Brighton & Hove City Council
Tourism, Equalities, Communities & Culture Committee
4.00pm10 March 2022
Hove Town Hall - Council Chamber
Minutes
Present:
Councillors: Osborne (Joint Chair), Powell (Joint Chair), Evans (Opposition Spokesperson), Simson (Group Spokesperson), Ebel, Littman, Appich and Shanks
Part One
70 Procedural Business
(a) Apologies from Councillor Brown.
Councillor Appich substituting for Councillor Grimshaw.
Councillor Shanks substituting for Councillor Rainey.
71 Minutes
71.1 Councillor Simson raised that:
· In 60.7 the minutes should read that the Council declined to apply for the first round of safer streets funding, but were unsuccessful when applying for the second round.
· The additional item (Anti-Racism Pledge Update) should not be listed under item 61.
· In item 65 it should be minuted that the proposals were agreed via the Chair’s casting vote.
72 Chairs Communications
Ukraine
Like many of you here, I must start by acknowledging the growing horror that we are witnessing daily in the Ukraine. I’m sure I speak for us all when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with the Ukrainians, a people who are showing immense courage and resolve in this horrifying and frankly frightening situation.
We’re all starting to hear about local groups and residents who are helping the relief effort in so many ways, and we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.
The government has now published details of their Ukraine Scheme which explains the Home Office rules allowing Ukrainians with family members in the UK to get 3-year visas to be in the UK. We know that some residents have kindly offered spare rooms in their homes as emergency accommodation for Ukrainian refugees, however, there has been no news on a wider scheme to place Ukrainians in local authority areas, so there is currently no mechanism for placing refugees into people’s homes. The council website and twitter will however, be kept up to date on this.
We’ve all been touched to see the Pavilion lit-up in the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag. And today, the Ukrainian flag is atop the town halls as a mark of our solidarity.
The UN Day Against Racism is Saturday 19th March 2022. This year, the day will see international protests taking place in cities around the world under the slogan ‘World Against Racism & Fascism’, and I spoke at the online event last night about our anti-racist work in the city council. The Pavilion and town halls will be lit up in blue to mark the day.
Exciting news…. There will be a free day at the Royal Pavilion, on Sunday 13th March 2022. There is nothing the public need to do except just turn up. People are advised to arrive early and be prepared to queue. They have a maximum capacity on the building so please note this. They will be doing a collection on the day for the Red Cross supporting Ukraine so if visitors want to contribute to that then it would be encouraged.
Libraries
The 3rd March was World Book Day and the 17th anniversary of the opening of the award winning Jubilee Library!
Library staff had a wide range of books to give away to children, who were allowed to have one of each title on offer if they wished, and there were books suited to differing age groups. In Whitehawk, the City Academy decided to bring their entire school into the public library during the week to celebrate World Book Day.
From Wednesday 16 March 2022 to Tuesday 22 March 2022 the Jubilee is taking part in the Oska Bright Film Festival which is celebrating its tenth Year. The One Bum Cinema Club is possibly the smallest free cinema to visit on the planet, just one bum at a time, take your seat and enjoy a selection of films showing as part of the Oska Bright Film Festival at Jubilee Library. The festival puts people with learning disabilities, autism and aspergers where they should be - programming the festival and starring centre stage.
I would like to welcome the new domestic abuse team to the council. Anne CLARKE will head up the small team which will commission services and will lead on the VAWG agenda, including MARAC. We are hoping that the team will be up and running from 1st April, and further communications will be put out in the next few weeks.
And on behalf of the council and councillors I would like to issue an apology. In a recent meeting I was made aware that some of the public consultation responses that the council received regarding the new Pan Sussex domestic abuse accommodation and support strategy, caused concern and harm to our Trans and Nonbinary communities. I would like to reassure everyone that these comments were not the views of councillors or officers, and that in future, if such responses are included in the papers for transparency, then I have asked officers to acknowledge that these comments in no way reflect the views of this council, or councillors.
The next Third Thursday event will be next week, 17th March. This is the 4th event in the series and there will be film trail of commissioned films, all with an environmental theme, projected onto buildings in The Lanes and North Laine starting at
TK Maxx, North Street, at 7pm. Businesses' windows will also feature films to be watched throughout the evening.
There's also an exciting environmentally-friendly digital fireworks show (which can be projected from participants' smartphones), a silent disco and a specially curated screening of Other Worlds, presented by Oska Bright Film Festival - the world's biggest film festival featuring films made by, or featuring learning disabled and autistic people - at Komedia.
The Third Thursday events are one part of the ABCD cultural recovery plan but there has been a lot more going on over the last month or so and which continues, including a successful series of Igniter events, an online webinar series which have brought together international, national and local guest speakers to provoke ideas, suggest new ways of working and inviting people to re-energise collaborations. The 4th and final one of these Igniter events entitled "Clusters, communities and co-working" takes place online next week from 4:30 to 6:30 on Wednesday 16th March.
There is too much to mention now and but if you are interested in finding out more, there is a website dedicated to the ABCD plan called www.cultureinourcity.com which has full updates and information on the plan as well as opportunities to get involved.
Events
As part of the wider cultural offering in the city, we really value the importance of events and it was great to have a successful half marathon, not last weekend but the weekend end before. That was the first big event of the year, and there are further big events lined up for next month including the marathon on 10th April, InCarNation on Madeira Drive on 23rd April, and the Foodies Festival in Preston Park on 30th April and 1st May.
Then, as ever, we’re really looking forward to welcoming both Brighton fringe and Brighton festival back in May. The theme of the festival this year is “Rebuilding” and there will be 150 events taking places across the city- you might have seen the brochure around town but if you haven’t got it yet, you can download the programme online and book tickets.
Also, it’s great to have the children’s parade back during the first weekend of the festival season and which will be the first one held since 2019. Similarly, you can explore the full schedule for the fringe on their website, and with over 500 events so it’s looking like another exciting year for the city. This includes the Spiegeltent, the Rotunda Theatre in Regency Square, the Lady Boys of Bangkok in St Peter’s Square and more!
Planning policy
A reminder that there are two consultations on planning policy documents that are still open for a little while longer. Firstly, the Article 4 Direction to remove permitted development rights of class E to residential is open until 14th March, so only until the start of next week.
Then secondly you have until the 21st March to submit comments for the consultation on our update to the Biodiversity and Nature Conservation SPD. Both are important documents for the council and have previously come to TECC, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to respond if you wish to do so.
Mike Sansom, will be retiring as Building Control Manager on 31 March after an incredible 48 years’ working at the City Council. I’m told over 20 years of that time he has been as Building Control Manager.
Liz – and us all - would like to thank Mike for his long service and the huge contribution he has made to the city, the city council and the building control profession over those years. He has played a key role in both the life of the city and the national governing body of local authority building control. He has been involved in some of the key developments for the city, helping to protect life and limb; and had a leading role in the development and operation of the Falmer Stadium within the Safety at Sports Grounds Act. He also had a key role in assessing the safety of cladding on high rise blocks across the city after the Grenfell tragedy. Many thanks Mike and may you have a very long and happy retirement.
Finally, last and not least, a little bird tells me that this is Nick Hibberd’s last TECC committee. I don’t know exactly how many years Nick has been with BHCC, but it’s a long old time – 20 odd years, I think? Nick is venturing to pastures new in South London, so Nick – we wish you all the very best. You’ve been a pleasure to work with over the years, and you will be very missed. Best of luck to you.
73 Call Over
The following items were reserved for discussion:
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Item 77 |
Anti Racism Pledge Update |
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Item 78 |
Community Safety Strategy 2020-23 Update |
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Item 79 |
Spending Options Domestic Abuse Act Funds |
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Item 80 |
RPMT Annual Plan and Review |
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Item 82 |
Public Art – Planning Advice Note and Developer Contributions Calculator |
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Item 83 |
City Plan Part 2 – Consultation on Modifications Arising from Examination Hearings |
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The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations Update |
The following items were therefore agreed:
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Item 81 |
Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival Annual Review |
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Item 84 |
Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement for the University of Sussex |
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Item 85 |
Local Development Scheme Update |
74 Public Involvement
(b) Public Questions
74.1 The Chair agreed that a written response would be sent to Daniel Harris for his question regarding Domestic Abuse Spending Priorities.
74.2 The Chair invited Naomi Bos to present the following question:
I note that the funding for domestic abuse from central Government is going to remain the same over the next two years. Inflation will therefore have a big impact on the services the Council can afford. With this in mind, working in partnership with service providers will be vital.
Will the Council commit to prioritising bids from providers with a proven track record of adding value by raising money with grants and fundraising specifically for services in Brighton & Hove?
The Chair gave the following response:
The City Council has received notification from the Dept of Levelling Up Housing and Communities for the funding award of new burdens funding for 2022/23. We haven’t as yet received notification of any potential funding beyond that.
Any award of funding to external providers must be in line with Council contract standing orders and follow procurement rules to ensure that there is transparency and equity regarding awards of public money.
Therefore we can’t ‘commit’ to any process that falls outside of that process. But we do have a social value framework of course. Anyone bidding still has to evidence how they meet requirements. As you know we have the working group which is looking at the procurement process, and which we hope the work of the working group will seek to strengthen.
Naomi Bos gave the following supplementary question:
Its been about 12 months since we presented the largest petition ever to Brighton and Hove City Council after the Domestic Abuse Service RISE was defunded, and just wanted to say that from us as an activist group, its been really heartening to see Councillors working across parties to find a solution to something that obviously was not working, and to try and fix the holes in procurement process that have seen a fracturing of services, so just wanted to say its been really positive to experience this especially knowing how easy it is to ignore pressure groups.
The Chair responded with thanks and mentioned that she had raised this issue in her budget Council speech.
75 Items Referred From Council
75.1 The petition referred from Council regarding Dyke Road Park was raised by the Chair and the following response was given:
Thank you for your petition.
The Article 4 Direction you’re seeking is a measure available to councils to withdraw permitted development rights. These rights cover 5G Masts which normally require prior approval. Prior approval limits the number of matters that can be considered by the local planning authority in deciding these applications – in this case, siting and appearance.
National policy sets the rules for putting an Article 4 Direction in place and these were tightened last summer. Robust and clear evidence is required to justify that without removing those rights there would be wholly adverse impacts. It goes on to state that local planning authorities should not impose a ban on new electronic communications development in certain areas (5G), or impose blanket Article 4 directions over a wide area or a wide range of electronic communications development.
You raise concerns about health matters, I’m advised that all proposals for new 5G Masts and equipment must provide evidence that International Commission guidelines are met on health and safety for people and the environment.
With this context, the request in the petition for an Article 4 Direction to cover Dyke Road Park would be extremely unlikely to be successful. For that reason, though I understand your concerns, I propose your petition for noting only.
76 Member Involvement
Notices of Motion
Banning the Sale of New Homes as Second Homes
76.1 The Chair introduced the NoM on regarding banning the sale of new homes as second homes which was referred from Full Council. The Committee agreed to have the NoM bought back to TECC for discussion within 6 months.
Addressing the Climate & Biodiversity Emergency through our Planning Process
76.2 Councillor Osborne introduced the NoM regarding Addressing the Climate and Biodiversity Emergency through the Planning Process, which was seconded by Councillor Ebel.
76.3 Councillor Appich expressed her support for the NoM, highlighting the importance of the checklist which could be used to condition planning applications as well as the monitoring report. She also expressed a concern about the enforcement of those conditions especially whether there is enough staff to carry these out effectively.
76.4 Councillor Littman also expressed his support stating that having these conditions would help committees such as planning when determining applications.
76.5 Councillor Osborne confirmed that he had asked planning officers if they needed the extra resources as part of the process and those resources could be provided.
RESOLVED: The Committee agreed the Notice of Motion.
77 Anti-Racism Pledge Update
77.1 Emma McDermott introduced the report starting on page 17 of the Agenda.
77.2 Cllr Simson was informed that the reporting centres are Possibility People, the Racial Harassment Forum, and the Rainbow Hub, and are due to open on the 1 April.
77.3 Stephanie Prior raised that:
· Thanks should be forwarded to Jamarl Billy and the Community Engagement Team.
· Regarding 3.32, wondered if the BICP office supports the CICs as it would be good to make links between them so that the local projects can be maximised, and for them to succeed long term.
· It is good to see that the World Reimagined project funding will be discussed at the Community Advisory Group, but to make sure it is well marketed so everyone can be involved in the decision making process.
· Tourism and Business should be added to the initiatives as Barclays, BICP, and the Sussex Innovation Centre are offering support to Black and Asian and Minority Ethnic groups in terms of business innovation.
Stephanie Prior was informed that a written response would be provided to her regarding point 3.6 as to whether the ABCD plan for cultural recovery was specific to the current strategy. Cllr Powell added that big thanks should be given to Stephanie Prior and the Community Advisory Group.
77.4 Cllr Simson raised that she was glad that the World Reimagined project funding had been ringfenced for other projects. Cllr Powell agreed that the money should be kept in the city for anti-racist work.
77.5 Joanna Martindale was informed that the £110,000 is a one off investment and no other funding has been allocated at Budget Council.
77.6 Cllr Appich was informed:
· A written response would be circulated about how staff were selected for the diversity talent programme.
· A written response would be provided regarding the uptake of anti racist training taken by staff.
· Conversations have been taken with the museums trust about their way forward for statues and monuments, and a document and tender will be put out to make some progress, whilst consulting numerous groups who are interested in paving the way forward.
77.7 The Chair noted the Labour Group Amendment and invited Cllr Appich to move the Amendment.
77.8 Cllr Appich moved the Amendment which was seconded by Cllr Evans.
77.9 Cllr Simson raised that nothing would go forward without the input of the Community Advisory Group, but the original recommendations would be the best way to proceed.
77.10 Cllr Littman raised that he would be unable to support the Amendment as the budgets shouldn’t be conflated under one strategy.
77.11 Cllr Evans raised that the idea is to include smaller projects in the budget under the umbrella of the anti-racist strategy.
RESOLVED: That the Committee:
(i) Noted the report;
(ii) Delegated authority to the Executive Director for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Communities to award the £110,000 – previously allocated to the World Reimagined Project - in accordance with the broad principles set out at paragraph 3.7.5. and with oversight from the cross-party Members Advisory Group for the council’s Voluntary Community Sector grant programme;
(iii) Approved the use of funds allocated to the cultural programme of the World Reimagined Project to establish a budget of £50,000 for uses outlined in paragraph 3.7.5 which will be part of the ABCD Plan for Cultural Recovery.
78 Community Safety Strategy 2020-23 update
78.1 Jo Player introduced the report starting on page 27 of the Agenda.
78.2 Councillor Simson was informed that:
· Exact figures would be circulated regarding the numbers of taxi drivers that hadn’t completed the mandatory safeguarding training.
· A lot of work has been completed in Preston Park and the Level regarding antisocial behaviour.
· Operation Marble is the scheme run on Friday and Saturday nights and won’t be subsided until crime numbers are reduced.
· Police work with door security to combat issues such as spiking.
· There has been good progress to combat graffiti artists in the city, and the 3 month graffiti removal trial has been successful.
78.3 Stephanie Prior was informed that:
· More information would be circulated about the access reporting centres have to the Police and Lawyers to assure victims that they are being helped as much as possible and to secure more prosecutions.
· The Police are doing all they can to combat hate crimes and prosecute to the fullest extent.
78.4 Councillor Shanks raised that graffiti should be removed from the Council’s own buildings such as the closed café on the level before trying to remove graffiti from other buildings, and that the policies on drugs should be treated more as a public health issue.
78.5 Councillor Appich was informed that Brighton and Hove have been deprioritised as a Prevent Area so funding for those projects won’t be received from the Home Office, but options are being looked at about how to deliver the Prevent strategy going forward.
RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the work being undertaken by the Safer Communities Team and partners in relation to the Community Safety and Crime Reduction Strategy 2020-23.
79 Spending Options Domestic Abuse Act funds
79.1 Anne Clark introduced the report starting on page 91 of the Agenda.
79.2 Councillor Simson was informed that the 3 elements on the table on page 93 will work together.
79.3 Councillor Appich was informed that:
· The statistic on point 4.7 would be amended.
· A written response would be provided to Cllr Appich regarding the role of children’s services on point 4.9.
RESOLVED: That the Committee agreed to allocate available funding as set out in paragraphs 4.5 to 4.9 of the report.
80 RPMT Annual Plan and Review - 2022/23
80.1 Mark Croston introduced the report starting on page 101 of the Agenda.
80.2 Councillor Appich was informed that:
· A hybrid working model would be to rationalise office space by hot desking and working from home where appropriate.
· Major Exhibitions are planned 3 or 4 years ahead of schedule.
· There are business plans for the organisation as a whole and for key audiences.
· There is now a dedicated Garden Team for museums, and gardens will be treated as another site in future.
· There is a projected loss of £1.5 million for 2022/23.
· A second loan is being organised which will see the trust through to next year.
80.3 Councillor Shanks was informed that:
· There are joint tickets available with the i360, and in the past have done 3 way tickets with the i360 and the Sea Life centre.
· Opening hours are being assessed to save costs after the Pandemic.
RESOLVED: That the Committee –
(i) Noted the difficult circumstances facing the Trust as it moves forward into 2022/23 as a result of successive lockdowns and visitor restrictions over the course of the past year;
(ii) Approved the annual service plan for 2022/23 as set out in Appendix 1.
81 Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival Annual Review
The item was agreed without discussion.
82 Public Art - Planning Advice Note and Developer Contributions Calculator
82.1 Liz Hobden introduced the report starting on page 175 of the Agenda.
82.2 Councillor Simson raised that public art is subjective and be quite controversial, and emphasised the need to engage with the community when making public art. She was informed that whilst there were only 7 responses, there was at least 1 response from each target group.
82.3 Councillor Osborne raised that the first thing he noticed when he came to Brighton was the public art, and how it blended seamlessly into the environment – and stressed the importance not to take it for granted and to ensure public art is given the same thought as other policies. He also mentioned that the Public Art Strategy, Planning Advice Notice, and Commissioning Toolkit all work nicely together to deliver great public art.
82.4 Councillor Littman agreed that people may take the public art for granted, and stressed the importance of actively creating public art through the new guidance.
82.5 Councillor Shanks raised that some public art isn’t accessible to everyone and is often on private buildings – public art should be able to be seen by everyone. Synthia Griffin responded that with the introduction of the CIL (Community Infrasture Levy) there is more scope to interpret the 106 agreements broadly so they don’t necessarily have to be commissioned in the site of the development.
82.6 Synthia Griffin raised that whilst there were only 7 official responses to the calculator, there was extensive public engagement through digital campfires, online polls, and dedicated sessions to galvanise views.
RESOLVED: That the Committee –
(i) Approved the publication of the Public Art PAN (Appendix 1) to inform the delivery of public art through the planning system, subject to any minor alterations (grammatical, non-material text and illustrative) to be agreed by the Head of Planning;
(ii) Approved the inclusion of the Public Art Developer Contributions Calculator and associated minimum threshold (Appendix 2) as an update to the Developer Contribution Technical Guidance, subject to any minor alterations (grammatical and non-material text) to be agreed by the Head of Planning;
(iii) Noted responses to consultation on the proposed calculator and associated minimum threshold (Appendix 3) as well as the evidenced review (Appendix 4) which informed those rates.
83 City Plan Part 2 - Consultation on Modifications arising from Examination Hearings
83.1 Helen Gregory introduced the report starting on page 221 of the Agenda.
83.2 Councillor Simson raised that unfortunately she could not support the recommendations as she cannot support the City Plan part 2.
83.3 Councillor Littman raised that the best way to protect urban fringe sites is with a workable city plan so would be supporting the recommendations.
83.4 Councillor Shanks raised that if affordable housing has to be built on the urban fringe to relieve the housing crisis then she would be in support of that.
RESOLVED: That the Committee –
(i) Agreed the Schedule of Proposed Main Modifications set out in Appendix 1 along with supporting documents (the Sustainability Appraisal and Health and Equalities Impact Assessment) for a seven week period of public consultation;
(ii) Noted the schedule of consequential changes that will impact on proposed change to the Policies Map and the schedule of Additional Modifications set out in Appendix 2.
84 Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement for the University of Sussex
The item was agreed without discussion.
85 Local Development Scheme Update
The item was agreed without discussion.
86 The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebrations: Update
86.1 Nick Hibberd introduced the report starting on page 361 of the Agenda.
86.2 Councillor Simson thanked officers for the report, and was informed that communities are being invited to come forward and apply for street closures sooner rather than later – and there are sufficient resources within the Council to deal with them.
86.3 Councillor Osborne also thanked officers for the report and raised confirmed that lots of effort had been put in to ensure the celebrations could go ahead.
RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the progress to date on preparations for the Jubilee celebrations.
87 Items referred for Full Council
The meeting concluded at 6.50pm
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