Minutes:
(i) Death of Mr Frayne, Mr Richardson and Mr Horne and Mr Button
The Chairman stated that it was his very sad duty to formally advise the County Council of the passing of three serving and one former Members of Kent County Council.
Mr Roger Frayne – Dover Town Electoral Division
Mr Frayne died on 31 October following a long illness. He was elected to the County Council in June 2009 and served on CFE – Vulnerable Children & Partnerships POSC and the Corporate POSC.
Mr Godfrey Horne MBE – Tonbridge Electoral Division
Mr Horne was first elected to the County Council in 2005 and died very suddenly on 13 November 2010. A retired teacher, he was the Chairman of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee and also served on Cabinet Scrutiny Committee, Planning Applications Committee, CFE Vulnerable Children & Partnerships POSC, Scrutiny Board, School Organisation Advisory Board and the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education.
Mr W L Richardson – Romney Marsh Electoral Division
Mr Richardson died on 7 November 2010 following a brave battle with cancer. He was elected to the County Council in June 2009 and served on the CFE Learning & Development POSC and the Environment, Highways & Waste POSC.
Mr Cyril Button
Mr Button was elected to the County Council in 1985 to represent the Medway Rural Electoral Division. He served on the Development, Planning and Transportation Committee and the Property, Supplies and Services Group. He left in 1998 when Medway became a Unitary Council.
After tributes from a number of Members, all present stood in silence in memory Mr Frayne, Mr Horne, Mr Richardson and Mr Button and the County Council passed a resolution in the following terms:
Resolved unanimously: that this Council desires to record the sense of loss it feels on the sad passing of Mr Frayne, Mr Horne, Mr Richardson and Mr Button and extends to their family and friends our heartfelt sympathy to them in their sad bereavements.
(ii) Length of speeches limited to 3 minutes
The Chairman stated that there was a large amount of formal business on today’s agenda and asked for Members’ agreement to limit Members’ speeches to 3 minutes, with the exception of the speeches under item 7 (the Leader’s oral report) and the Local Member and Cabinet Member speeches under item 15 (Petition debates).
Resolved: that the length of speeches at this meeting be limited as indicated above.
(iii) Engineering and Building Award for St Johns RC School
The Chairman stated that he was pleased to advise Members that the development of St John's Catholic Comprehensive School, Gravesend, had won the Public Sector Project of the Year category in the 2010 National Builder & Engineer Awards.
The award was given in recognition of the quality of the build and the overall design, its focus on reducing the school’s environmental impact and its positive role in raising community aspirations.
On behalf of all Members, the Chairman offered his congratulations to all concerned.
(iv) Malaysia Medal for Mr Angell
The Chairman stated that he was delighted to advise the County Council that Mr Mike Angell had been awarded a medal from the Government of Malaysia. An excerpt from the citation reads as follows:
“In appreciation of the meritorious acts made by the security forces from Britain, the Federation of Malaysia wishes to award medals to all those who distinguished themselves in chivalry, gallantry and loyalty while performing their services during the confrontation period from 1962 to 1966”.
The Chairman offered his sincere congratulations to Mr Angell, on behalf of all Members.
(v) Petitions
The Chairman stated that he had received two petitions that morning, neither of which had met the trigger for a County Council debate in accordance with the Petition Scheme, but he asked the relevant Cabinet Member to ensure that the concerns of the petitioners were properly addressed and responded to.
(a) ‘Re-think’ East Kent Floating Support Service
The first petition had been received from Pauline Featherstone, the service lead for the ‘Re-think’ East Kent Floating Support Service for people with mental health difficulties. The group had written on behalf of service users, carers and volunteers, who had been campaigning against the closure of the service in March 2011 because of the feared loss of essential funding.
The Chairman invited Mr Mike Hill, Cabinet Member for Community Services, to come to the dais to formally accept the petition and asked him to ensure that the concerns of the petitioners are addressed and responded to.
(b) Highways matter in Upper Street and Harmony Street, Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells
The second petition was received via Mr John Davies on behalf of residents in Upper Street and Harmony Street, Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells, objecting to the proposal to prohibit waiting on those two streets under Regulation 9 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.
The Chairman invited Mr Nick Chard, Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Waste, to come to the dais to formally accept the petition and asked him to ensure that the concerns of the petitioners are addressed and responded to.