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The Mayor was
saddened to hear of the recent passing of former Councillor and
Mayor Lilian Strange, who had served as an SBC Member for the
Martins Wood and Bandley Hill Wards
between 1991 and May 2013, including being Mayor in
2003/04.  A number
of other Members spoke in tribute to former Councillor
Strange, following which the Council stood to observe a
minute’s silence.
 
The Mayor then
advised that she had accepted an urgent cross-party motion for
consideration at the meeting concerning the sad and tragic
situation in Israel and Gaza and that she would be varying the
order of business so that the motion would be considered
immediately after Agenda Item 7.
 
The Mayor then
advised Council that since she had become Mayor in May 2023 she had
attended 150 events and thanked Councillor Jim Brown, Deputy Mayor
for attending many events also.  The
Mayor’s highlights included her
recent afternoon tea party and she thanked all those who had
supported her and helped to raise money for her
charities.  The Mayor reminded Council that her theme and main aim
was to have Stevenage recognised as a dementia friendly
Town.  The work towards this aim would
hopefully culminate in an announcement soon and she would advise
the Council as soon as this happened.