Minutes:
(a) Mr Robert Brookbank
(1) The Chairman stated that it was with regret that he had to inform Members of the death of Mr Brookbank on 2 August 2016. Mr Brookbank had been the County Councillor for Swanley since June 2009.
(2) Mr Brookbank’s funeral had taken place on 25 August 2016.
(3) Mr Brazier, Mr Latchford, Mr Birkby, Dr Eddy, Mr Daley, Mr Gough and Mr Angell paid tribute to Mr Brookbank.
(b) Mr Alexander Perry
(4) The Chairman stated that it was with regret that he had to inform Members of the death of Mr Perry on 17 July 2016. Mr Perry was the Conservative Member for Folkestone South from 1977-1981.
(5) Mr Perry’s funeral had taken place on 2 August 2016.
(6) Miss Carey paid tribute to Mr Perry.
(c) Mr Mike O'Brien
(7) The Chairman stated that it was with regret that he had to inform Members of the death of Mr O’Brien on 8 September 2016. Mr O’Brien was a former Conservative Councillor for Medway Council and a former KCC Member for the Gillingham No2 Division between1977-1980.
(8) Mr O’Brien’s funeral took place on 23rd September 2016.
(9) Mr Hill paid tribute to Mr O’Brien.
(d) Dr Stuart James Cox JP
(10) The Chairman stated that it was with regret that he had to inform Members of the death of Dr Cox on Sunday 16 October 2016. Dr Cox was a former Conservative Member for Gillingham No 4 (South Central) between 1967 and 1997.
(11) Mr Harrison and Mrs Dean paid tribute to Dr Cox.
(12) At the end of the tributes all Members stood in silence in memory of Mr Brookbank, Mr Perry, Mr O’Brien and Dr Cox.
(13) After the one minute silence the Chairman moved and the Vice-Chairman seconded and it was resolved unanimously that :
(14) This Council desires to record the sense of loss it feels on the sad passing of Mr Brookbank, Mr Perry, Mr O’Brien and Dr Cox and extends to their families and friends heartfelt sympathy in their sad bereavements.
(e) Rio Sports Performers from Kent
(15) The Chairman stated that he was delighted to confirm that 26 performers with Kent connections were selected to represent Great Britain at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio. At the Olympic Games, there were Gold medals for Rower, Tom Ransley from Ashford, and Hockey player Susannah Townsend from Canterbury. There were also four other women who play for Holcombe Hockey Club who were part of the gold medal winning team.
(16) The Chairman informed Members that in the Paralympic Games, table tennis player Will Bayley from Tunbridge Wells won a gold medal in men’s singles and also won a bronze in the men’s team event. Ross Wilson from Swale was also part of the Bronze medal winning table tennis team. A number of the athletes who participated in Rio had received grant aid from Kent County Council and a number had also competed through the Kent School Games programme. He expressed his congratulations to them all.
(f) RTPI Southeast - Excellence in Planning to Deliver Infrastructure Award 2016.
(17) The Chairman stated that he was pleased to report that the Kent and Medway Growth and Infrastructure Framework had won the RTPI Excellence in Planning to Deliver Infrastructure Award 2016. There had been a strong field for the category, and so was a great result. The Judging Panel had said that they were particularly impressed with the “boldness of the County” in its approach with the Framework and the actions it was now taking to tackle barriers to infrastructure.
(g) Petition - The Bridge Community Primary School, Dartford
(18) The Chairman invited Mr Maddison to present a petition requesting the expansion of The Bridge Community Primary School in Dartford
(19) The Chairman then invited Mr Gough, the Cabinet Member for Education and Health Reform, to collect the petition and to respond to it accordance with the Petition Scheme.