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;

Alasdair Barron made a statement about the Sydney Place Liveable neighbourhood, and Liveable Neighbourhoods more widely.  In response to a query from Councillor Shaun Hughes about the effect the roadworks and closure to the A36 had had on the traffic data, Alasdair responded that what it meant was that, in addition to the 3,100 vehicles displaced from Sydney road during the trial, an additional 15,000 vehicles will be added to the congestion when the road fully reopens, meaning the traffic increases on the boundary  roads will rise by a further 50%. Councillor Tim Warren asked if Alasdair considered it was beneficial for air quality to have a Liveable Neighbourhood in his area to which Alasdair responded that he did think in theory it was, but the additional traffic has meant that air quality was worse and it did not benefit him personally.  Councillor Joanna Wright asked how the criteria for the key decision had been made.  Alasdair replied that it was his understanding that, in law, a decision which affects more than one ward is a key decision.  Councillor Eleanor Jackson asked, in the context of road diversions, if Alasdair was aware of the benefits of the D2X being diverted through Radstock and its popularity.  Alasdair replied that he was not aware.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the Minute book and online record.

Jon Avent addressed Councillors on the subject of the Sydney Place Liveable Neighbourhood and Liveable Neighbourhoods more generally.  Councillor Tim Warren noted Jon’s comment that he had not any response from his ward councillor and wanted to check if this was the case.  Jon confirmed it was.  Councillor Joanna Wright asked Jon how long an ETRO could be in place before a decision was needed, to which Jon replied that he did not know.  Councillor Shaun Hughes checked Jon was aware that the decision had been called in, to which Jon replied that he was.  Councillor Kevin Guy asked Jon about contact from the Liveable Neighbourhood team, to which Jon replied that he had been talking about a response from the ward member and there had just been one email about a basement vault. A full copy of the statement has been added to the Minute book and online record.

Benazir Jatoi, one of 8 trustees of the charity Voices, a small Bath based, grassroots organisation that provides domestic abuse survivors prevention and recovery support spoke to Councillors.  Councillor Joanna Wright asked what the consequences would be if this support was not available.  Benazir explained it would be a false economy due to the costs of rehabilitating survivors.  Councillor Kevin Guy asked if the charity representatives would like to meet the Cabinet Member for Adult Services, to which Benazir agreed.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the Minute book and online record.

Tara Gelpey also spoke in support of the charity Voices, as a survivor of abuse who had been supported by the charity.  Councillor Joanna Wright asked Tara what she thought might have happened if she had not been able to access this support.  Tara replied that she would probably be in another abusive relationship as she had not been able to recognise the situation she was in.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the Minute book and online record.

Emily Denne, the CEO of Voices, addressed the meeting.  Councillor Kevin Guy extended an invitation to Emily to meet with the Cabinet Member for Adult Services which she accepted.  Councillor Joanna Wright asked Emily about the impact for young people in the longer term, to which Emily explained that most of the work they do is with adults, and so they support parents to help their children address trauma, which is vitally important as research shows the very high rates of children becoming abusers if they are not supported.  Councillor Eleanor Jackson asked about the ideal referral route from the RUH, to which Emily explained that the best-case scenario was for hospitals to have an IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advisor) who can then refer on. A full copy of the statement has been added to the Minute book and online record.

Grace Wiltshire addressed Council about the plight of refugees in Bath, and in particular Palestinian refugees, and asked about progress on various aspects.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the Minute book and online record.

Jess Collier made a statement opposing the Sydney Road Liveable Neighbourhood scheme and calling for the Council to listen to views and reverse the decision.  Councillor Joanna Wright asked Jess how many children attended the local school.  Jess responded that she did not have that figure.  A full copy of the statement has been added to the Minute book and online record.

David Redgewell made a statement about various transport issues including the transport levy, the community transport network and the importance of continuing to work with WECA to reduce reliance on Westlink.  Councillor Eleanor Jackson asked David about the accuracy of real-time timetables, to which he agreed that they needed to be sorted out.

The Chair thanked the speakers for their statements, which were referred to the relevant Cabinet Member, Member or officer.