Agenda item

To receive answers in respect of questions from the public to Members of the Executive asked in accordance with Rule 11 of the Council Procedure Rules.

(a)  Questions will be asked in the order in which notice of them was received, except that the Chairman may group together similar questions.

(b)  The period for questions by the public shall be limited so that no further questions shall be put after the elapse of 15 minutes from the commencement of the first question.

(c)   A maximum of three minutes is allowed for the each question to be read.

(d)  A questioner who has put a question in person may also put one supplementary question without notice to the member who has replied to his or her original question. A supplementary question must arise directly out of the original question or the reply.

(e)  Afterwards, any other Member at the Chairman's discretion may speak for up to two minutes on a question or reply.

Questions from the Public

The questions received during the notice period are set out in the agenda papers.

QUESTION 1

In the absence of the member of the public who had submitted the question, the Chairman advised that in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.11 a written answer would be provided.

QUESTION 2

In the absence of the member of the public who had submitted the question, the Chairman advised that in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.11 a written answer would be provided.

QUESTION 3

RAISED BY GRAHAM WANSTALL, A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC, UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 11:

“It is good to see the Roman Painted House open again. However the past 50 years years of its important work has been air brushed out. All books and guides written by the founder Mr Brian Philp have been removed and other important national awards including the following have gone from display. 1977 award for outstanding tourist enterprise, 1978 best presentation of an archaeological site, also 1978 team showing the gratish initiative. 1979 museum of the year. 2013 the queens award for voluntary service. 1981 outstanding contribution to British archaeology. All are competitive national awards. In addition several plagues and memorials for example the opening by Lord Astor in 1977. Several photos removed for example the visit by the late Queen Mother and a presentation by the then Prince Charles of an award. Do you think it is appropriate to display these important items and if so will you have them returned to the lobby area so visitors have all the relevant history of the Roman Painted House?”

RESPONSE FROM THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL, COUNCILLOR K MILLS:

“Since the Dover Roman Painted House Trust took the decision in October 2023 to surrender the lease to the Council, the Council has worked tirelessly to open this nationally important heritage attraction to the public for the benefit of all, at substantial Council expense.

The work that we have carried out has ensured that the building is now safe, maintained and open once again to the public, which is great news for Dover.

The work needed to make this happen has been challenging.

Works were unable to start until the building was cleared and the high levels of mould addressed.

Items that could potentially be reused and that were not beyond recovery have been removed from site, and stored in the short term, whilst we focused on the repairs to the building.

Such items do include various plaques and photos, which once cleaned, we will consider how these can best be displayed within the building.

Regarding your mention of Dr Brian Philp, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate my praise for his and his teams work, as well as that of the Trust, and the new interpretation, created in collaboration with the Trust, does highlight his importance and involvement.

We would like to see the various books and guides published by Brian and his team back on sale within the Roman Painted House but this will require the consent of the author which we have not yet received.”

A supplementary question was asked in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.8.