Venue: John Meikle Room, The Deane House, Taunton, TA1 1HE
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Election of Chair
It is a legal requirement that the first formal business at the Annual Meeting of Council shall be the election of a Councillor to be the Chair of the Council.
Once the new Chair is elected they will make and sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and receive the Chain of Office.
The newly elected Chairman will preside from this point in the proceedings. Minutes: RESOLVED that Councillor Hazel Ruth Prior-Sankey be elected Chair of the Council for the ensuing municipal year.
Councillor Prior-Sankey signed and made the declaration of acceptance of office, and thanked Councillors for their support.
A moment’s silence was then undertaken at the behest of the Chair for the memory of former Councillor and Mayor of Taunton Deane Bob Bowrah BEM.
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Appointment of Vice-Chair
Once the new Vice-Chair is appointed they will make and sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and receive the Chain of Office. Minutes: RESOLVED that Councillor Simon Adrien Paulian Coles be appointed Vice-Chair for the ensuing Municipal year.
Councillor Coles signed and made the declaration of acceptance of office, and thanked Councillors for their support.
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Apologies
To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillors J Adkins, I Aldridge and D Durdan. |
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Declarations of Interest
To receive and note any declarations of disclosable pecuniary or prejudicial or personal interests in respect of any matters included on the agenda for consideration at this meeting.
(The personal interests of Councillors and Clerks of Somerset County Council, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes.) Minutes: Members present at the meeting declared the following personal interests in their capacity as a Councillor or Clerk of a County, Town or Parish Council or any other Local Authority:-
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To note the minutes of the last Shadow Full Council held on 26th March 2019 and the minutes of the last Taunton Deane Borough Council and West Somerset Council both held on 20th March 2019. Additional documents: Minutes: (Minutes of the meeting of Shadow Full Council held on 26th March 2019, Taunton Deane Borough Council and West Somerset Full Council held on 20th March 2019 were circulated with the agenda)
RESOLVED that the minutes of Shadow Council held on 26th March 2019 be noted.
RESOLVED that the minutes of Taunton Deane Borough Council held on 20th March 2019 be noted.
RESOLVED that the minutes of West Somerset Council held on 20th March 2019 be noted, with the amendment of reference to a statement by the Leader of the Opposition to be inserted at the request of Councillor Pilkington.
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Receive any communications or announcements from the Chair of the Council
Minutes: The Chair read out the Chairman’s announcements, and advised that as a mode of address ‘Chair’ or ‘Chairman’ would be acceptable and there was no need to prefix with ‘Madam’.
Councillor Roger Habgood was invited to give a statement on the Somerset West and Taunton Charity Walk that was held on 12th May 2019. Around forty members of staff took part in an eighteen mile walk from The Deane House in Taunton to West Somerset House in Williton along the Quantock Way, to mark the coming together of the two Councils. He was pleased to be able to report that over one thousand pounds had been raised for Somerset Unit for Radiotherapy Equipment (S.U.R.E). The thanks of the Council would go to those whose efforts were made in organising the event.
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Election of the Leader of the Council
To elect a Leader of the Council for a four-year term of office. Minutes: RESOLVED that the appointment of Councillor Federica Smith-Roberts as Leader of the Council be confirmed for a four year term of office. |
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Receive any communications or announcements from the Leader of the Council
Minutes: The Leader of the Council, Councillor Federica Smith-Roberts thanked Councillors for their support and stated that it was an honour to have been elected as the Leader of this new Council. She stated that there was much to achieve over the next four years but this was both challenging and exciting. She expressed a wish to work with each and every one of the Councillors to achieve more together for the areas we loved throughout this new District. She believed in honesty, openness and transparency, principles that were at the core of everything that we did. She affirmed that she was looking forward to working together with the great staff at the Council. She introduced her new team of Executive Councillors;
DEPUTY LEADER & COMMUNICATIONS AND CULTURE: Councillor Benet Allen
COMMUNITY: Councillor Chris Booth
HOUSING: Councillor Fran Smith
CORPORATE RESOURCES: Councillor Ross Henley
PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION: Councillor Mike Rigby
ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES: Councillor Alan Wedderkopp
CLIMATE CHANGE: Councillor Peter Pilkington
ASSET MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Councillor Habib Farbahi
SPORTS, PARKS AND LEISURE: Councillor Richard Lees
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Election of the Chair of the Scrutiny Committee
The Scrutiny Chair shall be drawn from among those Councillors proposed to serve on the Scrutiny Committee who are not from the majority political group and are not Chair of any other committee. Minutes: RESOLVED that Councillor Gwilym Wren be elected the Chair of the Scrutiny Committee for the ensuing municipal year.
Councillor Wren congratulated Councillor Smith-Roberts on her election as Leader of the Council, and looked forward to working closely over the next four years to take forward the whole area and make a considerable difference, with Scrutiny to have a key part in that. |
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Public Participation
To receive any questions, statements or petitions from the public in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 14, 15, 16.
The Chair to advise the Committee of any items on which members of the public have requested to speak and advise those members of the public present of the details of the Council’s public participation scheme.
For those members of the public who have submitted any questions or statements, please note, a three minute time limit applies to each speaker and you will be asked to speak before Councillors debate the issue. Minutes: (a) Mr Alan Debenham asked the following questions:-
(i) As was unanimously agreed by the ex-Taunton Deane Council in October 2018,the name of the new merged council was wrong and an insult to Taunton, our County Town and Principal Urban Area, and the undemocratically determined “Somerset West and Taunton Council” name, demoting Taunton to secondary and inferior status, should be changed as soon as possible to the obvious “Taunton Deane and West Somerset Council”. To stop this ill-conceived mistake living on in history any further, could this new merged Council now take this necessary name-changing action forthwith?
(ii) Previous to the establishment of the new Council, regarding the undeveloped Firepool site in Taunton, the building of a hotel there using Council funding to the tune of a mooted £16 million was strongly opposed by all Liberal Democrat Councillors, most other non-Tory Councillors and many local residents and businesses, despite which the ex-Tory administration ploughed ahead regardless. Can I assume, as do many local residents, that his newly elected Council will now revoke this whole ex-Tory hotel proposal forthwith and replace it with a much more positive and meaningful alternative? In line with the recently resolved declaration of “Climate Emergency” by the Shadow Council, could this be the construction of a visitors’ centre for “PEACE” ( People’s Environmental Action for Climate Emergency ) which would incorporate lively hands-on educational experiences, backed by a full library of publications and displays etc. like the WeTheCurious centre in Bristol Harbour Side - of course, plus a visitors ‘promotional’ vegetarian cafe-restaurant overlooking the river, a cycling centre, and a general repair and waste reduction-recycling large workshop?
(iii) Until the onset of Westminster Tory mania for local government to adopt the very anti-democratic organisational practice of cabinet and mayoral single-party domination, in Taunton Deane and for other councils we had the far more democratic and easily run committee system – with every councillor involved in spending decisions relating to their chosen field of interest or speciality. Surely now is the time to fully consider a return to this well understood, easily managed, and far more democratic committee system, giving every Councillor a distinct fairly equal role to play? Equally, within this renovated committee system the overall strategy-setting and financially controlling Executive Committee should comprise multi-party representation, as it used to, with seats allocated roughly pro rata to whole Council totals commanded by each party/group.
(iv) The massacre of staff by the ex-Tory administration has left several departments struggling to efficiently fulfil their duties, especially in Planning and Building Control, and therefore, in the name of good management, I ask the new administration to conduct a thorough staffing review ASAP to redress these failings.
Councillor Federica Smith-Roberts thanked Alan Debenham for advance notice of his questions. She replied as follows:-
(i) With regard to question (i) and the name of the Council the Leader appreciated the comments that had been made and that they had also been raised with her separately by others. However at present ... view the full minutes text for item 10. |
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To receive any questions from Councillors in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13
Minutes: The Chair invited Councillor John Hunt to make his statement.
With the Climate Emergency having been declared it was particularly pleasing to see an Executive Member for Climate Change. As an Independent Councillor he did not see himself as being in opposition to the administration, and was happy to work with all Members and Officers to better the lives of those he represented and those throughout the District. He was pleased to hear the Hotel was to be stopped.
The continuance of Taunton’s Park and Ride was a concern. The arrangement between SWT Council and Somerset County Council was due to expire in four months’ time and a new agreement needed to be established sooner rather than later. He’d also ask for the service to be extended to weekends. If we really wanted to discourage cars from clogging up our County Town, enable people to get to their place of employment and enable easy access to Musgrove Park Hospital, it is clear this service needed to be continued and extended. The environment would suffer as well as people’s health as well as gridlock caused by extra cars.
Taunton did not have the infrastructure to cope without the Park and Ride. This is clearly a priority and he was confident a successful solution could be found, and was willing to work with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transport to keep this service going. Without it, we could not call ourselves a Garden Town and if we were serious about the environment this would be a no-brainer.
Councillor Mike Rigby, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation responded and thanked Cllr Hunt for his question. We would work very hard to keep the Park and Ride going. As was known the County Council last year felt it no longer had the resources to continue operating the service and the then Taunton Deane Borough Council stepped in with a twelve month funding offer to keep the service going. We now had a four month period to find a sustainable long-term arrangement for the future of the Taunton Park and Ride. The conversations had already started between the District, County and Bus Operator and meetings were arranged. There had seemed to be an increase in usage recently which was good and would put the service on a more sustainable footing. An update report would be forthcoming in due course. It was a priority for him and the administration as a whole. |
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Council Committees for 2019/2020 and their Terms of Reference PDF 115 KB
To decide which Committees to establish for the Municipal Year and to decide their size and terms of reference. To decide the numerical allocation of seats to political groups on Committees in accordance with the political balance rules and to make appointments to the Committees.
· Scrutiny Committee · Audit, Governance and Standards Committee · Planning Committee · Licensing Committee · Employment Committee
Additional documents: Minutes: Councillors considered the report to decide which Committees to establish for the Municipal Year and to decide their size and terms of reference. The numerical allocation of seats to political groups on Committees in accordance with the political balance rules had been calculated and they had made their proposed appointments to the Committees. · Scrutiny Committee · Audit, Governance and Standards Committee · Planning Committee · Licensing Committee · Employment Committee
During the discussion of this item, Members made comments and statements and asked questions which included:- · Councillor Lisgo raised a question as to whether the Scrutiny arrangements were appropriate and whether they would be looked at, as under the former Taunton Deane Borough Council there had been two Scrutiny Committees, and under the new administration’s desire to look at Climate Change in depth this could take up a lot of time in itself. · Councillor Mansell and Weston supported Councillor Lisgo’s comments but Councillor Weston also suggested a committee focused entirely on Climate Change and it’s cross-cutting impact. · Councillor Mansell referred back to his motion passed earlier in the year on the Climate Emergency Declaration which did make reference to a Working Group being set up which would need to be established. · The Monitoring Officer advised that the government had just released some new statutory guidance on Scrutiny which we would be planning to report back to Councillors on Scrutiny at the earliest opportunity. · The Leader, Councillor Smith-Roberts, sympathised with the Councillors concerns having chaired Scrutiny previously, the time it takes to properly debate issues. She would speak to the Leadership team and the Monitoring Officer to keep a track on this and see if it is working or not. RESOLVED that the nominations for Committee seats made by the political groups be ratified and that the composition of the Committees be as detailed below.
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Appointment of Representatives on Outside Bodies PDF 127 KB
To appoint representatives to serve on outside bodies for the period to the Annual Council Meeting in 2020 (except where specific periods are stated, where appointment to those bodies has been delegated by the Council or is exercisable only by the Executive.) Additional documents: Minutes: Councillors considered the report that had been circulated, which was a known list of those outside bodies that Councillors had served on from both Councils in the previous quadrennium.
During the discussion of this item, Members made comments and statements and asked questions which included:-
· Councillor Gwil Wren queried the mechanism for getting members of the Independent Group onto various bodies · Councillor Smith-Roberts was happy to work with Group Leaders on this issue and get those with the best skill-set assigned and fill those vacancies. She was keen for those on Outside Bodies to report back to this Council on their activities which had not taken place previously.
RESOLVEDthat the Members appointed to serve on Outside Bodies for the municipal year 2019-2020 be as follows, with the caveat that a final complete confirmatory report was to come back to the next Ordinary Meeting of Full Council:
· Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Panel – Cllr C Booth · Blackdown Hills AONB Partnership Management Group – Cllr R Henley · Blackdown Hills Joint Partnership Advisory Committee – Cllr R Henley · Brewhouse Theatre Board Meetings – Cllr N Cavill · District Councils Network Assembly Representative – Cllr F Smith-Roberts · ENGAGE – West Somerset Voluntary Sector Development Agency – Cllr B Allen · Exmoor National Park Authority – TBC · Friends of Konigslutter – Cllr D Durdan · Friends of Vivary Park – Cllr R Lees · Harbour Board – Cllr A Wedderkopp, Cllr P Pilkington, Cllr L Whetlor & Cllr A Hadley · Hestercombe Gardens Trust – Cllr Marcia Hill · Hinkley Point Site Stakeholder Group – Cllr M Rigby, Cllr P Pilkington, Cllr C Morgan, Cllr L Whetlor · Heart of the South West LEP Joint Committee – Cllr F Smith-Roberts · Local Government Association General Assembly – Cllr R Henley & Cllr J Hassall · Management Committee of Broadlands – VACANCY · MATA Regal Theatre Co. Ltd – Cllr B Allen · Minehead BID Board – To Be Confirmed · Minehead Coastal Communities Team – Cllr H Farbahi (PFH), Cllr M Rigby, Cllr P Pilkington, Cllr C Palmer, 1 VACANCY · Minehead EYE Management Committee – Cllr B Allen · Monitoring and Evaluation Group – West Somerset Sports and Leisure – Cllr R Lees · Parrett Catchment Project Management Committee – Cllr P Stone · Parrett Internal Drainage Board – Cllr D Durdan & Cllr P Stone · Quantock Hills Joint Advisory Committee – Cllr A Trollope-Bellew & Cllr G Wren & Cllr D Darch & Cllr H Davies · Rural Services Network – Cllr M Blaker · Safer Somerset Partnership – Cllr C Booth · Somerset Armed Forces Community Covenant Champion and Partnership – Cllr A Milne · Somerset Biodiversity Steering Group – Cllr G Wren · Somerset Building Control Partnership – Cllr H Farbahi & Cllr A Wedderkopp · Somerset Building Preservation Trust – Cllr Marcia Hill & Cllr S Coles · Somerset Growth Board – Cllr H Farbahi · Somerset Health and Wellbeing Board – Cllr C Booth · Joint Scrutiny Panel of Somerset Waste Board – Cllr J Hassall & Cllr A Trollope-Bellew · Somerset Levels and Moors Local Action For Rural Communities (LARC) Executive Board - VACANCY · Somerset Local Access Forum – No ... view the full minutes text for item 13. |
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Meetings Timetable for 2019/2020 PDF 74 KB
To approve the Meetings Timetable for the 2019/20 Municipal Year. Minutes: RESOLVED that the Committee Meetings Timetable for 2019/2020 was approved with the caveat that the Planning Committee timings were to be reviewed in due course. |
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To authorise the sealing or signing of documents to give effect to any decisions taken PDF 198 KB
To authorise the Common Seal of Somerset West and Taunton Council. Minutes: RESOLVED that the Common Seal of Somerset West and Taunton Council be authorised. |