BOROUGH COUNCIL

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE COUNCIL

MINUTES of the proceedings of the meeting of the General Assembly of the Council held on Monday 23 April 2012.

PRESENT:

The Mayor Councillor E J Lampkin The Deputy Mayor Councillor Mrs A D Allen

Councillor J P Adams Councillor A R Lloyd Councillor I D Armitt JP Councillor T A Maddison Councillor A Bardoe Councillor A R Martin Councillor S H Brown Councillor Mrs A Muckle Councillor M J Bryant Councillor J I Muckle Councillor R Bryant Councillor J M Ozog Councillor J Burrell Councillor R S L Perfitt Councillor Mrs S P Butterfill Councillor G T Prout Councillor P J Cannon Councillor B E Read Councillor P F Coleman Councillor G Reynolds Councillor M J Davis Councillor Mrs R L Shanks Councillor D A Hammock Councillor C J Shippam Councillor J S Hawkes Councillor D Swinerd Councillor D E Hunnisett Councillor Mrs P A Thurlow Councillor K M Kelly Councillor A Wells Councillor P Kelly Councillor R J Wells Councillor J A Kite, MBE

ABSENT :

Councillor L J Bobby Councillor S East Councillor J A Hayes Councillor D J Mote Councillor M I Peters Councillor Mrs J A Rickwood Councillor A S Sandhu, MBE Councillor M J Street Councillor Mrs N C Wightman

82. PRAYERS: REVEREND ARDING

The Reverend Arding led the Council in prayer.

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83. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Bobby, Hayes, Mote, Mrs Peters, Mrs Rickwood, Sandhu, Street and Mrs Wightman.

84. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest.

85. APPOINTMENT OF HONORARY ALDERMAN

Councillor A R Martin moved and Councillor C J Shippam seconded that in accordance with Standing Order 16(4) extra time be allowed for the Leader of the Council and the Leader of the Opposition to deliver their speeches and this was duly resolved.

The Leader of the Council moved “that in pursuance of section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972, this Council do confer the title of Honorary Alderman upon Ivor Thomas Noel Jones DL in recognition and acknowledgement of eminent services rendered to the Council” and reserved his right to speak in order to allow the Shadow Leader to speak first in support of the motion in view of his long association with Mr Jones.

The Shadow Leader seconded the motion and spoke about Mr Jones’s long service to the Council and the people of Dartford. He recounted that Mr Jones had first been elected to serve on Dartford Rural District Council in 1955 and Stone Parish Council two days before his marriage to Dulcie, who had been a great support to him for the past 57 years. The world had been very different then and change had been in the air. The main issue facing the District at that time had been problems associated with dust from concrete manufacture, which was particularly prevalent in Mr Jones’s ward, and Mr Jones had been a leading campaigner to address this. Before local government reorganisation in 1973/74 Mr Jones had been the Vice-Chairman of Dartford Rural District Council, a period during which he helped to oversee the rebuilding of and the construction of the White Oak Sports Centre. Mr Jones had been the Leader of the new Borough Council from 1974-82 and again from 1995-98 and had been the Shadow Leader in the intervening years. During his first period as Leader of the Council the Fairfield Pool, the Arndale Centre and the Dartford one-way system had opened, the Saturday market had been introduced and Phoenix Place had been developed. During his second period as Council Leader he had campaigned for free bus passes for the elderly, the hospital at and, unsuccessfully at the time, for the University and Science Park to come to Dartford. The Shadow Leader recounted his early meetings with Mr Jones and commented on his Mayoralty in 1998-2000 when he had met many local children drawing on his experience as a Head Teacher and overseen Council meetings in a “no nonsense” manner.

The Shadow Leader also commented on Mr Jones’s love of sport and in particular rugby and cricket, and recounted his exploits during the annual cricket match against staff and for Stone Cricket Club. However arguably his 2 GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE COUNCIL

MONDAY 23 APRIL 2012

greatest achievement had been in overseeing the decision to build The Orchard Theatre, which had been controversial at the time, but had proved a lasting success for the borough. Mr Jones continued to be a great supporter of the Theatre. The Shadow Leader reflected on Mr Jones’s long service to the people of Dartford and felt that the conferment of an Honorary Aldermanship was fully deserved.

Other Members spoke in support of the motion. Councillor Coleman commented on his family’s close relationship with Mr Jones and his family and how much he had learnt from him when he first joined the Council and his great debating skills and kindness. Councillor Mrs Thurlow also paid tribute to how much she had learnt from Mr Jones and his prowess during sometimes lively debates. She also reminded Members of the many other organisations that Mr Jones had served on during his time in elected office and his wider contribution. Councillor Muckle recalled with fondness the years during which Mr Jones had been the Leader of the Council and he had been Deputy Leader. He congratulated him on the longevity of his service to Dartford and also highlighted his work as a County and Parish Councillor, which had been recognised by the awarding of an Honorary Aldermanship by County Council, and his appointment as Deputy Lieutenant of Kent in 2001. He spoke of his close personal friendship with Mr Jones and the holidays that their families had spent together. Councillor Hawkes expressed his thanks to Mr Jones for his example and support to him as a new Councillor and drew attention to the work he had done in Stone where he was widely admired by local people. These sentiments were echoed by other Members who spoke of their high regard for Mr Jones and his many achievements, the impact he had had on the local community and his pride in being Welsh.

The Leader of the Council commented that communities needed people like Mr Jones who were the rock and cement of society. Like many others he had learnt from Mr Jones after joining the Council in 1997 and these lessons had stood him in good stead as his career as a Councillor developed. Whatever their differences of view in the past he respected Mr Jones for his character and sense of purpose. He paid tribute to Mr Jones’s contribution to the Council and the people of Dartford and spoke of the importance of legacy from a career of service. The Leader explained that the conferment of Honorary Aldermanship’s by the Borough was an extremely rare accolade reserved for the most deserving servants of the borough and was offered with great affection and love – it was the highest honour that the Council could give to former Members. He also commented upon the devotion and support of Mr Jones’s wife, Dulcie, which had been recognised in its own right by naming a street in Stone in her honour.

The motion was put to the vote and it was unanimously

RESOLVED: That in pursuance of section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972, this Council do confer the title of Honorary Alderman upon Ivor Thomas Noel Jones DL in recognition and acknowledgement of eminent services rendered to the Council.

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The Mayor invited Mr Ivor Jones to come forward to the dais and presented him with a framed ceremonial scroll to commemorate his conferment as an Honorary Alderman of the .

Mr Jones addressed the Council and expressed his gratitude for his conferment as Honorary Alderman. He explained that since his election in 1955 he had had the opportunity to work with many colleagues and officers at Stone Parish Council, Kent County Council and Dartford Rural District Council and the Borough Council and had always regarded these colleagues as part of a wider “Civic team”. He thanked close colleagues such as Councillor Muckle, who had become close personal friends, and Members from all sides of the Chamber for their support and friendship. Mr Jones recalled the service held at Holy Trinity to celebrate 250 years of local government and his interaction with local residents. He also spoke of his pride for his family and the sacrifices they had made in terms of possible missed opportunities due to the calls upon his time in the service of the borough. He thanked his family, his daughters and grandchildren for their love and support and reflected that whilst he might not have been the first person to receive an Honorary Aldermanship in the borough, he was the second Head Teacher to receive one and was very proud of that. Mr Jones thanked the Council for bestowing this honour and wished the current Council every success for the future in working on behalf of the people of Dartford.

The meeting closed at 8.03 pm

Councillor E J Lampkin MAYOR

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