Bradley Stoke Town Council (BSTC) has published its Annual Report for 2012/13, ahead of the Annual Town Meeting, which takes place on Wednesday 8th May.
The meeting will receive summary reports from the Chair of Council (Cllr Charlotte Walker), the Chair of the Finance Committee (Cllr Roger Avenin), the Chair of the Planning & Environment Committee (Cllr Robert Jones) and the Chair of the Leisure , Youth & Amenities Committee (Cllr Brian Hopkinson).
In her overview of the year, Mayor Charlotte Walker writes:
“Having been the youngest Mayor the town has ever had, I hope I have shown the young people in our community the opportunities our town can provide.”
As well as highlighting the success of the usual community events over the year, such as the community festival and firework display, Cllr Walker also remarks:
“This year the dynamic of the Councillors changed, but I personally feel this has only enhanced the diverse nature of our council.”
The Mayor’s comment is understood to be a reference to the defection of three town councillors, including Ms Walker’s brother Cllr Ben Walker, from the Conservative party to UKIP last year.
Ms Walker herself has retained allegiance to the Tories, although that did not stop her voting against inviting fellow party member Jack Lopresti MP to officially open the town council’s new office at the Jubilee Centre last year.
Also documented in the Annual Report is the attendance record of town councillors at meetings during the past financial year.
No councillor managed a 100% record in 2012/13, with the top two attenders being Cllr Tom Aditya and Cllr Ben Walker, who were both present at 28 of the 30 meetings they were expected at.
The town’s “youngest-ever Mayor” attended just 10 of the 30 council meetings over the year.
Read more: BSTC Annual Report for 2012/13 [PDF, 1.3MB]
When I wrote: “No councillor managed a 100% record in 2012/13”, I was overlooking the fact that Cllt Paul Hardwick has attended 18 out of 18 meetings since he joined the council following a by-election in September 2012. Apologies to Cllr Hardwick for this oversight.
In an article published yesterday, the Bristol Post tells us why the mayor has attended so few meetings:
Bradley Stoke mayor and full time student only attended a third of town council meetings