To receive such communications as the Mayor may decide to lay before the Council.
In the absence of the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor will lead this item, including presenting long service awards to two members of staff.
The Mayor, Councillor Webber-Jones, would like to offer his communications in writing on this occasion:
“Apologies I cannot be with you this evening. There are reasons beyond my control which relate to the change in meeting date.
It has been a very busy but enjoyable summer. I have attended a huge range of events since we last met and I want to thank everyone involved in organising them and making the school holiday period an exceptionally exciting one. I would also like to thank the Deputy Mayor for representing me at a number of events including a Prince’s Trust Team presentation, and at the anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth. This is always important in the borough and I attended a very poignant ceremony to mark the occasion earlier in the week at Leicester Cathedral, laying white rose petals and roses at significant parts of the Richard III legacy including the tomb and at the grave site.
Since we last met, I have to say I doubled in weight at Feast Hinckley – the range of stalls and food was superb and it was fantastic to see so many people in the town centre. There was just so much choice, I had to try everything. It is great to see the council doing lots to promote all these events in the town and across the borough and I enjoyed contributing to a podcast about this with Councillor Bray. Two days later I was at the opening of the award-winning Snap Dragon Festival. Again, it was great to see so many people there. I enjoyed dancing with Snappy but my back was less keen on the limbo we did. I got to be part of the Barwell Carnival, helping to judge floats as well as taking part in the parade. It is great to see such carnival traditions continuing. I also got to do some dancing and cheerleading at this one! (There is a theme emerging).
The Deputy Mayor and I attended a very interesting tour of the Hinckley Museum where we got to explore the exhibits, find out about future development and we had a go at stock making.
Over the bank holiday weekend – the weather on the Saturday did not stop us – I got to judge one of the categories at the Desford Scarecrow Festival as well as seeing all the scarecrows. There were over 70 households involved this year and with all the activities that took place it was, as it always is, brilliant. I visited Hinckley Pride and as well as doing a bit of dancing, got to see stall holders. The team putting it together had worked really hard and everyone I spoke to had a great time. I also got to present trophies at the annual Bagworth Show. This was a very good event with a high standard in the competition categories but it was also good to meet many of the stallholders and voluntary groups who were also there.
Finally, I would like to extend my thanks to Twycross Zoo who organised for many of us to attend on Saturday morning to find out about their conservation work. As one of the Mayor’s charities, I am keen to ensure we can support them as advocates for their work. Likewise, this month I spent time with the team at Lawrence House and the Hinckley Homeless Group, attending their AGM but also visiting them with Sharon to discuss current housing challenges young people face and to explore some events we will be doing in 2025. More details coming soon!”
Minutes:
In his absence, the Mayor had submitted his communications in written form.
The Deputy Mayor presented long service awards to Claire Copeland and Helen Tong who had each served the borough as an officer of the council for 25 years.