COUNCILLORS sped through the meeting of the council on Wednesday night as few items were discussed.

Members watched England play their semi-final match against Croatia before and after the meeting, which lasted 31 minutes in total having started at 7.30pm.

The meeting began with a prayer from Reverend Jim Barlow, who said: “let us pray for the England football team and the work of Bracknell Forest Council.”

Councillors Michael Skinner, Robert Angell and Susie Phillips were not in attendance but missed few items on the meeting’s agenda.

The first item saw the Chairman of the Crowthorne Village Action Group, Mr A Holley, ask councillor Chris Turrell if he intends to respect the “longstanding policy of maintaining a strategic gap between Crowthorne and Bracknell?”

Councillor Turrell replied: “The council recognises the importance of trying to maintain gaps between individual settlements.

“However there is a need to accommodate growth. The council can only consider sites that are deliverable.

“The council needs to make some difficult decisions."

After this, council leader Paul Bettison detailed elements of the executive report, which contained information about the executive branch of the council’s plans.

One aspect of the report noted that the executive agreed a possible Joint Venture (JV) to develop some council owned sites in the borough which may be suitable for redevelopment in the future, with the total cost of the JV likely to up to £300,000 by late 2019.

Councillor Mary Temperton (LAB) asked Cllr Bettison what the proposed sites in the town centre might be redeveloped for.

The Leader, Cllr Bettison stated: “A commercial venture would be best but interested parties will be invited to put forward their proposals.”

The next two items on the agenda - which told members of an appointment to an external organisation and detailed the standards annual report - were approved without comments or questions from members.

The last item of the evening saw councillor Temperton ask Cllr Turrell whether all members will be able to present their views on future consultations regarding Heathrow airport’s proposed expansion, “so we can feel that all residents in Bracknell Forest have had their say?"

Cllr Turrell, the executive member for planning and transport, said: "There is an important emphasis on these consultations.

"We should be in a position to give comprehensive representations."

The meeting closed at 8.01pm, with many councillors leaving soon after while some remained in the council chamber to watch the second half of England’s World Cup semi-final.