Mayor’s Report

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

Prior to the councillors’ questions being put to the Mayor, he said he wanted to inform Council of the tragic passing in September of Councillor Mandy Perkins, the Leader of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council.  He commented that she had been very welcoming to him when he was first elected to the role of Mayor.

The Chairman invited Members to indicate whether they wished to ask a question of the Mayor.  Councillors Hofman, Smith, Dhindsa, Cavinder, Bell and Mills indicated that they wished to ask questions.

a)      Councillor Hofman referred to a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.  The conclusion stated that governments and civil societies needed to act now to limit global warming to below a rise of 1.5 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels.  Otherwise there could be an increase in extreme weather events.  Transport was the most polluting sector.  It was a matter of urgency that Hertfordshire County Council took electrical vehicles seriously.  The county council needed to work with the borough council to roll out a comprehensive charging network and infrastructure throughout Watford and Hertfordshire.

         The Mayor thanked the councillor for his question and said that he agreed with the comments about climate change.  Watford had the highest rate of electrical vehicle usage in Hertfordshire; three times higher than any other district.  He said that the council wanted to do more.  Officers worked with the county council to try to increase the number of on-street charging points.  The council provided charging points in its own car parks.  He added that he was keen to work with Councillor Hofman and others to ensure support for electrical vehicles and other modes of sustainable transport across the town.

b)      Councillor Smith said that he had read in the report about the ongoing improvements to the High Street.  These were welcome.  He felt other councillors would agree that there were other shopping centres that needed improvement, namely St Albans Road.  He asked the Mayor if St Albans Road would be the next location to get investment.

         The Mayor agreed with the councillor’s comments about the High Street.  He acknowledged that it was not the only place that councillors and county councillors had worked hard to improve, for example Goodwood Parade.  He said that it was correct about St Albans Road.  He had been impressed with Councillors Stotesbury and Laird who were working with businesses, residents and organisations.  The council was keen to work with all groups, including the county council and officers.  However, practical suggestions were needed for improvements on St Albans Road.

c)      Councillor Dhindsa said his question related to anti-social behaviour.  The Vicarage ward councillors met the police at the police station to discuss issues within the ward.  They also visited the ward collecting information.  Drugs was becoming a problem in the town.  He asked the Mayor if he had met the Police and Crime Commissioner to discuss cuts to the police budget.  He also enquired whether the council had any budget that could fund Police Community Support Officers (PCSO).  He requested that the Mayor also needed to speak to the Police and Crime Commissioner about the closure of the town’s police station.  He hardly saw any police officers on the street.

         The Mayor said that he agreed with the comments about police officers needed on the streets.  His group had campaigned for officers.  He had met the Chief Inspector for Watford several times.  He was keen to meet the Police and Crime Commissioner and a meeting had been arranged.  He agreed that it was important to work with the police and was aware of the walkabout the ward councillors had with the police in west Watford.  It had been successful and well received.  Others had taken place, for example in Central.  During his meetings with the police he had pressed the importance of tackling drugs.  He was aware of a number of arrests and prosecutions over the last few weeks. 

         The Mayor said the council was one of the few that funded CCTV, which included monitoring 24/7.  He agreed that a police station was needed in the town centre.  He was keen to work with the police.

d)      Councillor Cavinder referred to the Boundary Commission’s decision to move the Woodside ward into the St Albans Parliamentary constituency.  This was despite a petition signed by hundreds of residents and their concerns and wishes had been ignored.  These were ridiculous proposals for the local community; the majority of whom considered themselves to be Watfordians.  There was little evidence that the Watford MP had communicated with Woodside residents about this matter.  It appeared from media reports that he would be voting for the proposals.  He asked the Mayor whether he agreed that the Woodside residents had every right to be considered Watfordians.  He requested that the Mayor write to Richard Harrington MP and remind him of his obligations to his constituents and to vote against the proposals.

         The Mayor agreed with councillor Cavinder’s comments.  It would mean that as Mayor he would represent 12 wards, 11 of which were represented by the MP for Watford and then Woodside by the MP for St Albans.  It would make no sense.  People contacted him to say how unhappy they were with the proposals.  He said he would raise it with the MP, who appeared to have accepted the proposal.

e)      Councillor Bell thanked officers for the responses to his written questions about the market, which had been circulated earlier that evening.  He stated that there had been an Outsourced Services Scrutiny Panel on 9 July and TCM’s debt situation was not mentioned.  He asked why the situation had not been referred to at the scrutiny panel, allowing councillors to be made aware of the problems with the company.

         The Mayor responded that the council had acted very swiftly to keep a market in Watford.  The town had a royal charter to hold a market and the council was committed to protecting it.  He outlined some of the issues but stressed the council acted swiftly when needed.  With regard to Outsourced Services Scrutiny Panel, he commented that it was right that Outsourced Services Scrutiny Panel had the ability to question the decision.  However, he had not seen the agenda for that meeting, but expected it was very full.  He added that the council was open and transparent and it had acted properly in this case.

f)       Councillor Mills referred to the Cabinet decision to introduce parking charges at Cassiobury Park car park.  She asked the Mayor whether blue badge holders and local residents would be able to park for free.

         The Mayor stated that blue badge holders and Watford residents would get two hours free in accordance with the proposals agreed at Cabinet.  Two-thirds of people visiting Cassiobury Park were there for less than two hours.  He regularly visited the park with his three young children and two hours was plenty of time.  The car park charge was a small amount of money when compared to other car related costs.  The money would be used to keep the high quality services provided in the park.  The council was not considering special discounts for different groups; in the agreed decision everyone was entitled to park free for up to two hours.