The Mayor was saddened to hear of the recent passing of former Councillor and Mayor Lilian Strange, who had served as an SBC Member for the Martins Wood and Bandley Hill Wards between 1991 and May 2013, including being Mayor in 2003/04. A number of other Members spoke in tribute to former Councillor Strange, following which the Council stood to observe a minute’s silence.
The Mayor then advised that she had accepted an urgent cross-party motion for consideration at the meeting concerning the sad and tragic situation in Israel and Gaza and that she would be varying the order of business so that the motion would be considered immediately after Agenda Item 7.
The Mayor then advised Council that since she had become Mayor in May 2023 she had attended 150 events and thanked Councillor Jim Brown, Deputy Mayor for attending many events also. The Mayor’s highlights included her recent afternoon tea party and she thanked all those who had supported her and helped to raise money for her charities. The Mayor reminded Council that her theme and main aim was to have Stevenage recognised as a dementia friendly Town. The work towards this aim would hopefully culminate in an announcement soon and she would advise the Council as soon as this happened.