Agenda item

To receive announcements from:

a)        The Mayor

b)        Leader of the Council

c)        Members of the Cabinet

d)        Chair of Committees

e)        Head of Paid Service

Mayor

31.1    The Mayor announced with sadness the deaths of:

·       Mr Peter Arnold- 500^th Mayor of Gloucester, during the Civic year of 1982/1983

·       Ms Carole Vaughn, former Liberal Democrat Councillor.

·       Mr John Dance, former mace-bearer.

31.2    The Mayor advised that Mr John Dance’s funeral would be held on the 3 October 2016 and would take place at Gloucester Crematorium.

31.3    The Mayor stated that he had recently been on a three day visit to Metz, following an invitation from the Mayor of the City, to attend the Mirabelle Festival. He reported that service from the hosts was impeccable and the visit had been incredibly informative and enjoyable.

31.4    The Mayor reminded Members of the following forthcoming events in the civic Calendar:

·       Annual Civic Service- 9 October 2016

The Mayor encouraged Members to RSVP, so the appropriate seating and catering arrangements could be made.

·       Remembrance Sunday- 13 November 2016

The Mayor reported that invites would be arriving shortly to all Members, noting that the ceremony would precede the service in Gloucester Cathedral.

·       Annual Christmas Party- 10 December 2016

Ribston Hall High School

Leader of the Council

31.5    Councillor James congratulated the Gloucester Muslim Welfare Association on receiving the prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service for the excellent work they had undertaken to benefit communities within the City. He reported that Councillor Patel had nominated the group for their work and that the application had been supported both by himself and the City’s MP.

31.6    Councillor James reported that, following the Duke of Gloucester’s visit to the City, a letter from the Duke’s undersecretary had been received acknowledging the well-received tour of the City and in particular his visit to the development of the new bus station.

31.7    Councillor James advised that the car park on Great Western Road had been acquired by the City Council, with the final sale expected to be completed on 20 October 2016. He commented that First Great Western would be granted the lease for the car park in line with Railway Station development proposals.

31.8    Councillor James stated that the City Council had acquired the lease on Wessex House, and would be utilised to aid improved access to the City Centre, noting that this formed part of the proposals for the Growth Centre bid. He thanked officers within the Regeneration and Economic Development team and in particular Anthony Hodge and Philip Ardley for their efforts in relation to this.

Cabinet Members

31.9    Councillor Norman (Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources) advised that Leadership Gloucestershire were still committed to moving forward with the devolution submission, noting that KPMG, who had recently reviewed the bid submission, had concluded that the proposals were strong in many areas. He reported that Leadership Gloucestershire were due to consider proposals to establish a dedicated project team who would be tasked with producing a submission document, noting that a further update to Members would be provided in due course.

31.10  Councillor Cook (Cabinet Member for Environment) reported the latest recycling figures within the City highlighting that rates in July 2016 (49%) and August 2016 (48%) were well above target. He commended officers within the recycling team for their excellent work in achieving such high rates.

Head of Paid Service

31.11  The Managing Director reported that the Democratic Services Team were currently undertaking an audit of Members’ contact details published on the website and requested Members to complete the forms provided to ensure the correct information would be made available to the public.