A comment made during a Bath & North East Somerset Council meeting at the Guildhall in Bath has led to the leader of the local authority apologising to a member of the public.
Councillor Kevin Guy has been leader of B&NES Council since 2021 | Images © B&NES Council
Councillor Kevin Guy said he was “sorry” after making the comment regarding the Entry Hill site, in which he joked “we should put an abattoir on there”.
Councillor Guy was speaking to his deputy Councillor Sarah Warren, during the Budget and Council Tax meeting.
At the meeting, members of the public were given the opportunity to speak, which is when local resident Louisa McFarland spoke about the redevelopment of the former Entry Hill golf course.
There is concern over the potential issues that could arise from the future development of the site, as the golf course is a former landfill, previously known as Lower Barrack Farm.
For many years, the Entry Hill landfill accepted industrial, household, commercial and liquid waste.
Louisa McFarland spoke about a report that was released in December 2022 on the contamination of the land, and the potential that there could be an increase in the risk to public health from development.
Bath & North East Somerset Council announced on 1st December 2022 that its controversial plans to create a mountain bike and activity park at Entry Hill would not proceed due to an increase in costs.
Cllr Kevin Guy sat next to Cllr Sarah Warren at the meeting | Image © B&NES Council
Following the public statement from Ms McFarland, Councillor Guy was heard on the live webcast of the meeting speaking to his deputy, saying: “Maybe we should put an abattoir on there, it used to be a tip didn’t it?”
Deputy leader Councillor Sarah Warren can be heard laughing.
Later in the meeting, Bathwick councillor Dr. Yukteshwar Kumar raised the statement made by the council leader.
Councillor Guy then replied, saying: “I made a private comment to Councillor Warren, I fully apologise for that … I will happily speak to the individual and apologise in person to her for my comments.”
Posting on Twitter after the meeting, Conservative councillor for Midsomer Norton Chris Watt, who was sitting nearby, said: “Sitting 1m away and couldn’t believe my ears, his colleague Cllr Warren laughing at his pathetic joke.
“The demonstrable level of distain [sic] shown for residents is clear.”
Councillor Guy also posted an apology on Twitter, saying: I made a comment to a colleague which I shouldn’t have at tonight’s meeting, and I apologise unreservedly. I will reach out to the person speaking at the time, and offer my apologies. No excuses, no wasting of councils [sic] resource on an investigation. I’m sorry.”
Councillor Joanna Wright, who defected from the Liberal Democrats to the Green Party in 2021, said: “As revealed at the B&NES Full Council last night & the social media posts around it, there is a common practice of sharing derogatory & offensive comments within the chamber and on electronic devises [sic] during the meeting itself.”
A statement later released by Councillor Guy said: “I apologised last night for my comment I made during the brief recess. It was said to a colleague during a break as an off the cuff attempt at humour.
“I fully intend to talk to the Conservative Party Candidate who had just spoken, and apologise directly.
“I trust this 20 second exchange isn’t what is taken from a 4 hour meeting where the LibDem’s presented a fully costed, ambitious, and deliverable budget for next year, whereas the Tories presented nothing positive, only vague, uncosted threats to rip out everything we were elected to do in 2019.”
