Agenda item - Items referred from Council

To consider items referred from the last meeting of Full Council held on 17 December 2020:

(a)           Petitions:

(i)             Cycle Lane Old Shoreham Road

(b)           Deputations:

(i)             Council Communication of the Climate and Biodiversity Emergency

(A)          PETITIONS

(1)           Cycle Lane- Old Shoreham Road

63.1      The Committee considered a petition referred from the previous meeting of Full Council and signed by 522 people requesting that any plans to extend the cycle lane on Old Shoreham Road be halted until full consultation was undertaken.

63.2      The Chair provided the following response:

“Thank you for your petition. I’m pleased to inform you that at the last ETS committee in November the committee approved the consultation and engagement strategy for all Tranche Two schemes. Within that consultation strategy are plans to begin consultation and engagement on the proposal to extend the existing Old Shoreham Road Cycle lane further west as well as the existing first phase of the Old Shoreham Road scheme that was implemented as part of the Emergency Covid Transport Measures in April last year. I hope this gives you some reassurance that you and the people who have signed your petition will have the opportunity to have their say on the future plans”.

63.3      RESOLVED- That the Committee note the petition.

(B)          DEPUTATIONS

(1)           Council Communication of the Climate and Biodiversity Emergency

63.4      The Committee considered a deputation referred from the previous meeting of Full Council that requested the Council better communicate the severity of the climate and biodiversity emergency on its media platforms.

63.5      The Chair provided the following response:

“Thank you for your deputation.

You are absolutely correct; we are facing a climate and biodiversity emergency and it is something we are focussed on tackling.

Later in this meeting we will hear recommendations from the city’s first Climate Assembly and work being done to explore the possibility of a liveable city centre; just two examples of how seriously we are taking this global problem.

Reference to climate change was briefly removed from the homepage of the council’s website in December so that we could share important information on changes to services and support to residents over Christmas, our impending exit from the European Union and the Coronavirus pandemic.

We have since restored that link to the front page and changed its name to better reflect the seriousness of our climate and biodiversity emergency”.

63.6      RESOLVED- That the Committee note the deputation.