Green Group Announce Committee Chairs and Leadership Team

The Green Group on Bristol City Council have announced their new leadership team and their policy and regulatory committee chairs.

The announcement follows the news last week that Cllr Tony Dyer will be Leader of the Council, with Cllr Heather Mack as deputy leader. Greens will also chair six of the eight new policy committees, with the Liberal Democrats chairing the other two. Labour did not take up the two chair positions that they are entitled to under the committee system. As leader of the Council, Cllr Tony Dyer will also chair the strategy and resources committee.

Cllr Emma Edwards will remain as Green Group Leader, with Cllr Patrick McAllister as Deputy Group Leader, Cllr David Wilcox as Group Whip and Cllr Mohamed Makawi as Deputy Group Whip.

The Homes and Housing Delivery Committee will be chaired by Easton Cllr Barry Parsons. Cllr Parsons was previously Green Group Whip and chair of Communities Scrutiny. Speaking about his priorities for the role, Cllr Parsons said,

“To meet Bristol’s vast housing need we need to build 1,000 affordable, carbon neutral, biodiversity-positive homes every year, creating inclusive communities and jobs. We must also prevent the devastation of homelessness by getting people early access to support, linking with public health.”

“Most importantly, we must get the basics right for council tenants. Safe buildings, speedy repairs. As Chair, I will make this a priority.”

The Children and Young People Committee will be chaired by Southville Cllr Christine Townsend. Cllr Townsend is an experienced teacher and school governor, as well as the ex-chair of Bristol’s School Forum and a co-founder of Integrate UK, a charity that works to empower young people to participate equally in an integrated, cohesive and representative society. From the start of 2023, she chaired the People’s Scrutiny Committee.

The Adult Social Care Committee will be chaired by Eastville Cllr Lorraine Francis. Cllr Francis was first elected in 2021 and has worked for over 30 years as a social worker, recently specialising in mental health within the NHS. She has previously chaired the HR committee on the council.

Cllr Francis said; “Adult Social Care is currently experiencing challenges around staff retention and recruitment, which has been overlooked alongside the challenges around budgets and spending.”

“As Chair, I have an in-depth understanding of both the policy and procedures that underpin this area, as well as the day to day lived experiences of practitioners working within the industry.”

“I am looking forward to working with other members on this committee and stakeholders across the city to tackle these issues together.”

The Environment and Sustainability Committee will be chaired by Redland Cllr Martin Fodor. Cllr Fodor is the longest serving Green Cllr, having been elected in 2014. Cllr Fodor previously worked at Bristol City Council, where he wrote the city’s first Waste and Recycling Strategy and drafted the city’s first statutory Recycling Plan.

He has also worked as the local government sector’s first energy and climate policy adviser for England and Wales and was a senior climate policy adviser for the Environment Agency. In Bristol, he has long been active in the Bristol Climate and Nature Partnership, included leading fuel poverty and other local projects during the European Green Capital year in 2015.

The Transport and Connectivity Committee will be chaired by Windmill Hill Cllr Ed Plowden. Before he was elected in 2021, Cllr Plowden worked for the City Council for many years. Under his leadership as Head of Local and Sustainable Transport, the Council improved road safety, implemented a 20mph speed limit, doubled cycling, and achieved national recognition for growing public transport.

He is also currently working out his notice period as the Director of the National Cycle Network improvement programme at the UK cycling charity Sustrans.

The Green Councillor Group will also chair several regulatory Committees. Cllr Rob Bryher will chair Development Control Committee A. Cllr Abdul Malik will chair the Finance Subcommittee, which will sit under Strategy and Resources. Cllr Tim Wye will chair the Health Scrutiny Sub-committee, which will sit under Public Health and Communities.