Agenda item

Mayor's Announcements

Minutes:

Heathlands Topping Out Ceremony

 

The Mayor was pleased to report that she had attended the topping out ceremony at Heathlands Integrated Health and Care Centre. Heathlands would provide a 66-bed specialist care facility for dementia patients or patients transitioning from hospital to home.

 

Councillor Birch, Executive Member for Adult Services, Health and Housing added that this was a unique project as it brought together NHS partners with the Council to deliver the facility for local residents. The facility would also provide re-ablement services to support people to get back into the community and he was looking forward to it opening early in 2022. He thanked everyone involved in getting the project to this point. 

 

Visit to Foxhill Primary School

 

The Mayor visited Foxhill Primary School to meet pupils from the school council and was impressed by the thoughtful and inciteful questions about the Mayor’s role in the community.

 

The Body Shop Refill Station 

 

The Mayor had been pleased to attend the opening of the new refill station at the Lexicon Body Shop which allowed customers to restock a number of their favourite hair care, shower gel or hand wash products by refilling a re-usable aluminium container. This simple switch was another example of how to reduce plastic.

 

Armed Forces Week

 

The Mayor reported that Armed Forces Week had been celebrated by a Flag raising ceremony at Sandhurst Memorial Park on 24th June 2021.  The socially distanced event was organised by Sandhurst Town Council and was attended by distinguished guests and armed forces personnel. Times Square was also lit up in red, white and blue.  

 

Mayoral Charity events

 

The Mayor thanked everyone who participated and donated to her online auction in support of SSAFA Berkshire and the British Forces Foundation which raised over £2,000. Nearly £500 was raised at the SSAFA Berkshire stand in the foyer of Tesco Martins Heron. The Mayor thanked Councillors Bhandari, Gbadebo, Mrs Hayes MBE, Mrs Mattick and Turrell as well as the team at Tesco for their support.

 

Virtual events

 

The Mayor advised the meeting that she had attended the following events remotely: Keep Mobile; an Eid Celebration Party; Royal County of Surrey and Berkshire Armed Forces Briefing; Berkshire Archaeological Society 150 years Celebration  

Interfaith Forum as well as 22 Citizenship Ceremonies.

 

Councillor Bettison, OBE, Leader of the Council

 

The Leader thanked the many volunteers who had worked through the pandemic as well as those who had supported the surge testing in the south of the Borough. Volunteers manned the site, guided people and also assisted by going house to house to deliver leaflets. The Leader thanked the Council’s partners at the Ark for co-ordinating covid volunteers. This is a real example of residents being generous people with their time and talent to achieve positive impact within the borough.

 

The meeting supported the Leader’s formal vote of thanks to those that had volunteered.

 

Councillor Kirke, Ward member for Bullbrook

 

Councillor Kirke was pleased to report that he and Councillor Harrison had attended Lily Hill Park where a new picnic table had been constructed from a tree which had to be felled for safety reasons. The extraordinarily long picnic table was believed to be the longest in the United Kingdom and possibly Europe which would be affirmed by the Guinness book of records.

 

Councillor Allen, Ward member for College Town on behalf of Councillor Mrs Hayes MBE, Executive Member for the Environment

 

Councillor Allen advised the meeting that RE3 had just started ta six month trial at their recycling centre to recycle rigid plastic item such as plastic bins, garden furniture, children’s plastic toys and plant pots. 700 tonnes of such waste go to landfill sites each year. The rigid plastic collected would be converted to plastic pellets to be reused in products such as drain pipes and plastic railway sleepers.

Supporting documents:

 

Contact Information

Democratic services

Email: committee@bracknell-forest.gov.uk