Agenda item

(1)      The Mayor reported that he had welcomed the Mayor and Mayoress of Gorkha to the Borough on 9th March 2023.  The delegation had stayed in the Borough until 12th March and the group had also included the Deputy Mayor of Gorkha.  The delegation had also attended the Mayor’s Charity Banquet on 10th March.

 

          The Mayor advised the Council that he had attended festivities for the Nepali New Year, which this year had fallen on 14th April 2023.  The in Nepali calendar it was the year 2080.

  

(2)      The Mayor advised that, on 10th March 2023, he had attended an event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Edgar Jerome Ltd in Aldershot.

 

(3)      The Mayor reported that, on 10th March 2023, he had held his Charity Banquet at Princes Hall in Aldershot.  He thanked all Members who had supported this event, which had raised £3,000 for his charities.

 

(4)      The Mayor reported that, on 24th February, he had attended a topping out ceremony at Union Yard in Aldershot, which marked the completion of the building’s concrete structure, when councillors, staff and representatives from the Hill Group had joined together to pour the topping concrete on the roof.

 

(5)      The Mayor reported that it gave him great pleasure to mark the long-service of eight councillors: 

 

·                Cllr Diane Bedford had been elected to St. Mark’s Ward in 2002 and had served on many of the committees and panels during her 21 years’ service.  Currently, Cllr Bedford was Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and she had also served as the Leisure and Youth Portfolio Holder from 2004 until 2013.  Cllr Bedford had had the honour to serve as Deputy Mayor in 2013/14 and Mayor of the Borough in 2014/15 (20 years’ service medal).

 

·                Cllr Craig Card had been first elected to the Council in 1991 and had served the residents of Mayfield Ward until 2010.  After a spell away from the Council, Cllr Card had been re-elected to represent the residents of St. Mark’s Ward in 2022 (20 years’ service medal).  

 

·                Cllr Peter Crerar had been elected to the Council in 2003 to represent the residents of Manor Park Ward.  Cllr Crerar had served on many of the Council’s committees and panels and currently served as Vice-Chairman of the Policy and Project Advisory Board.  Cllr Crerar had also had the honour of being Deputy Mayor in 2011/12 and Mayor of the Borough in 2012/13 (20 years’ service medal).

 

·                Cllr Paul Taylor had been elected to the Council in 2002 and had served the residents of Knellwood Ward ever since.  Cllr Taylor had served as Chairman of the Leisure and Youth Panel from 2003 to 2007 and had been the Corporate Services Portfolio Holder on the Cabinet since 2007 (except for one year when Cllr Taylor had been the Customer Experience and Improvement Portfolio Holder) (20 years’ service medal). 

 

·                Cllr Steve Masterson had been first elected to the Council in 1991 and had served the residents of Grange Ward until 1995.  Cllr Masterson’s second term of office had been from 2004 until 2012 and his current term of office had commenced in 2015, representing the residents of Cove and Southwood Ward.   Cllr Masterson was currently the Cabinet Champion for Climate Change and had previously served as the Safety and Regulation Portfolio Holder and as Chairman of the Licensing and General Purposes Committee with involvement in many licensing hearings.  Cllr Masterson had had the honour of serving as Deputy Mayor in 2017/18 and then as Mayor of the Borough in 2018/19 (20 years’ service medal).

 

·                Cllr Charles Choudhary was congratulated on his 31 years’ service in local government.  Cllr Choudhary had been a Member for Rowhill Ward (formerly Alexandra Ward) from 1987 to 1995 and again from 2000 to present.  Cllr Choudhary had served on many of the Council’s committees and panels and had also been the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Concessions and Community Support from 2005 to 2013.  Cllr Choudhary had had the honour of serving twice as Mayor of the Borough in 2001/02 and 2020/21 (30 years’ service bar to be added to long-service medal).

 

          Cllr Choudhary had also been elected to serve on Hampshire County Council in 2013 and had had the honour of serving as Vice-Chairman during 2018/19 and then Chairman of Hampshire County Council in 2019/20.

 

·                Cllr David Clifford had achieved 32 years’ service in local government.  Cllr Clifford had been elected to the Council in 1991 and had represented Queen’s, Wellington and Empress Wards and had then been elected to serve the residents of Manor Park Ward in 2016.  Cllr Clifford had served on most of the Council’s committees and panels and, most notably, Cllr Clifford had been Leader of the Council since 2016.  Cllr Clifford also had the honour of being Mayor of the Borough in 1999/2000 (30 years’ service bar to add to long-service medal).

 

·                Cllr Mike Smith had achieved 35 years’ service in local government.  Cllr Smith had originally been elected to the Council in 1978 to the Farnborough North Ward and had served until 1979.  His second term of office had been from 1982 to 1994 when he had been elected to Grange Ward, and again in his third term of office from 2000 until 2012.  After a period of two years away, Cllr Smith had been elected to the Council to serve the residents of Empress Ward.  Cllr Smith had served on many of the Council’s committees, with a number of chairing roles, and most recently as Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. (35 years’ service bar to add to long-service medal).

 

The long-service award Members were invited to step forward to receive their long-service medals and bars.

 

(6)      The Mayor advised Members that this was the final Council meeting before the Borough Elections on 4th May 2023 and that, in addition to himself, there were three other Members not seeking re-election – Councillors Charles Choudhary, Lee Jeffers and Prabesh KC:

 

·                Cllr Lee Jeffers had been elected to serve the residents of West Heath Ward in 2019.  Cllr Jeffers had been Vice-Chairman of the Development Management Committee from 2021 to date.

 

·                Cllr Prabesh KC had been elected to serve the residents of Wellington Ward in 2019.  During his time on the Council, Cllr Prabesh KC had served on the Corporate Governance, Audit and Standards Committee, Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Policy and Project Advisory Board.

 

·                Cllr Charles Choudhary – The Mayor referred to the potted history of Cllr Choudhary’s service given earlier in the meeting and stated that his experience and expertise at Rushmoor would be greatly missed.  31 years’ service in local government was an outstanding achievement.

 

The Mayor thanked Councillors Jeffers, Prabesh KC and Choudhary for their service to the Council and to the people of the Borough and wished them all well for the future.

 

The Leader of the Council then paid tribute to the 42 years’ service to the Borough of the Mayor (Cllr J.H. Marsh), who would not be seeking re-election at the forthcoming Borough Council Elections.  Cllr Clifford thanked Cllr Marsh for his long and dedicated service to the Council and the residents of the Borough of Rushmoor and stated that he would be deeply missed.  There would be an opportunity to say more about Cllr Marsh at the Annual Council Meeting on 23rd May 2023.