Surveyor with Bath City Council and a fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and had considerable knowledge in this area.

Helen Bedser, Chief Executive of Julian House, made a statement about the future of Off the Streets service provision in B&NES and called on the Council to take urgent action to secure the future of the off-the-streets service and to commit to a fair, sustainable budget for the homelessness pathway.  Councillor Robin Moss referred to Helen’s mention of the two business cases they had submitted, and whether they had received a formal response from the Council.  Helen replied that they had had constructive engagement with the Council and received £25k for a feasibility study which they matched for both business cases.  Those were submitted 8 months ago and 2 months ago but as yet, no formal response had been received, which made planning for continuity of the service very difficult.  Councillor Karen Walker asked if Helen was aware that, in May, the Council published a preliminary market engagement notice for the provision of a hostel.  Helen replied that she was aware, and that the engagement notice had been extended again to 31^st July.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the online record and the Minute book.

Ed Browning made a statement setting out why a better public toilet strategy for B&NES was needed.  He explained his personal perspective as to why this was vital, and also mentioned his experience as a Tour guide and the impact of poor toilet provision on the visitor experience.  He urged the Council to support the motion later on the agenda, and press ahead with practical improvements.  Councillor Kevin Guy asked if Ed was supportive of the idea of making the market toilets open to the public.  Ed replied that he would welcome that, and added that improvements to them would be appreciated.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the online record and the Minute book.

Ghika Savva, Student Community Partnership Manager, made a statement highlighting the beneficial work of the Partnership and the positive impacts it produced, but calling for further funding to help the work continue with increased student numbers.  Councillor Colin Blackburn asked how much funding the University of Bath and Bath Spa University contributed each year, to which Ghika replied that it was 50% of the costs.  Councillor Tim Warren asked about actual amounts, to which Ghika replied that the cost of the operation was about £100k a year and they commit to 3 years funding at a time.  Councillor Karen Walker asked if there was a figure for the amount of students living in Peasedown St John, Radstock, Midsomer Norton and Westfield.  Ghika replied there were a few, but not in HMOs and added that students were moving further afield as accommodation options in the city reduced.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the online record and the Minute book.

Malcolm Baldwin, a member of the Circus Area Residents Association (CARA) made a statement entitled ‘Future-proofing our tourist economy sector: Part 2’ and urging Councillors to support the motion later on the meeting’s agenda.  Councillor Karen Walker asked Malcolm if, should the motion be successful, he would agree that the benefits should be across the whole of B&NES and not just Bath.  Malcolm agreed that should be the case, but proposed that resources should be targeted on where the need was greatest and some kind of sliding scale might work.  Councillor Shaun Hughes asked if Malcolm considered that a levy would solve ‘over-tourism’, to which Malcolm replied that it would not necessarily do that, but that tourism needed to be managed differently, with a balance between visitors and residents.  Councillor Eleanor Jackson asked if it would be a good idea to devote some of the proceeds to the provision of public toilets, to which Malcolm replied that that would be a good example to use some of the funds.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the online record and the Minute book.

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

[* At the Chair’s discretion, Councillor Blackburn apologised to the Chief Executive and Councillors for the offence caused by his question, which he now retracted.]