Members are reminded that they must declare their disclosable pecuniary interests and other registrable or non-registrable interests in any matter being considered at the meeting as set out in Appendix B of the Members’ Code of Conduct and consider if they should leave the room prior to the item being considered. Further advice can be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on 16 July 2026.

To receive such communications as the Chairman, Leader and Head of Paid Service may desire to lay before the Council.

To receive any questions from the public, notice of which has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 14.

To receive any questions from Members, notice of which has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2.

Report of the Chief Executive

Contact Tanya Miles – tanya.miles@shropshire.gov.uk

Report of the Interim Executive Director (S151)

Contact Duncan Whitfield – duncan.whitfield@shropshire.gov.uk

Report of the Service Director – Infrastructure

Contact Andy Wilde – andy.wilde@shropshire.gov.uk

REPORT TO FOLLOW - Further discussion is required with the Portfolio Holder/s before publication

Report of the Director of Children’s Services

Contact David Shaw - david.shaw@shropshire.gov.uk

Report of the Service Director – Legal & Governance

Contact Richard Phillips - richard.phillips@shropshire.gov.uk

Report of the Service Director – Strategy & Change

Contact  Paul Clarke paul.clarke@shropshire.gov.uk

To approve the changes to committee membership – report attached.

The following motions have been received in accordance with Procedure Rule 16:

This Council: 

1. Acknowledges the cultural memory of Saint Erkenwald and the high altar stone of Old St Paul’s Cathedral is deeply held in both Shropshire and London, and notes recent research suggests that physical items associated with them may have been placed at Soulton Hall for safe keeping. 

2. Observes that if these items were translated, their protection formed part of a broader pattern of statecraft by Sir Rowland Hill of Soulton (Lord Mayor of London 1549–50), who repeatedly used his authority to preserve endangered books, records, and cultural heritage, offering a principled response to the destruction, violence, and profound loss of human life during the upheavals of the sixteenth century. 

3. Expresses gratitude to James D. Wenn and James Syrett of Byrga Geniht Ltd, and to Aed Thompson, for their research and expertise in bringing these matters to light. 

4. Expresses thanks to the Ashton family and their ancestors.   Their continuous care of Soulton Hall has preserved this history during dangerous times, and they are now presenting it to the public with care and discernment. 

5. Recognises that these events offer a rare chance to build understanding and bridge divides between different faith communities today. 

6. Highlights the ancient Quit Rents ceremony – a shared tradition between Shropshire and the City of London spanning over 800 years where these historical matters were formally addressed during the 813th ceremony. 

7. Affirms that Shropshire deeply values its close relationship with the City of London built over centuries and continuing today. 

Council notes:

• The Summer of 2026 is expected to have been the hottest on record for the UK, with 6 out of 7 of the hottest recorded summers all coming in the last 8 years.

• The previous winter was the wettest on record for many parts of the UK. Average winter rainfall has risen from around 290mm in the 1970s and 1980s to 380mm in the decade up to 2021.

• The Climate Change Committee states that “The UK’s preparations for climate change are inadequate”, and “Adaptation is needed now to ensure that the UK is prepared for today’s extreme weather as well as the rapidly increasing severity of future risks. The costs of these impacts are already being felt, and the risks will continue to grow even if international targets to limit global warming are met. Action is needed now whilst we still have the opportunity to address these risks in a way that is both cost-effective and timely”

• That from 30 Nov 2026, Phase 2 of Awaab’s Law will extend social landlords’ duties to significant excess heat and cold hazards.

• The TUC heat campaign calling for the urgent modernisation of Health and Safety standards, including a legal maximum working temperature of 30°C (27°C for strenuous work), above which non-essential work is paused or adapted.

• The Public and Civil Servants union has highlighted in the early Summer that "We are seeing [Whitehall] job cuts in key policy areas despite the mounting evidence that we need to do more, not less to restore nature and mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis”

Council believes:

·       There must be continued and redoubled efforts to move the council area, the country and the global community to net zero carbon emissions. Climate adaptation and emissions reduction must be pursued together, recognising that many measures such as increasing tree canopies, are appropriate for both.

·       The increasing threat to the health and livelihoods from climate change related extreme weather requires a national planned response, the key elements of which are:

• Protecting and improving our water supply, which now clearly requires taking the industry back into public ownership together with significant investment.

• Protecting and improving the ability of land to manage flooding and fire risks by investing in and enforcing natural flood and fire risk land management.

• Protecting and improving the ability of our buildings, infrastructure and transport systems to manage the risks from flooding and prolonged extreme heat through planning and building control regulation, including natural temperature control measures such as increased tree canopy cover and external shading to reduce the need for energy intensive cooling.

• Protecting and enhancing our food security through regulations and investment in sustainable agriculture, diversifying to increase horticulture and reduce land-intensive cattle and sheep production.

• Recognising that the damaging effects of climate change unequally distributed and so adaptation measures must address these inequalities.

• The UK government must set the pace, the regulations and provide the investment for a national adaptation strategy. An initial step would be to establish a unit in Downing  ...  view the full agenda text for item 14b

This motion requests a review of the planned closure of Meole Brace Park and Ride based on public opinion. 

There is no doubt among Meole Brace and Oxon P&R users that closure will have a negative impact on residents in Shrewsbury, the surrounding villages and Shropshire visitors to Shrewsbury from the south and east of the county town. 

Concerned residents have dedicated enormous amounts of their time speaking regularly to P&R passengers at all three Shrewsbury sites over recent months. A petition asking for a review and reversal of the planned closure has reached almost 5,000 signatures. It’s hard to see how this strength of opinion can be ignored. 

Services users come from nearby and far away. 

40% - Shrewsbury and Bayston Hill residents who find the P&R service more user-friendly than their local timetabled bus services 

40% - from farther afield although within Shropshire 

20% - from out of Shropshire: British regions, foreign visitors 

In terms of sustainable public transport, traffic congestion, pollution levels, town centre economy and viability, Meole Brace Park and Ride fulfils its role. The opportunity cost is high - in closing Meole Brace P&R we remove its powerful contribution to the Shrewsbury Movement Strategy in the future. 

Furthermore, there is good reason to expect a disproportionately negative impact from the closure on people with disability and young families. Wheelchair users and families with buggies report they are often refused from regular bus services but that P&R always allows them on board which helps explain the popularity of the service. 

Most people asked, say that if the closure goes ahead they will either stay at home, drive into town or simply go elsewhere. There is no general appetite to switch to Oxon P&R because passengers recognise it is at capacity. 

Conversely, Oxon passengers have expressed concern that they will be unable to access P&R, as they do now, if more users switch to this site. Surely, none of this is what councillors want – we need to support our local economy, bring passengers into town to use the businesses and attractions in Shrewsbury by continuing with a valued service for people in Shrewsbury and Shropshire. 

Therefore, Cabinet is requested to consider pausing the closure plans and allow services from Meole Brace Park & Ride to continue to serve the public.