(1) Receipt of Petitions (if any) from Local Government Electors for the District
(2) Statements (if any) from the Public
Minutes:
(1) The Chairman advised of 1 request to submit a petition.
Phil Pinder, secretary of Brixworth’s Northampton Road Allotment Association, submitted a petition in relation to the closure of the allotments.
(2) The Chairman advised of 8 requests to address Council.
Lauren Bunting addressed Council in relation to Item 8 – Report of the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education. She stated that the Council was making decisions not to provide settings for children with certain needs, was ignoring professional advice, and refusing to make necessary changes to EHCP and EOTAS packages. She implored the Council to stand up for vulnerable children.
Graham Ferrie addressed Council in relation to Item 15 – West Northamptonshire Local Plan – Permission to Consult. He advised that Tiffield residents were angry following the adoption of the South Northamptonshire Local Plan Part 2 which was a catastrophe for the area; the weakness of the plan allowed for inappropriate buildings that would blight the landscape. Mr Ferrie further advised that after 4 years of traffic modelling, there was still no plan for an economic solution to the traffic problems that the modelling predicted. He believed that the current document appeared weaker than the previous one and would allow more distribution warehouses than the infrastructure could deal with.
Jane Birch, on behalf of Northampton Town Council, addressed Council in relation to Motion 2. She commented that the former Northampton Borough Council passed a motion that the old part of the Guildhall was the recommended headquarters of the town council, with the tenure to be long leasehold on a recurring basis. Later, WNC passed a motion recognising previously passed motions by predecessor authorities. Councillor Birch stated that the Council was disregarding decisions made by the predecessor councils.
Quinton Green addressed Council in relation to Item 8 – Report of the Cabinet Member for Community Safety & Engagement and Regulatory Services. He commended the ongoing work to combat knife crime and the launch of the Council’s Serious Violence Strategy. He then read a poem in tribute to Fred Shand who was killed on 22 March 2023 and invited councillors to attend a memorial service for Fred at Kings Heath Square on 22 March at 5pm.
Tina Matthew, on behalf of the Umbrella Fair Organisation’s “1000 Voices” campaign, addressed Council in respect of Item 15 – West Northamptonshire Local Plan – Permission to Consult. She called on the Council to publish a fully costed, time-framed air quality action plan which met World Health Organisation standards by 1st July 2024 and to be implemented within 3 months of publication. Ms Matthew advised that 8 people had died since the last full Council meeting as a result to Northampton’s toxic air.
Jane Wood, on behalf of Climate Action – West Northamptonshire, addressed Council in relation to Item 15 – West Northamptonshire Local Plan – Permission to Consult. She stated that strategic logistics developments would generate substantial amounts of traffic which would take a huge number of buses and bicycles to offset. She welcomed the enhanced sustainable development standards for new build properties but suggested that more could be done and noted that the plan did not mention how existing homes would be made more sustainable. Ms Wood questioned how effective the plan would be to see thriving communities and whether it would do enough to safeguard communities against the effects of climate change.
Ana Savage-Gunn addressed Council in relation to Item 7 – Report of the Cabinet Member for Community Safety & Engagement and Regulatory Services and congratulated the Council on the recent International Women’s Day event. She noted that one of the recommendations from the Angiolini Inquiry were that public officials should be vetted, and that Northamptonshire Police were among the first forces to offer to be forensically vetted, and the BBC reported that 9 officers had been suspended pending investigation into rape and sexual assault. Ms Savage Gunn also noted a recent letter sent by MP Simon Hoare to all councils, recommending that all councillors be DBS checked.
Gordon Kerr addressed Council in relation to Item 9 – Business Plan of Northamptonshire Children’s Trust. He believed that the Council seemed more concerned about development than of public service and stated that a good environment was needed to raise healthy and happy children.