Councillor Mrs. M.D. Lloyd-Hayes has submitted the following notice of motion:

This Council resolves to ensure that no irreversible action be taken that would prejudice the potential for appropriate access to this major archaeological site.

That this Council suspend the building of the Rotherwas Relief Road in the area of the archaeological find and land adjacent to it, in order to undertake an independent, external snd exhaustive enquiry and report back to Council.

The findings to be made available to all members to consider and vote on at the 9th November meeting of Council. The report be made available to members and the public at least 21 days prior to the same council meeting.

The Chairman will rule on whether the matter is urgent.

Councillor MD Lloyd-Hayes had submitted the following Notice of Motion.

This Council resolves to ensure that no irreversible action be taken that would prejudice the potential for appropriate access to this major archaeological site.

That this Council suspend the building of the Rotherwas Relief Road in the area of the archaeological find and land adjacent to it, in order to undertake an independent, external and exhaustive enquiry and report back to Council. 

The findings to be made available to all Members to consider and vote on at the 9th November meeting of Council.  The report be made available to Members and the public at least 21 days prior to the same Council meeting.

The Chairman moved to urgency and that Motion was duly seconded. 

Councillor Lloyd-Hayes read out a statement on the possible significance of the discovery of the Rotherwas Ribbon and its possible potential as a tourist attraction, although agreed that funding for it could be expensive.  She requested that there was more public involvement and debate on the issue.

Councillor Jarvis, Cabinet Member (Environment and Strategic Housing) stated that he agreed with a lot of the points put forward, but did not believe the Notice of Motion as it stood would fit in with the Council’s constitution and proposed an amendment.  The Leader of the Council seconded the amendment.

In relation to a query regarding the original Notice of Motion and possible inconsistencies with the Council’s Constitution, the Head of Legal and Democratic Services pointed out to Council that the functions in the later part of the Motion were executive functions for Cabinet and not ones that the Council had power over.

Proposed Amended Motion:

1                    The Council resolves to ensure that no irreversible action be taken that would prejudice the preservation or the potential for access, if appropriate, to what as currently advised is a site of archaeological importance.

2                    That Council notes that work on the construction of the Rotherwas Relief Road in that area is currently suspended (NB some works are being undertaken to protect the site) and that Cabinet be asked to address the issue of the appropriate approach to completion of the Rotherwas Relief Road in the context of the advice to be received from English Heritage as to the best method of preserving the archaeological remains.

3                    Council requests Cabinet to address the issue of the financial consequences of the delay to date on the Rotherwas Relief Road, as part of the fuller considerations, and to quantify the financial impact of further delays and make recommendations to Council as to how those issues might be addressed within the Council’s budget.

4                    That Council be invited to note that any decision made by Cabinet on this issue would be a key decision within the Constitution and will therefore be liable to call-in for scrutiny.  If Scrutiny express any significant concerns about the action proposed by Cabinet, which action will only be taken on the advice of English Heritage, and Cabinet is minded to proceed without addressing those concerns then the Leader gives an undertaking to approach the Chairman to call a special meeting of Council.

Councillor Jarvis, Cabinet Member (Environment and Strategic Housing) reiterated that he agreed with the principal statement that the remains needed to be preserved and that the Council needed to take the advice of English Heritage.  In order to reassure Members he stated that any decision on the Rotherwas Ribbon would be treated as a key decision and therefore subject to call-in through the Scrutiny Committee.

In response to the queries as to the sites value as a tourist attraction, the Cabinet Member (Economic Development and Community Services) stated that he had asked the Director of Visit Herefordshire if they felt it was a viable tourist site.  It was stated they had not and added that it was felt it was purely of interest to a specialist minority.

The Leader paid tribute to Dr Ray and his team.  He added that Worcester archaeology and English Heritage had visited the site many times to see the work being carried out.

Councillor Lloyd-Hayes reiterated the points raised in the original Motion and welcomed the points made by fellow Councillors, but did not feel that the amendment to the Motion was acceptable and that the focus should not be on the cost of the relief road but on the protection of the site.  Councillor Lloyd-Hayes raised concern on the separation of the Council’s role in relation to planning matters.

The Cabinet Member (Environment and Strategic Housing) stated the importance of working with and through the statutory bodies like English Heritage and emphasised that the Head of Planning and his officers had clearly followed Planning Policy And Guidance 16 procedures.

Members then voted on the amended Notice of Motion.  There were 38 votes for the amendment and 7 against.

Councillor MAF Hubbard referred to the site and proposed a further amendment to the amended Notice of Motion by way of an addition, that:

The Council requests Cabinet to commission an independent and external enquiry to the extent of the archaeological find to ensure that any future decision with regard to the development of the Rotherwas Access Road is taken with complete knowledge of what we are dealing with.

In response to a query regarding the setting up of an independent enquiry the Chief Executive advised that advice could be sort through the usual market channels or could be commissioned through English Heritage. 

A vote was taken on the amendment to the amended Motion put by Councillor Hubbard, but this was lost.  The Substantive Motion, which was put forward by the Cabinet Member (Environment and Strategic Housing), was agreed with a clear majority.

At this point in the meeting it was agreed to adjourn for five minutes.