Madam Mayor, members, officers and those members of the public who have joined this meeting, welcome to this last meeting of Council prior to the local elections in May. I have deliberately kept this brief on that basis. Below are a few brief highlights.
Firstly, I would like to echo the Mayor’s comments and provide my heartfelt thanks to our longstanding members who will be standing down from May following long and distinguished service to the communities of the borough.
Events update
This year’s pancake race was hugely popular with overwhelming attendance levels. Hinckley town centre saw its footfall increase by 25% from the previous year’s race.
This year’s St George’s Day and Scout Parade are taking place on Saturday, 22 April which will hopefully be another exceptionally well supported event.
A Music in the Mead Coronation Special takes place on Sunday, 7 May between 1pm and 3pm with the Jones Jazz Orchestra.
Then into June, we have the annual Proms in the Park event. This year our hosts are the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Wind Orchestra. We look forward to welcoming them to our borough. Hollycroft Park gates open at 5pm on Saturday, 10 June.
To mark the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III, the borough council in partnership with the Rural Communities Council launched a new fund to help community groups to celebrate and commemorate this historic occasion. Over £14,000 worth of grants of up to £500 have been awarded to a wide range of community groups across our borough. 32 VCS groups will be delivering projects and events. Funding will support new flagpoles, the purchase of Union flags, commemorative benches, new orchards and wildflower gardens. This includes 22 celebration events across the borough including village fund days and garden parties.
Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange proposal
As members will be aware, following the council’s and other partner responses to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) on 3 February, the application was withdrawn. Our chief concerns were the inadequacy of the time given to respond, shortcomings in the information provided, including incomplete baseline technical data, and the fact that the consultation fell far short of the government’s own guidance and case law on such matters.
I can now confirm the application was resubmitted in March. On the face of it no significant changes have been submitted in either the technical outputs or the consultation report.
We have therefore notified PINS that the Council retains its position over the inadequacy of the consultation and technical detail provided on which to base any meaningful response.
I remain deeply concerned over the huge environmental impacts of the proposal on Burbage Common and impact on the local area arising from the huge increase in freight train movements and associated 50,000 daily HGV movements in the local area.
Thank you
I would like to extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to the senior management team and officers from across the council who do an incredible job in supporting our communities (which was exemplified during Covid), and of course to all member colleagues for the work they do.
Minutes:
In his position statement, the Leader referred to recent events, the Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange and thanked members and officers for their support over the last four years. Members paid tribute to retiring councillors and echoed the Leader’s thanks to all members and officers.