To consider Announcements under Procedure Rule 10:
a) Mayor’s Announcements
b) The Leader’s Announcements
c) Chief Executive’s Announcements.
(Oral report)
Minutes:
The Mayor
The Mayor advised on the following events which he had attended since the last meeting of the Council:
· his Civic Dinner – a very enjoyable evening for which he thanked everyone who had attended and which had raised £2,200 for his Charities;
· an Older Person’s Forum – where had had been made very welcome;
· an organised Raffle at the Town Hall, where he and staff had raised over £100;
· a very enjoyable Patsy Cline Experience at the Palace Theatre which had also included Hank Williams and Jim Reeves tributes;
· the No Barriers Awards with Councillor Anita Clayton – a very enjoyable event with wonderful people who helped their communities;
· an Inner Wheel Fellowship Luncheon at the West Mead Hotel, Hopwood, for which he thanked Councillor Wheeler for accompanying him, which he commented had been interesting with a guest speaker who had participated in a Dragon’s Den series;
· the town’s St Georges Day Parade and Service at St Stephens Church which had been very well attended and well organised. He was particularly pleased to see the large number of young people who were in attendance and thanked Councillor Chalk for his involvement with his Scout Group;
· on behalf of the Council, the Mayor also wished Councillor Brookes a happy birthday.
Later in the meeting, att the end of the proceedings, and as the meeting was his last Council before the Annual General Meeting in May, the Mayor took the opportunity to thank Group Leaders and other Members, particularly Councillor Wheeler, Deputy Mayor, for their support during his Term of Office which, whilst the year had had its ups and downs, particularly with the news on the terror attack in London, had been a pleasure and a privilege.
The Leader
The Leader advised that the anticipated Bike Race had been confirmed for the 9th May with Redditch having the first / launch race. There would be an all- day event in the Town Centre for the community followed by the elite races taking place around 6pm. The Council had contributed some funding and was likely to get some advertising at the event, which will hopefully be a great day for the Town, with the races being televised.
The Leader advised he’d had a very enjoyable afternoon at the Staff Awards which had taken place in various office locations rather than at the Palace Theatre this year, at which he had presented awards to staff in Planning, the Caretakers Team and the Palace Theatre Team.
The Leader reported on the recognition Laney Walsh (UNISON) had received from National Unison for her excellent work with the Council on the time to talk / mental health work, when Officers and Members had also been filmed when they had visited the town, and hopefully shown the Council as positive, trend setting and forward looking.
The Leader had visited a local business that had relocated into Redditch in and also attended an opening of a new training facility for apprentices in the spring making industry.
The Leader was working on the year’s Faith Diversity Walk, which was likely to take place on the 21st May and link into to the 500 years that had passed since the Reformation. The walk was to start at Bordesley Abbey ruins and finish at St Stephens Church with speakers from different faiths talking about their faiths and how they have changed in the 500 years.
The Leader reported that he had met with the local based Officer managing HS2 Project (Birmingham) in relation to the various contracts that will be available in the Region. More work was to be done with a view to looking at what projects might be suitable for Redditch companies.
The Leader highlighted the recent tragic terror attack in London when 4 people had been killed and 40 injured. He advised that the Town Hall’s flag had been lowered on the 23rd March with a two minute silence at 9.09am to mark the collar no. of PC Keith Palmer, who had died in the attack.
The Leader had attended the Mayor’s Civic Dinner, which had had a 1940’s theme. The evening had been very enjoyable and lots of money had been raised for charity.
The Leader had attended the No Barriers Awards, which had been very enjoyable with an inspirational speech by Para Olympian Gold Medalist, Clare Cashmore. Councillor Anita Clayton was thanked for organising the event.
The Leader advised that he had attended the St Georges Day Parade and Service at St Stephens Church and had been amazed at the number of young people and Groups that attended, including the Scouts, Guides, Cubs and Rainbows, who had all looked splendid in their uniforms. He further advised that the St George Flag had been flown over the Town Hall and the event had been very enjoyable in the sunshine.