Agenda item

The Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, made the following announcements:-

“I have two announcements.  Colleagues, I would not normally comment on rumours of a Government announcement but, like me, many of you will have seen or heard the BBC reports on HS2 this morning.

The reports indicate that a decision on the route for HS2 in South Yorkshire will be made on Monday, and that it is likely to agree the new M18 route, which we are all so opposed to.

Residents will no doubt be up in arms to hear these rumours through the media. They are entitled to be and I am not happy about it either. It is deeply disrespectful to them.

We will wait to learn what that announcement says, if indeed it is made.

However, if it is true that the Government intends to proceed with the M18 route, and as reported this morning, the vast weight of the consultation responses opposed this route, then my view is that it would be little short of outrageous.

To go against such strong public opinion and the available evidence, would simply demonstrate that this is a Government for the few, not the many.

We will wait until Monday to hear full details of the announcement, if it is made, and I will say more about it at that point.

I will of course also endeavour to keep Councillors informed once the announcement is made.

Colleagues will be aware that last month, Bassetlaw and Chesterfield Councils made the decision not to proceed with their plans to become full constituent members of the Sheffield City Region.

Clearly this has a number of implications for devolution proposals in the region.

On Monday, there will be a meeting of the Combined Authority which will consider these implications and at the end of this month, Yorkshire Leaders will also be meeting to discuss Devolution within our county.

I will be attending both of these meetings to represent Doncaster and listen to the views of colleagues. I do not intend to form my own recommendations on the current situation until I have heard from all regional colleagues.

This afternoon, I sent a more detailed update to you all, as we have previously discussed Devolution in detail.

I will of course endeavour to keep you informed and I will update this Chamber again, once those meetings have taken place.”

The Deputy Mayor, Councillor Glyn Jones, made the following announcement:-

“All our thoughts will be with the victims, families and community in Kensington and Chelsea following the awful fire at Grenfell Tower.

This tragic event has also brought into sharp focus the need for all Local Authorities and landlords, to look carefully at their own buildings, to ensure that residents are safe in their homes.

I want to take this opportunity to update Council on the current situation in Doncaster.

We have nine high rise properties in Doncaster, and none of those buildings have the same cladding as found at Grenfell Tower.

However, the safety and security of our tenants remains our number one priority at all times. We are therefore taking steps over and above what is required of us by Government.

And I can confirm to colleagues that next week, Cabinet will be considering the introduction of sprinklers in all our high rise properties.

We have already undertaken extensive checks on all our high rise buildings; so far the vast majority of materials assessed have had no problems.

Some changes have been identified as being required at one property, ‘Silverwood House’, in order to ensure that all of the building’s cladding and capping meets the highest safety standards.

We are working promptly to implement these changes and further testing will be undertaken on all of these buildings, by both ourselves and independent experts.

Throughout this process, we are listening to our tenants, keeping them informed and reassuring them about any improvements we are planning to make to their buildings.

It is of course vitally important that residents are safe, feel secure, and are the first to learn of any changes that may be required to their building.

Members have already received some information about this issue and we will of course continue to keep all Councillors informed.”