Agenda item

Report of the Mayor

A report of the Mayor had been circulated with the agenda. 

The Chairman invited members to indicate whether they wished to ask a question of the Mayor.  Councillors Bell, Watling, Turmaine, Trebar, Martins, Dhindsa, and Ezeifedi indicated that they wished to ask questions.

The Mayor stated that his report was available and all members may ask questions about it.  He praised Watford for being named as the number one place to live and work in the Lambert Smith Hampton Vitality Index, having been third the previous year.

1. Councillor Bell asked if the Mayor regretted procuring the Arriva Click service, which ultimately failed.

The Mayor responded that the council had introduced a number of transport schemes, of which the majority had been successful and he did not regret trying things or delivering on promises made in his manifesto.

Councillor Bell asked a follow up question enquiring if the Mayor would apologise for the cost of the project.

The Mayor replied stating that he had no apology to make. He made a promise in his election campaign and delivered it.  He went on to say that, he was of the belief that there should be greater council control of bus services in Hertfordshire and that the current system was overly reliant on private companies.

2. Councillor Watling thanked the council for their work in reducing fly tipping and invited the Mayor to also thank the council for their work on reducing fly tipping.

The Mayor stated that he was keen to work with all councillors to tackle fly tipping.

3. Councillor Turmaine asked if the Mayor was aware of any postmasters in Watford affected by the recent Post Office scandal.

The Mayor answered saying that he was unaware of anyone who had been affected by the scandal but would be keen to support any that had been if he was made aware.

4. Councillor Trebar raised questions around supporting the parade in her ward with investment and funding for more green spaces and trees.

The Mayor replied saying that it was important to continue to invest in the local area and that Watford had a vibrant economy and he welcomed any further discussion around what needed to be done.  He highlighted the success of the tree-planting programme in Watford and encouraged all councillors to put forward suggestions of locations for new trees. 

5. Councillor Martins stated that Watford was challenged with planning related housing issues.  He cited a case where the government had overruled the council when they rejected a planning application and asked how this should be dealt with.

The Mayor commented that Central government had tripled housing targets for Watford. He continued by making the case for more local control of planning policy on housing targets.

6. Councillor Dhindsa commented that the Beryl bike scheme was a great system, but he noted that the standard of bikes and stands had deteriorated over the years.  He said he saw a number of bikes not left in bike racks and he asked how charging those who did not leave them in bike racks worked.  He also asked what the council was doing to improve the standard of the bikes.

The Mayor responded stating that the scheme was being expanded to neighbouring areas and would include more electric bikes.  He stated that 96% were returned to a bay while those who did not return them correctly incurred a surcharge.

7. Councillor Ezeifedi started by thanking the officers and the council for the work in getting the levelling up funding.  She then asked how it would be spent and whether it would need to be matched.

            The Mayor responded that there would be £8 million allocated to the Colosseum, with a further £8 million on a new Innovation and Incubation Hub.