Agenda item

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public. This meeting is open to the public, who may ask a question or make a statement. Questions may also be asked by members of the Council.  Written notice of questions or statements should be given to Yamina Rhouati of Democratic Services by 12.00 noon on Wednesday 9 March 2016. Anyone wishing to ask a question or make a statement should contact the officer named above.

A statement was received from Sarah Schofield in relation to community concerns regarding potential planning development in the Hilperton Gap/Marsh area. She wanted to make cabinet aware of the level of public opinion in favour of keeping the Gap as a green area, thus maintaining the boundary between Hilperton and the town of Trowbridge. This she said was evidenced by the 1380 plus signatures on a petition on the issue and the 280 plus objections on the council’s planning portal.

The Leader thanked Ms Schofield for her statement and encouraged her, and other members of the community, to make their views known by continuing to engage in the planning process.

Questions were received from Mr Richard Hames, Cllr Chris Caswill and Cllr Ernie Clark, details of which together with the responses given are available online and attached to the signed minutes.

In response to a supplementary question from Richard Hames, Cllr Sturgis clarified that it was the Council’s statutory duty to consider any property requests and to get the best value from its land holdings.

In response to a supplementary question from Richard Hames, the Leader stated that she would be happy to consider any proposals for further liaison with local media outlets.

The Leader asked officers to liaise with Mr Hames to arrange a meeting to discuss any further issues he may have which would be more constructive than engaging valuable resources in responding to Mr Hames’ separate questions to Cabinet.

In response to a supplementary question from Cllr Chris Caswill, the Leader asked that officers take reasonable steps to discuss the concerns raised regarding access to planning information.

In response to a supplementary question from Cllr Ernie Clark, Cllr Sturgis clarified that the figures in relation to the Trowbridge DPD would not be released until the end of March once developers had been consulted as to the sustainability and deliverability of possible sites. Cllr Sturgis stated that he would give a written response once further information was available at the end of March.

In response to a statement from Cllr Steve Oldrieve, the Leader asked Maggie Rae to arrange a meeting with Cllr Oldrieve to update him on the Trowbridge Health & Wellbeing Centre project.