Basildon Conservatives have unveiled their new frontbench team
The Conservative Order Paper, establishing committees and chairmen and appointments to other bodies were confirmed at the Annual Meeting of Basildon Borough Council last night
Cllr Andrew Baggott, Leader of Basildon Conservatives, has formally come back as Leader of the Council and formed a new Administration following the Conservative victory at the local elections earlier this month. At the Annual Meeting of Basildon Council on Thursday, held at the Basildon Sporting Village due to the ongoing coronavirus restrictions, the Conservative Group published their Order Paper, establishing the new service committees that will be put in place and confirming the chairmen who will be tasked with delivering the new Administration's agenda. The Order Paper also confirmed that allocation of committee seats, appointments to other bodies and the timetable of meetings for the forthcoming municipal year.
Cllrs Andrew Baggott, Anthony Hedley and Stuart Sullivan
Councillor Baggott (Burstead) will chair a new Policy Executive, which will be responsible for overall corporate strategy. Assisting him will be Deputy Leader Cllr Anthony Hedley (Billericay West), as well as former Leader Cllr Malcolm Buckley (Wickford Castledon) and Cllr Stuart Sullivan (Billericay East), who will also chair the Resources and Commercial Committee. Councillor Sullivan will be assisted by the new Mayor, Cllr David Dadds (Billericay East), who will serve as vice-chairman, and by Cllrs Chris Allen (Langdon Hills) and Gary Canham (Pitsea South-East). Both Councillors Allen and Canham, like Councillor Sullivan himself, come from a financial background and will add their knowledge and experience to the important work of this committee, which will be responsible for the financial management of the Council and commercial and strategic assets.
Councillors Baggott and Hedley will also chair and vice-chair respectively the Urgent Decision and Staffing Sub-committee. Councillor Baggott is also creating a new Enforcement and Public Order Committee, which he will chair personally, reflecting the Conservative commitment to zero tolerance enforcement, community safety, CCTV, combating anti-social behaviour and liaising with Essex Police. Cllr Yetunde Adeshile (Vange) will serve as vice-chair and Cllr Craig Rimmer (Pitsea South-East) will also sit on the committee.
Cllrs Andrew Schrader and Terri Sargent
The old Housing and Communities Committee is to be split in two, to reflect the importance of these two separate policy areas. Cllr Andrew Schrader (Billericay East) will be chairing a new Housing and Estate Renewal Committee, responsible for housing, asset management and property services, housing development, building control and, crucially, much-needed renewal of our estates. Cllr Kevin Wingfield (Laindon Park) will be vice-chairman and serve alongside Cllrs Jeff Henry (Laindon Park) and Phil Turner (Billericay West). Meanwhile, a new Communities and Well-Being Committee will be headed up by Cllr Terri Sargent (Crouch), responsible for our community centres and halls, public health, arts and heritage and town twinning. Councillor Adeshile will vice-chair and Cllrs Henry and Wingfield will also serve. The creation of the extra committee is offset by the abolition of the outgoing Labour-led Administration's naval-gazing Local Government Reorganisation and Transition Committee, which has been formally abolished.
Cllr Craig Rimmer
The Neighbourhoods and Public Spaces Committee is being renamed the Leisure and Environment Committee and will be led by Cllr Craig Rimmer (Pitsea South-East) and will be responsible for leisure facilities, waste services and street cleansing, environmental health and climate change, as well as parks, playgrounds and cemeteries. Councillor Rimmer's committee will also be leading on our borough-wide review of parking provision. He will be assisted by Councillor Henry, who will serve as vice-chairman, and Cllr Don Morris (Wickford Castledon) will also sit on the committee.
The Town Centre Revival and Economic Development and Recovery Committees are to be merged to form a single Regeneration and Economic Development Committee, headed by Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Anthony Hedley (Billericay West). He will be assisted by Cllrs Canham and Henry, with the former serving as vice-chairman. Councillor Hedley will be overseeing the fresh consultation on Basildon Town Centre regeneration as well as taking the lead on economic development, business engagement, employment, education and skills.
Cllr Richard Moore
Cllr Richard Moore (Burstead) returns as chairman of the Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee, responsible for planning policy (including the Local Plan), neighbourhood planning, infrastructure delivery and transport. It is a subject he has lived and breathed for the best part of a decade. He will be assisted by Cllr Carole Morris (Wickford North), as vice-chair, and Councillor Schrader will also sit on the committee.
After two years of an administration that seemed determined to dodge proper oversight, we are restoring the Scrutiny Committee, which will be chaired by Deputy Mayor, Cllr Luke Mackenzie (Pitsea South-East). Newly-elected Cllr Davida Ademuyiwa (St Martin's) will serve as vice-chair and Cllr Stuart Allen (Crouch), a long-serving councillor and former chairman of Standards, will also sit on the committee, which will be tasked with acting as a 'critical friend' to the Administration and present robust challenge where necessary.
Of the four regulatory committees, Cllr Carole Morris will chair the Planning Committee; Cllr Danny Lawrence (Billericay West) will chair the Licensing Committee, Councillor Canham will chair the Audit and Risk Committee and Councillor Jeffery will chair the Joint Standards Committee.
All committees on Basildon Council are composed of councillors in accordance with political proportionality, depending on their respective group's strength on the Council. Opposition parties have been assigned seats on the various committees and will be making their own appointments in due course.
The new Leader of Basildon Council, Cllr Andrew Baggott, has formed a new Conservative Administration
The Order Paper also makes the following appoints to outside bodies:
- A127 Task Force - Councillor Moore
- Association of South Essex Local Authorities - Councillor Baggott
- Basildon Borough Citizens' Advice Bureau Ltd - Councillor Wingfield
- Basildon Bus Forum - Cllrs S. Allen, Baggott, Lawrence, Rimmer and Schrader
- Basildon Community Resource Centre - Councillor Buckley
- Basildon Business Group - Councillor Adeshile
- Basildon Civil/Military Partnership Board - Cllrs Baggott and Dadds
- Basildon Community Transport Services - Councillor Sargent
- Basildon Dementia Action Alliance - Councillor Henry
- Basildon Health and Well-Being Partnership and District Councils Health and Well-Being Forum - Councillor Sargent
- Basildon Rail Forum - Cllrs C. Allen, Canham, Mackenzie, D. Morris and Rimmer
- Basildon Taxi and Private Hire Consultative Forum - Cllrs S. Allen, Baggott, Lawrence, Mackenzie and Schrader
- Basildon Youth Strategy Group - Councillor Adeshile
- District Councils Network - Councillor Baggott
- East of England Assembly of Council Leaders - Councillor Baggott
- East of England Local Government Association - Councillor Moore
- Essex Child and Family Well-Being Advisory Board - Councillor D. Morris
- Essex Civilian/Military Partnership Board and Armed Forces Champion - Councillor Baggott
- Essex Coastal Forum - Councillor Moore
- Essex Flood Partnership Board - Councillor Moore
- Essex Planning Member Group - Councillor Moore
- Essex Police, Fire and Crime Panel - Councillor Baggott
- Essex Waste Partnership Board - Councillor Rimmer
- Local Councils' Liaison Group - Cllrs Ademuyiwa, Moore and Sargent
- Local Government Association - Councillor Hedley
- Local Government Information Unit - Councillor Hedley
- Mayor of London - London Plan - Wider South East Political Steering Group - Councillor Moore
- Norsey Wood Society - Cllrs Hedley and Schrader
- Opportunity South Essex Partnership - Councillor Adeshile
- PATROL (Parking and Regulation Order Outside London) - Councillor D. Morris
- Patient and Community Reference Group for Basildon and Brentwood Clinical Commissioning Group - Councillor Sargent
- Pitsea Waste Management Centre - Public Liaison Group - Councillor Rimmer
- South Essex Active Travel Sponsoring Board - Councillor Rimmer
- South Essex Joint Strategic Plan Members Group - Councillor Moore
- South Essex Children's Partnership Board - Councillor D. Morris
- Transport East Forum - Councillor Rimmer
- Veolia Pitsea Marshes Trust - Councillor Canham
- Essex Countywide Traveller Unit Joint Committee - Councillor Jeffery
- South Essex Parking Partnership Joint Committee - Councillor C. Morris
- Basildon Side by Side - Cllrs Hedley and Sargent
- Basildon Heritage - Councillor Canham