At the discretion of the Mayor, to receive the following extraordinary announcements, which will not be subject to a time limit:
a) Presentation of Mayor’s Medal to Hash Norat, in recognition of important and significant contributions to the City of Gloucester
b) Announcement of recipients of Council awards recognising outstanding contributions to the pandemic response by the Cabinet Member for Communities for Communities and Neighbourhoods, with comments from Group Leaders
c) Tributes to Councillors not seeking re-election on 6 May 2021 from Group Leaders
To receive announcements from (10 Minutes):
a) The Mayor
b) Leader of the Council
c) Members of the Cabinet
d) Chairs of Committees
e) Head of Paid Service
Minutes:
78.1 The Mayor announced with great pleasure the granting of the Mayor’s medal to Hash Norat whose organisation Gloucester Feed the Hungry assists the homeless and vulnerable by providing hot meals, free haircuts, clothing, and emergency food parcels. The Mayor highlighted Hash’s magnificent work over many years within the City, helping those in the most need.
78.2 Mr Norat thanked members and the Mayor for his medal, his team at Gloucester Feed the Hungry and dedicated the award to several of his family members who had unfortunately passed away during the pandemic.
78.3 Members applauded Mr Norat for his significant contribution to assisting those in need in Gloucester over five years.
78.4 Councillor Watkins, the Cabinet Member for Communities & Neighbourhoods stated that it was an honour to recognise twelve ‘lockdown legends’ for their service to the community of Gloucester during the COVID-19 pandemic. She stated that they were agreed on unanimously by Councillors. She paid tribute to each of the lockdown legends listed below:
- Dawn Barnes and the team at The Venture White City;
- Nick Brookes;
- Justin Hudson and the team at Butlers Bar;
- Lisa and Les Jevins and the Podsmead Big Local team;
- Jennie Layhe and the Tuffley Court Community Association;
- Reyaz Limalia and the Fairshare team;
- Ross & Hayley Nicholl and The Club at Tuffley Park;
- Hash Norat and the Gloucester Feed the Hungry team;
- Mohammed Patel and the Street Champion Scheme;
- Anne Radley and the Elmbridge Community Centre team;
- Claire Skivington and the Gloucestershire Gateway Trust;
- Vanessa Worrall and the Together in Matson Team.
78.5 Councillor Cook stated that all the ‘lockdown legends’ recognised deserved the praise they had received.
78.6 Councillor Hilton thanked everyone who had helped their neighbours throughout the pandemic. He added that the spirit of the community had allowed Gloucester to get through the difficulty of the pandemic. He added that there were unsung heroes across Gloucester who had also helped.
78.7 Councillor Stephens paid tribute to Mr Norat for all his work. He added thanks to Councillor Watkins for the work she had put in for organising the awards and for ensuring that it had cross party support. He concluded by stating that the awards were thoroughly deserved.
78.8 The Mayor paid tribute to Council members who were not seeking re-election.
78.9 Councillor Cook noted that there were three Members of the Conservative group who were not standing for re-election and paid tribute to them. They were:
- Councillor Gerald Dee.
- Councillor David Norman.
- Councillor Jennie Watkins.
78.10 Councillor Hilton noted that there was one Member of the Liberal Democrat group, Councillor Emily Ryall who would be standing down and paid tribute to her.
78.11 Councillor Stephens stated that he wanted to thank every member who was standing down, regardless of political party. Councillor Stephens paid particular tribute to the following Members:
- Councillor Lauren Derbyshire (Independent)
- Councillor Hampson (Labour)
- Councillor Coole (Labour)
- Councillor Haigh (Labour)
- Councillor Lugg (Labour)
78.12 Councillor Gravells paid tribute to the three Members standing down in the Matson and Robinswood ward, Councillor Coole, Haigh and Lugg respectively. Further, he paid tribute to Councillor Watkins who was standing down.
78.13 Councillor Hyman expressed his thanks to Councillor Ryall for staying on an extra year.
78.14 Councillor Hampson paid tribute to Mr Norat and thanked everyone involved during his six years of service as a Councillor.
78.15 Councillor Morgan stated that he believed that Gloucester was losing a lot of good Councillors and paid tribute to Mr Norat.
78.16 Councillor Coole thanked Members for their tributes and thanked Councillor Ryall for her work as Vice-Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
78.17 Councillor Watkins thanked members for their kind words to her. She thanked Members and Council Officers for their work and paid tribute to Councillor Dee.
The Mayor
78.18 The Mayor announced that she would be opening the Poets Pantry in Podsmead on Monday 22nd March. She stated that she would be leading Gloucester’s National Day of Reflection and would be lowering the flag at 12pm on Tuesday the 23rd March at North Warehouse. She said that in April, she would be attending the commemoration of the Battle of the Imjin River and would be lowering the flag at North Warehouse on the 22nd of April. She stated that she would be attending a RBL event on the 23rd of April at the War Memorial at 7pm and would be attending a Cathedral service which was being organised by the Imjin 70 Committee. She said that looking ahead, she would be sending out an invitation to the Mayor of Paju to come to Gloucester for a Civic Reception on the weekend of the 25th/26th September where there would be significant commemoration of the Battle of Imjin and a reaffirming of the strong relationship that exists with Paju. She stated that she was hopeful that she would be able to hold Civic Service before the AGM. She highlighted the work of Pride in Gloucestershire, her nominated charity for the Civic Year.
Leader of the Council
78.19 The Leader of the Council notified Members about the improvement in recycling performance. He stated that volumes of recycling collected at curb side has increased by 15%.
Cabinet Members
78.20 Councillor Morgan noted that the Folk of Gloucester arrangements were moving ahead and that the signing of the paperwork was imminent. He thanked Councillor Hampson, the numerous Council officers involved in the project, One Legal, members of the Civic Trust and Gloucester Historic Buildings for their support. Secondly, he noted that the Marketing Steering Board, now had appointed Jackie Douglas as the Chair of the City’s Marketing Steering Board.
78.21 Councillor Gravells informed Members that Gloucester had been identified as an area of high affordability pressure which meant that Housing Association Registered Providers could now bid for grants to deliver Social Rent Homes in the City.
The Housing Minister said in answer to a written parliamentary question that the new AHP, due to run from this year till 2026, would deliver roughly 32,000 social rent homes outside of London. He said that this would double the amount of social rent homes funded when compared with the current programme.
It is in light of this the Council would be supporting bids to deliver Social Rent in the City going forward with a number of key schemes, St Oswald’s being a prime example, offering the opportunity to deliver more Social rent in the City.
Committee Chairs
78.22 The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee announced that a Democratic and Electoral Services Officer was leaving and thanked her for all her support and hard work during her time as an officer.
Heads of Service
78.23 The Managing Director noted that the Corporate Director (Transformation) would be standing down after the May 2021 elections and he paid tribute and thanks for his contribution to the City as an officer. The Managing Director stated that he would be bringing a report to the AGM meeting after the Election to appoint a new Corporate Director.