Agenda item - Chair's Communications

103.1  The chair stated the following: This is the last meeting of Planning Committee for the current term. It is also possible that it will be my last meeting as Chair. We shall have to see how the Local Elections on May 4th go in order to find out.

I have to say, it was a bit of a shock to take over the Chairship mid-term; but in the Summer of 2020, at the height of the Covid crisis, that is exactly what happened.

I’d like to acknowledge the work of my predecessor, Former Councillor Tracey Hill. I’ve seen a number of Chairs of Planning over the years, and Tracey was a great example of what I consider to be the three most important attributes of a Chair of a quasi-judicial Committee: calmness, neutrality, and attention to detail. During my tenure, I have attempted to embody the same qualities.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Members who’ve sat on this committee as permanent members or as substitutes. Also, I’d like to pay tribute to the planning officers who have worked so hard on so many applications and helped us as Members to come to the best decisions we can. In particular, Jane and Nicola who have been absolute stalwarts of the committee, and their boss, Liz Hobden, Head of Planning. We also can’t underestimate the vital importance of our legal advisors, Katie and Alison and, of course, Hilary, who is, I hope, enjoying her well-deserved retirement. Thanks too to our ever-helpful Committee Clerk, Shaun, and his predecessor, Penny. Finally, I’d like to thank all those members of the public who have taken the time to contribute to our determinations.

It has been an honour to serve as Chair of this vital Committee; charged as we are with the future of the city’s built environment. Many years ago, when I undertook my basic training, one thing which then Senior Planning Manager, Paul Vidler, said, has particularly stuck with me ever since. Paul said, “The decisions you will be making will, on average, last for fifty years.” That means that the results of most of what we decide today and at each and every meeting of this committee, will be here long after I, and many other Members, are gone. I love this city and hope that the decisions we’ve made and are about to make, make it a better place to live, work, and visit long into the future.