Agenda and minutes

The City Council stood for a minute’s silence as a mark of respect for all those killed and injured during the recent terrorist events in Paris.  It was noted that letters of sympathy and support had been sent to the Mayor of Paris and the French President by the Lord Mayor and the Leader of the Council on behalf of the City.

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 December 2014 were signed as a true record.

To be presented by the Lord Mayor and Judge Griffith-Jones, Honorary Recorder

On behalf of the Council, the Lord Mayor presented Corinne Spencer with the Coventry Good Citizen Award.  Her citation read:

As Chair of the Gosford Park Residents' Association Corinne has worked tirelessly to help make the area a nicer, safer, cleaner place to live. She is passionate about improving the neighbourhood and puts all her efforts into helping the whole community, and asks for no reward or recognition in return. Her satisfaction is in seeing her local community thrive and bonding together to support and encourage each other.

Corinne has demonstrated her love of the area which she has lived in for

most of her life and her commitment to its future in many ways. As Chair

of the GPRA, she prides herself on being proactive and dynamic and has

organised and led many events and campaigns over the years which have

benefitted the community.

She has been instrumental in establishing a Play Area in Stoke Green.

This has been an incredible success and has made this busy part of

Coventry feel like a community again. It is a focal point where families of

all nationalities and backgrounds meet and enjoy themselves. She

has organised litter picks, several major fundraising events, Community Fun Days, a Big Lunch, arranged Children's Christmas Parties and produces a newsletter which keeps residents informed about developments in the area. In addition to this, she also single-handedly produces a free

magazine called Doorstep News which is distributed by volunteers

to 1,200 homes in the area.

Corinne is also a Community Governor at Gosford Park Primary School, works with Gosford Community Hub a member of the Coventry Action for Neighbourhoods (CAN) group which works with Coventry City Council to improve our communities.

Together with all of this she is a good team leader, has strong organisational skills, is caring and compassionate. She can be counted on to support and help others and is always ready with a smile and a joke. She has a positive outlook and always sees the silver linings.

She is liked and well respected, not only by her community, but is also

held in high regard by local agencies such as the Police, Officers at

Coventry City Council, schools and businesses etc.

Corinne juggles all this with a full time job working as a property manager. Despite this, and having many other commitments, she gives endless hours of her spare time to raise funds for the community and carries out the many voluntary activities with professionalism, humour and integrity. Residents have nicknamed her the 'Steel Orchid' and a 'Warrior'.

Corinne truly is an outstanding role model of a ‘Good Citizen’.

  The Lord Mayor congratulated the following Coventry citizens who had been included in the recent New Year's Honours List. 

-  OBE to Lorraine Allen, Principal of Whitley Academy, for her services to education. 

-  MBE to Lynda Clapham, senior Librarian at Sidney Stringer Academy, for her services to education. 

-  Knighthood to Nigel Thrift, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick, for his services to higher education.

The Lord Mayor had written on behalf of the City Council to all the recipients sending congratulations.

The Lord Mayor welcomed Councillor Hammon back to the Chamber following a recent short period of illness.

There were no petitions.

There were no declarations of interest.

Report of the Executive Director of Resources

Further to Minute 107/14 of the City Council, Councillors considered a report of the Executive Director of Resources which provided feedback from a Governance Review for the Finham area of the city.  The City Council had agreed to carry out a Community Governance Review for the Finham area of the city, following receipt of a petition signed by 711 people requesting the creation of a parish council. The process for carrying out a Review was set out in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. The views of electors and others in the area had been sought and the purpose of this report was to provide feedback from this exercise and for the Council to make recommendations on community governance arrangements for the Finham area.

At the Council meeting on 9^th December 2014, Councillor Townshend, the Cabinet Member for Policing and Equalities, clarified that representations about the request for a Parish Council could still be made ahead of the January meeting of Council. Information about the review had remained on the Council’s website with the opportunity for people to make any additional comments.  Information to this effect was communicated via social media, displayed in Finham and the surrounding area and sent to local organisations. To allow the maximum opportunity for comment, a deadline of midday on 8^th January had been set and feedback from any representations received had been summarised and published prior to the meeting.  Copies were also tabled.

The City Council considered the report which set out the reasons for recommending a parish council which included factors relating to  the size, population and boundaries of a local community and the impact on community cohesion of community governance arrangements.

The City Council also noted that, in recommending the creation of a Parish for Finham, proposals for naming and governance arrangements would need to be made and details were contained within the report in respect of: the parish name and area; governance arrangements; name of parish council and electoral arrangements.  In addition, it was recommended that the parish should not be divided into wards and that a total of 10 councillors be elected.

  RESOLVED that the City Council unanimously agree to recommend a new parish for the Finham area of the city and in light of this, the City Council also agreed to recommend the following naming and governance arrangements:

1.

(a)  That the new parish be called Finham Parish and comprises the areas shown on the map contained in the report to Council

(b)  That the new parish of Finham should have a parish council 

(c)  That the name of the Parish Council be Finham Parish Council

(d)  That the electoral arrangements that should apply to the new parish are that:

  I.  it should not be divided into wards, and

  II.  a total of 10 councillors to be elected

(e)  That a further report be submitted to Council before 24 June 2015 upon the Re-organisation Order and any other relevant matters

(f)  Authority  ...  view the full minutes text for item 119.

The following Members answered oral questions put to them by other Members as set out below, together with supplementary questions on the same matters:

The Cabinet Member (Children and Young People), Councillor Ruane, made a statement in respect of the “Children’s Services Improvement Plan”.

Councillor Lepoidevin responded to the statement.