Mayor Chairs Last Full Council Meeting

Councillor Phil Bateman said "Yesterday I Chaired the last ordinary Full Council Meeting as my year of office comes towards its close. It was an uneventful meeting just 24 hours before the City Council elections take place today.

In fact the meeting was over within an hour as the City Councillors took advantage of the fine weather to rush out into the City and its suburbs, to do last minute leafleting and canvassing.

Earlier in the day I visited the very thriving Birmingham and Midshires Bank out at Pendeford Park. I was very impressed with the facilities that have been pulled together on site for their staff. With 2,000 employees they are perhaps Wolverhampton's largest private employers.

I discussed their role within the City and they explained to me how they have a number of issues with the City about the constraints of the current site. As Mayor I have tried to ensure that our leading businesses have a direct route into the City Council via "Business Champions" a direct group that advises the Mayor of issues and concerns.

We agreed to re-visit the issues after todaywhich of course is election day- and before I vacate office on the 17th May!

Birmingham Midshires is an important company, and one that is still growing in a sector of the economy ( Banking and Finance) that Wolverhampton is overall very short of.

I followed that visit by putting on afternoon tea for the small but loyal group of Aldermen and their guest's. It was again a way of saying thank you to them for their support of Mary and myself during the Mayoral Year.

I hope that the incoming Mayor will also use this Group in a similar way, all have given at least 24 individual years service to the City and its residents. It is a group of some real experience two former Mayor's and two former Leaders of the City Council.

They are Alderman Norman Davies OBE, Alderman Jim Carpenter, Alderman Doreen Seiboth, Alderman George Howells MBE.

With our year rapidly coming to an end, I hope that the citizens of the City will feel that Mary and I have made a positive contribution to the development of Wolverhampton. I have opened a slot on this site under the 'Discussion Page' for readers to leave their comments about how they feel about the way we have projected the City during our Mayoral Year."