Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Council Meeting held on 9 July 2020.

To receive from Members, declarations of the existence of any disclosable pecuniary, or non-pecuniary, interests and the nature of those interests in relation to any agenda item. Please see Agenda Notes.

(a)       Call over (Item 9) will be read out at the meeting and Members invited to reserve the items for discussion.

(b)       To approve the recommendations of those reports which have not been reserved for discussion.

The opportunity is given to members of the public to put questions to Cabinet Members or Committee Chairs provided that a question does not relate to:

·           Matters which are the subject of current or pending legal proceedings or

·           Matters relating to employees or former employees of the Council or comments in respect of individual Council Officers.

If you would like to ask a question at this meeting, please contact democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk as soon as possible and by Monday 21 September 2020 at the latest.

A period not exceeding three minutes is allowed for the presentation of a petition or deputation provided that no such petition or deputation is in relation to:

·           Matters relating to individual Council Officers, or

·           Matters relating to current or pending legal proceedings

If you would like to present a deputation or petition at this meeting, please contact democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk as soon as possible and by Monday 21 September 2020 at the latest.

To receive announcements from:

a)         The Mayor

b)         Leader of the Council

c)         Members of the Cabinet

d)         Chairs of Committees

e)         Head of Paid Service

a)         Leader and Cabinet Members’ Question Time (30 minutes)

        Any member of the Council may ask the Leader of the Council or any Cabinet Member any question without prior notice, upon:

·       Any matter relating to the Council’s administration

·       Any matter relating to any report of the Cabinet appearing on the Council’s summons

·       A matter coming within their portfolio of responsibilities

        Only one supplementary question is allowed per question.

c)     Questions to Chairs of Meetings (15 Minutes)

Report of the Corporate Director concerning the appointment of members to the Independent Remuneration Panel.

1.    PROPOSED BY COUNCILLOR HILTON

“That this council welcomes the establishment of the City Centre Commission under the chairmanship of the Dean of Gloucester.

The changing nature of town and city centres shows how important the City Centre Commission will be in creating the ideas that can be implemented to breath life back into our city centre.

We need to make Gloucester’s historic centre a place for businesses to thrive, local shops to trade, great attractions to encourage visitors to enjoy, with wonderful places to eat and stay; and finally a city centre where many people live and work.

We encourage the City Centre Commission to use its remit to come forward with imaginative proposals that can be taken forward to fruition.”

2.    PROPOSED BY COUNCILLOR D. BROWN

“This council agrees that the cycling infrastructure within the city of Gloucester could be improved to encourage far more journeys to be taken on two wheels.

This council agrees to work with the county council to improve cycling infrastructure in Gloucester.

This council requests that the appropriate cabinet member prepares a report on the current cycling infrastructure within the city boundaries, to include recommendations on how this infrastructure could be better interconnected and improved to make cycling a more popular mode of transport.”

3.    PROPOSED BY COUNCILLOR COOK

“This council awaits, the Government’s white paper on potential Local Government reorganisation in the autumn and maintains an open mind as to the implications for this Council and Gloucester residents.

This Council believes that Local Government reorganisation at this time will deflect attention from the immediate priorities of recovery after the Covid pandemic, and therefore should not be considered further at this stage. Should the status quo not be possible, this Council requests that the reorganisation will include all levels of local representation including Parish/Town Councils and serious consideration is given to the establishment of area committees to ensure equal local representation across all current district areas.

The Council commits to:

-      consulting widely with a broad cross-section of Gloucester residents and businesses, and community, faith, sporting and voluntary groups once further information on any local government reorganisation proposals are known

-      supporting Council staff through any reorganisation process which may occur in the future

-      continuing with Group Leaders briefings and working in a cross-party manner

-      ensuring that the focus of this Council shall remain on the delivery of services and post Covid-19 recovery

-      discussing any local government reorganisation options with leadership, from the other five districts, the county council, and the Gloucester MP Richard Graham

-      Preserving the City’s historic and ancient civic offices of Sheriff and Mayor and the traditions which accompany them.”

4.    PROPOSED BY COUNCILLOR HILTON

“This council notes that J Sainsbury PLC has announced the closure of its popular city centre store on Northgate Street.

This council notes that this wonderful supermarket has been serving customers for nearly half a century.

This council agrees that it should do all it can to stop the supermarket’s closure  ...  view the full agenda text for item 32.

Written questions and answers.  Only one supplementary question is allowed per question.