Brighton & Hove City Council
Culture, Heritage, Sport, Tourism & Economic Development Committee
4.00pm18 January 2024
Council Chamber, Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove, BN3 3BQ - HTH/CC
MINUTES
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Present: Councillor Robins (Chair) McGregor (Deputy Chair), Hill (Opposition Spokesperson), Bagaeen, Cattell, Hewitt, Stevens, Goddard, Asaduzzaman, and Grimshaw. |
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38 Procedural Business
(a) Declaration of Substitutes
Cllr Asaduzzaman in attendance in place of Cllr Miller.
(b) Declaration of Interests
Cllrs Robins and Grimshaw declared an interest in item 45 and would remove themselves from the discussion on that item.
(c) Exclusion of Press and Public
It was agreed that the press and public not be excluded.
39 Minutes
The minutes of the previous meeting on 9 November 2023 and special meeting on 8 December 2023 were both agreed.
40 Chairs Communications
The Chair gave the following communications:
I attended the launch of the Women’s Rugby World Cup at the Guildhall in London on 11th December hosted by World Rugby. It was interesting to listen to a number of presentations regarding the plans that are being put in place in preparation for the World Cup in 2025. We were also fortunate to hear from a number of female players and coaches about their experiences in the sport. We are excited to be able to host this great international event at the home of Brighton and Hove Albion and we look forward to working with all the key stakeholders to deliver a memorable event for everyone to enjoy.
With 16 teams playing 32 matches in eight host cities in August and September 2025, the World Cup will showcase the very best of women’s rugby and provide the biggest fan opportunity ever in the women’s game. The tournament culminates at Twickenham Stadium in London, where it’s anticipated there will be a show-stopping final and a record-breaking audience. Landmark events such as the Women’s Rugby World Cup are game-changing moments; they not only inspire the next generation of young girls and boys in Brighton and Hove and around the world, but they help to create a pathway for the next wave of incredible, inspirational players.
In the last three months VisitBrighton has:
Communicated with 61k followers on X (formerly Twitter), 33k on Facebook and 46k on Instagram, promoting Brighton & Hove as an overnight stay destination and received over 615k page views on Visitbrighton.com.
Generated £775k advertising value equivalent of press coverage in publications including BBC News, The Metro and the Express.
Promoted Brighton at IBTM in November 2023, the leading global event for the meeting industry, bringing together over 15,000 buyers, VisitBrighton has spoken to over 130 planners and had 43 pre-booked appointments.
Received and generated proposals for 32 organisers interested in hosting their events in the City including: British Medical Ultrasound Society, European Association for Health Information and Libraries, Local Government Association, Poultry Veterinary Study Group of the EU, National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care, British Pharmacological Society.
41 Call Over
The following items were reserved for discussion:
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Item 45 |
Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust Annual Report |
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Item 46 |
College Conservation Area Character Statement |
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Item 47 |
New Swimming Pool at Withdean Sports Complex and Pool Provision in the East of the City |
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Item 48 |
Fees and Charges 2024-25 |
42 Public Involvement
42.1 The Chair invited Mark Strong to ask the question which can be found on page 5 of Addendum 1.
42.2 The Chair gave the following response:
The purpose of the Character Statement is to define the special architectural or historic interest of the College Conservation Area as a whole. This will help inform and assist the protection and enhancement of the conservation area.
A commitment was made in the council’s Conservation Area Strategy, approved 2015, to prepare a Character Statement for the College Conservation Area. This is considered good practice and is supported by legislation, national and local planning policies. This is the last of the city’s 33 Conservation Areas to have a character statement prepared. The statement does not confer any undue influence to Brighton College or any other organisation or individual. Its purpose is to help assess the design and heritage aspects of future development proposals affecting any part of the Conservation Area.
In terms of the Conservation Area name, the College Conservation Area was designated in 1988 under the Civic Amenities Act. We presume the name was given to the Conservation Area because of the historic significance of the listed buildings owned by Brighton College. A change to the name could be considered through a future review of the Conservation Area. This is something that the council is able to consider as part of a review of its 2015 Conservation Strategy.
As indicated in the report to be heard later in this meeting, local residents, through the consultation process, did raise concerns regarding anti-social parking, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion and coach parking associated with the operation of the school. These matters fall outside the remit of the Character Statement. However, officers have informed the BHCC parking strategy team of parking concerns and that team are in liaison with the college to help address these matters. Local councillors have also agreed to meet with local residents to assist in addressing these issues.
42.3 Mark Strong asked the following supplementary question:
Two thirds of the responses disagreed with the character statement, probably due to the feeling, and that the Council is bound by what the law says and history about naming, and the the level of upset is related to the feeling that the college has undue influence locally, and a naming change would help wage that feeling.
Mark Strong also requested to be present at any meetings with Brighton college as a resident.
42.4 Cllr Robins confirmed that other local ward Councillors would be keen to take the issue forward.
43 Items referred from Council
There were none.
44 Member Involvement
44.1 Councillor Hill summarised the letter which can found on page 21 of the Agenda.
44.2 Councillor Robins gave the following summarised answer, but confirmed a full version would be sent to Councillor Hill, all Committee members and would be included in the minutes of the meeting.
I am sending a full, written response to Councillor Hill as well as all committee members in due course, which covers:
· The plans and processes that Families, Children and Learning have in place to take forward the expenditure of accumulated s106 funding
· The technical queries raised around s106 and reporting expenditure to this committee
· The timetable to fully deploy the Exacom system which will transform access to information for officers, members and residents
The Full Letter sent is as follows:
Response from Councillor Robins to the letter submitted by Councillor Hill re Education S106
Although significant sums have been accrued from s106 agreements secured, the council has a good track record in ensuring monies are spent by the requisite deadlines. We have never had to refund any monies received to a developer. Each agreement has it’s own refund period, which often can be 5 years, 7 years or in some instances is unlimited.
Of the sums currently held for Education purposes we have plans to spend approximately £850k of these on facilities to increase Alternative Provision in our secondary schools. If more projects come forward from schools that will enhance this provision these will be added to the scope of the works.
In light of the current financial climate, and in accordance with good practice Families Children and Learning have recently set up a Capital Programme Board to look at all capital projects and expenditure. Part of the remit if this group is to consider appropriate uses for S106 funding.
Each year a report is taken to Children Families and Schools Committee and Strategy Finance and City Regeneration Committee regarding the funding for schemes in the forthcoming year. This includes detail of where S106 funding has been used in the previous year. S106 funding has been sought where the housing development concerned was considered to be likely to result in an increased demand on school places that could not be met locally. The funding secured was generally small amounts that individually would not have facilitated additional school places. As a result of this expenditure of this funding sits with the LA rather than individual schools to allow the funding to be used to meet the strategic priorities, any expenditure will be agreed with schools.
The mechanism to report expenditure incurred across the council is the Annual Infrastructure Statement and the published version addresses the presentational issues which affected the appendix attached to the committee report.
As mentioned at the November committee, the council is populating the Exacom system, which is the system used by Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils, with s106 data for over 200 agreements where obligations are still live or sums are still to be expended. The exercise is also populating against those agreements information on where sums have been allocated to future projects, including at schools. It is anticipated that this exercise will be complete by the end of March 2024 and work will be taken forward with the supplier and our ICT service to enable service directorates, councillors and the public to have phased access to the public facing module for CIL and s106 information.
A detailed report on education s106 monies and obligations would need to be produced by the same officers who are dealing with the population of the Exacom system and I think that the priority and focus is better placed on completing that work as quickly as possible at this time.
RESOLVED:
An officer report would be brought to a future Committee meeting.
45 Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust Annual Report
45.1 The Chair invited Louise Peim to introduce the report starting on page 23 of the Agenda.
45.2 Councillors Cattell, Bagaeen, Goddard, Hewitt, Stevens, Asaduzzaman, McGregor and Hill raised queries about the courthouse, creative industries and creative spaces in the city, ticket prices, council funding, the restructuring process, armed forces concessions, school visits, digital access, night time safety at the pavilion, commerciality, and the undivided India gate.
RESOLVED:
That Committee:
1. Noted the achievements the Trust have made over the past year, including an improved financial position.
2. Approved the Trust’s annual Service Plan (Appendix 1) for 2024-25, including the proposed Fees & Charges, as detailed in Appendix 1 (page 47) of the Service Plan.
46 College Conservation Area Character Statement
46.1 The Chair invited Colin Bannon to introduce the report starting on page 87 of the Agenda.
46.2 Councillors Grimshaw, Hill, Goddard, Bagaeen, raised queries about wall boundaries, name changes, highway safety issues, relations between the college and the community, updating maps, and including local culture into the conservation area.
RESOLVED:
That Committee:
1. Agreed publication of the College Conservation Area Character Statement (Appendix 1).
47 New Swimming Pool at Withdean Sports Complex and Pool Provision in the East of the City
47.1 The Chair invited Mark Fisher to introduce the report.
47.2 Councillor Hewitt raised points about the benefits of swimming, accessibility, and environmentally friendly technology which would reduce costs.
47.3 Councillor Hill raised queries about the Sports Facilities Investment Plan and the importance of transgender swimming sessions.
47.4 Councillor McGregor raised the importance of resources for East Brighton, and also stressed the importance of queer friendly sessions and spaces in Leisure facilities.
47.5 Councillor Bagaeen raised queries about ensuring that swimming pools remain open whilst construction is taking place.
47.6 Councillor Goddard raised points about ensuring that there will be future pool provision in the East of the city.
RESOLVED:
That Committee:
1. Noted the importance of addressing the shortfall of pool water space in the city.
2. Agreed that officers should continue to explore the feasibility of where and how new pool water space is developed and delivered in the East of the city, (as set out in paragraph 3.35).
Recommended that the Strategy, Finance, and City Regeneration Committee:
3. Agreed in principle to the development of a new swimming pool at Withdean Sports Complex, as set out in paragraph 3.18.
4. Agreed the provision of £451,000 (via capital borrowing) to complete detailed design and survey work and to achieve planning consent.
5. Authorises the Executive Director Economy, Environment and Culture to take all steps necessary to procure and award the contracts for the design work.
6. Agrees that a further report is brought back to the Strategy, Finance and City Regeneration Committee once the design work is completed to approve the progression of the project to implementation and the additional borrowing required for the remaining capital cost to deliver a new facility.
48 Fees and Charges 2024-25
48.1 The Chair invited Max Woodford to introduce the report starting on page 135 of the Agenda.
48.2 Councillors Cattell, Bagaeen, Hill, raised queries about impact of inflation and fees for planning advice.
The Chair took a recorded vote on the recommendations, which were passed to 8 with 2 abstentions.
RESOLVED:
That Committee:
1. Agreed the proposed fees and charges for 2024/25 as set out within the report.
2. Agreed the proposed fees and charges in paragraphs 3.4 - 3.15 relating to Pre-Application Advice, Planning Performance Agreements and S106 Deed of Variation, to be implemented with immediate effect in the current financial year 2023/24 allowing for lead in time to update systems, charging methods and notice periods.
3. Delegated authority to the Executive Director of Economy, Environment & Culture (in relation to paragraphs 3.4 - 3.30), to change fees and charges as notified and set by central Government during the year.
Note: If the above recommendations are not agreed, or if the committee wishes to amend the recommendations, then the item will need to be referred to the Strategy, Finance & City Regeneration Committee meeting on 8th February 2024 to be considered as part of the overall 2024/25 budget proposals. This is because the 2024/25 budget proposals are developed on the assumption that fees and charges are agreed as recommended and any failure to agree, or a proposal to agree different fees and charges, will have an impact on the overall budget proposals, which means it needs to be dealt with by Strategy, Finance & City Regeneration Committee as per the requirements of the constitution. This does not fetter the committee’s ability to make recommendations to Strategy, Finance & City Regeneration Committee.
49 Items referred for Full Council
There were none.
The meeting concluded at 17:29
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Signed
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Chair |
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