Bath & North East Somerset Council has agreed to establish a new Bath City Forum so that the ordinary people of the city can have their say.
At a full Council meeting on Thursday July 16, Councillors voted to move forward with plans for the forum, which will consider the key issues affecting the city and will assist and advise the Council on issues specific to Bath.
The proposals have been developed by a cross-party working group of Councillors, established last year to look at options for strengthening civic representation in Bath using input from local residents and community groups.
The forum will be made up of 12 Bath ward Councillors from Bath & North East Somerset Council and a representative from the Council’s Cabinet. The forum will also co-opt members from across the city to ensure it has the right blend of expertise, skills and local knowledge. Co-opted members could come from residents, business, heritage or other community groups. Forum members will elect their own Chair and Vice Chair.
Following debate it was agreed it would not have delegated funding or decision-making powers.
Councillor Tim Warren (Conservative, Mendip), said: “The forum will provide us with a new mechanism to allow greater engagement and collaboration between communities within the city.
Bath will have its own forum at which matters affecting the city can be discussed by people from the city, in the same way that other areas of Bath and North East Somerset have their town and parish councils.
“There is widespread support for this and I would like to thank the cross-party working group for their work in developing proposals.”
The first meeting of the Bath City Forum is expected to take place in the Autumn. It is then envisaged that the forum will meet at least three times a year.
Further details, including information about the application and selection process, will be made available on the Council’s website as plans progress – www.bathnes.gov.uk
