Agenda and minutes
PDF 179 KBVenue: The John Meikle Room - The Deane House. View directions
Contact: Marcus Prouse Email: m.prouse@somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk
Webcast: View the webcast
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Election of Mayor of Taunton
Councillor Richard Lees to propose and Councillor Simon Coles to second:-
"That Councillor Susan Lees be elected Mayor of Taunton for the ensuing year".
If the motion is carried, Councillor Susan Lees will arrange to sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Mayor opened the meeting, and invited her chaplain, Reverend Debbi Turley, to open the meeting with a short prayer.
Councillor Richard Lees proposed and Councillor Simon Coles seconded the following motion, which was carried unanimously.
RESOLVED:
"That Councillor Susan Lees be elected Mayor of Taunton for the ensuing year".
Councillor Susan Lees then repeated and signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
The Mayor addressed the Charter Trustees and stated she had an ambition to be the best she can be, and to bring some cheer in what has been a difficult period.
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Deputy Mayor of Taunton
Councillor Francesca Smith to propose and Councillor Lee Baker to second:-
"That Councillor Brenda Weston be elected Deputy Mayor of Taunton for the ensuing year".
If the motion is carried, Councillor Brenda Weston will arrange to sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Francesca Smith proposed and Councillor Lee Baker seconded the following motion, which was carried unanimously.
RESOLVED:
"That Councillor Brenda Weston be elected Deputy Mayor of Taunton for the ensuing year".
Councillor Brenda Weston then repeated and signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
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Councillor Francesca Smith - A Councillor to propose and a Councillor to second:-
"That the best thanks of the Charter Trustees be accorded to Councillor Francesca Smith for the manner in which she has discharged the duties of the office of Mayor of the Town during her two terms of office".
Councillor Smith will reply. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Hazel Prior-Sankey proposed and Councillor Lee Baker seconded:-
"That the best thanks of the Charter Trustees be accorded to Councillor Francesca Smith for the manner in which she has discharged the duties of the office of Mayor of the Town during her two terms of office".
The motion was carried unanimously.
Councillor Smith replied and thanked the Charter Trustees for their kind words. It had been a wonderful two years to represent the Town as Mayor and an opportunity and privilege she would never forget. Being Taunton born and bred, she had thought she knew everything about the town, but she had been pleasantly surprised at all the work that is done by volunteers, charities, and businesses to raise funds, provide entertainment and the work that keeps the town vibrant and an interesting place to live. The Mayor had been fortunate to attend so many events, from opening shops and businesses to attending concerts, to switching on lights, both virtually and in person, it has been amazing. |
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The Mayor will present to Councillor Smith her Past Mayor Badge.
Additional documents: Minutes: Unfortunately, due to delays due to Covid-19, the Past Mayor’s Badge had not arrived in time. Councillor Smith was presented with a small token of appreciation of flowers by the Mayor who also presented Cllr Smith’s consort with a gift. |
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Apologies
To receive any apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillors Booth, Smith-Roberts and Peters. |
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Minutes of the previous meeting of the Taunton Charter Trustees
To approve the minutes of the previous meeting of the Committee. Additional documents: Minutes: (Minutes of the meeting of the Taunton Charter Trustees held on 16th March 2021 were circulated with the agenda)
RESOLVED that the minutes of the Taunton Charter Trustees held on 16th March 2021 were confirmed as a correct record. |
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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.) Additional documents: 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 receive any questions or statements from residents of Taunton in accordance with Standing Order 30
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.
Temporary measures during the Coronavirus pandemic Due to the temporary legislation (within the Coronavirus Act 2020, which allowed for use of virtual meetings) coming to an end on 6 May 2021, the council’s committee meetings will now take place in the office buildings at the John Meikle Room, Deane House, Belvedere Road, Taunton. Unfortunately due to capacity requirements the Chamber at West Somerset House is not able to be used at this current moment. Following the Government guidance on measures to reduce the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19), the council meeting rooms will have very limited capacity. With this in mind, we will only be allowing those members of the public who have registered to speak to attend the meetings in person at the office buildings, if they wish. (We will still be offering to those members of the public that are not comfortable in attending, for their statements to be read out by a member of the Governance team). Please can we urge all members of the public who are only interested in listening to the debate to view our live webcasts from the safety of their own home to help prevent the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Additional documents: Minutes: The Clerk advised the Mayor that no members of the public had requested to speak. |
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Appointment of Members of the Standing Committee 2021/2022
To appoint Charter Trustees, from nominations received from each group, to serve on the Standing Committee for the year 2021/2021.The proposed ‘Powers and Duties’ of the Standing Committee are set out in the attached document. If the Committee allocated politically proportionally as per the Standing Orders there would be 6 Liberal Democrats and 1 Labour seat, though it was within the gift of the political groups as to whether they took up their full entitlement. Additional documents: Minutes: The purpose of the item was to appoint Charter Trustees, from nominations received from each group, to serve on the Standing Committee for the year 2020/2021.The proposed ‘Powers and Duties’ of the Standing Committee were set out in the attached document to the Agenda.
If the Committee allocated politically proportionally as per the Standing Orders there would be 6 Liberal Democrats and 1 Labour seat, though it was always within the gift of the political groups as to whether they took up their full entitlement.
RESOLVED that the following Councillors were appointed to the Standing Committee of the Taunton Charter Trustees for 2021/2022;
- Councillor Chris Booth - Councillor Simon Coles - Councillor Sue Lees - Councillor Libby Lisgo - Councillor Derek Perry - Councillor Martin Peters - Councillor Alan Wedderkopp
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Any items which the Mayor considers to be Urgent Business
Additional documents: Minutes: The Mayor advised that there were no items of urgent business to consider. |
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An intercessional Prayer will be offered by the new Mayor's Chaplain at the conclusion of the meeting.
Additional documents: Minutes: Reverend James Clapham, the new Mayor’s Chaplain, offered an intercessional Prayer. |