Brighton & Hove City Council
Cabinet
2.00pm24 April 2025
Council Chamber, Hove Town Hall
MINUTES
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Present: Councillor Sankey (Chair) Taylor (Deputy Chair), Allen, Daniel, Miller, Muten, Robins, Rowkins, Williams, Alexander and Robinson |
PART ONE
184 Procedural Business
184a Declarations of interests
184.1 There were none.
184b Exclusion of the press and public
184.2 In accordance with Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 (“the Act”), the Committee considered whether the public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any item of business on the grounds that it is likely in view of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during it, there would be disclosure to them of confidential information as defined in Section 100A (3) of the Act.
184.3 Resolved- That the public and press are excluded from the meeting from items listed on Part 2 of the agenda.
185 Minutes
185.1 Resolved- That the minutes of the previous meeting be approved as the correct record.
186 Chair's Communications
186.1 The Chair provided the following Communications:
“Today we are discussing filling our potholes, resurfacing our roads, maximising our assets so we can fund better services for residents and get more homes built in our beacon city. We are discussing a transfer of our learning disability service to maintain standards and drive efficiencies. And we’re discussing building bigger beaches – Councillor Muten is not just the councillor that never sleeps he is now going to fashion himself as King Canute, hold back our tides, protect our coast and ensure residents have more beach to enjoy in the years to come.
Today we’re looking to approve the Capital Asset Strategy that will guide how council assets are managed to support investment in housing, sustainability and improved services.
The council owns a significant amount of land and property including buildings for services, commercial properties, agricultural land, and seafront assets. The management and continual review of these assets enables service delivery, supports our council plan and is how we balance the budget.
Looking carefully at how we use our assets is an integral part of the budget process, particularly at this challenging financial time.
In developing the strategy our property portfolios have been reviewed and analysed to identify opportunities for changes including development or rationalisation that will help us deliver the efficiencies we need to balance the budget, maintain services, improve performance and invest in projects like Madeira Terrace, King Alfred, Valley Gardens and improvements to our roads.
What we’re also deciding today details how more than £8 million will be invested to improve Brighton & Hove’s roads, pavements and transport infrastructure as part of Our Local Transport Plan. Plans include tackling potholes, improving safety and supporting sustainable travel.
Many years of woeful Tory underinvestment has led to a huge backlog in repairs and unacceptable conditions of our road surfaces. This plan will see us prioritise the areas most in need of improvement over the next 12 months, as well as investing in the future. It includes a welcome increase of up to £1.6million grant funding by our Labour Government for road maintenance.
We’re going to discuss and decide on the next phase of the sea defences scheme in Hove and Southwick, the biggest in the area.
As a seaside city, the scheme is vital to safeguard homes and businesses from coastal flooding and protect our local economy for decades to come. By taking action now, we will help make our city more climate resilient and able to adapt to increasing storms, extreme rainfall and rising sea levels.
Cabinet are also deciding whether to transfer 4 council-run learning disability services to expert external providers. This is intended to maintain the quality of services provided and support independence for some of our most vulnerable residents, while delivering better value.
Thank you to all residents and businesses that responded to the Government’s devolution consultation which closed earlier this. We submitted our response along with our interim submission on LGR. Had a positive meeting with LG Minister Jim MacMahon in Crawley along with leaders of ESCC & WSCC to discuss collaborative work on transition to devo should Government decide to proceed.
Welcomed several Labour Government ministers to the City to see the progress we are making on childrens services, to support veterans and in sport.
Following agreement at cabinet last October our updated Housing Allocations Policy comes into effect this week. It will provide a fairer framework so available council homes go to the people who need them most..
From 6 May, the council’s Customer Service Centres will move from Bartholomew House and Hove Town Hall to new help desks at Jubilee Library and Hove Library. Dedicated staff will be on hand to help residents with queries, including applying for a bus pass, renewing a blue badge and getting information about how to pay their council tax. You’ll also be access self-help facilities such as computers and phones. In-person support will also be available at family hubs in Whitehawk, Moulsecoomb, Hangleton and Tarner.
We’re reducing the cost of even more bus fares around the city. In addition to continuing to support £1 short-hop bus travel until the end of the year, from this Monday the price a of a medium length journey will drop from £2.80 to £2.50. This will make it cheaper for residents to travel by bus to work or university, visit friends and relatives, get to the shops or access key services like GP surgeries and local hospitals.
Our Labour Government has awarded us funding to replace high-emission diesel buses with low-emission electric vehicles. In partnership with the council, Brighton & Hove Buses will introduce a further 13 electric buses in autumn 2026 on routes 5 and 6, in addition to the 16 already planned for route 7 spring 2026. This will help cut emissions and improve air quality on routes in some of the city’s highest emission areas.
And starting from 5 May an exciting week of events is in store across Brighton & Hove to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Events include 1940s activities at the pier, talks at The Keep, live music at the Bandstand, a family day at Downs Junior School, and an evening service at the Peace statue and lighting of a beacon on 8 May.
I encourage everyone to honour those who served and sacrificed during the Second World War, and to reaffirm our shared commitment to a more peaceful world.
I encourage you all to keep an eye out on the roofs of bus shelters as you travel around the city.
The council has helped facilitate an exhibition of iconic seaside images by photographers Martin Parr and JJ Waller which are being displayed on the roofs of bus shelters around the city as part of Brighton Festival
They’ll also be on display for everyone at Hove Museum, the Seafront Gallery and local poster sites. That’s also a good reminder for us all to get involved in events at this year’s Brighton Festival and Fringe throughout May which starts of course with the iconic childrens parade Saturday week – 3rd May”.
187 Call Over
187.1 All items on the agenda were reserved for discussion.
188 Public Involvement
(a) Petitions
1) Basketball Hoop in Queen’s Park
188.1 Cabinet considered a petition signed by 28 people requesting a new basketball hoop in Queen’s Park.
188.2 Councillor Robins provided the following written reply:
"The council completed a refurbishment of the play areas in this park in December 2024, investing £287,000. These works were part of the wider Playground Programme which invested over £4m into 45 parks across the city.
Currently there is no further funding available for installing a basketball hoop at this site. The council is however committed to working with the local community and Friends Group to review the viability of securing investment in the play area in the future and will look to identify what potential funding routes could be explored via S106 and other potential internal funds. Ward Councillors have been made aware of this request and will be able to consider funding through the opportunity of Neighbourhood CIL.
The Council have recently commissioned a Playing Pitch Strategy which has outlined the needs for residents in terms of sports space. Through local insight and consultation, the council is aware that basketball is a popular sport for our residents and young people and is constantly reviewing where existing facilities can be improved and/or new ones provided to meet local need and promote an active lifestyle for all.
Further to this we will be conducting consultation across the East of the city in the next year to explore emerging sports priorities from residents, and to identify any gaps, so that we can build these into our plans for any future investment in East Brighton.
In the meantime, there is a full-sized basketball court (MUGA) located at Tarner Park (0.3 miles/8-minute walk) which will also have lighting installed to allow for increased usage all year-round".
188.3 Resolved- That Cabinet note the petition.
189 Issues Raised by Members
189.1 A copy of the questions received was circulated ahead of the meeting. Responses provided both at the meeting and in writing are as follows:
1) Councillor Fishleigh- Local Transport Capital Programme 2025/26
In the Indicative Capital Planned Maintenance Programme for 2025/6, it proposes a Surface Extension – Micro-asphalt of the A259 between Roedean Road and Rottingdean High Street. Rottingdean High Street itself is in a much worse state than this section of road. Please would you explain why this major through road from the A27 to the coast hasn’t been included in the programme for this financial year?
Response: Councillor Muten
We follow an objective data-led lifecycle asset management approach to develop a prioritised programme of planned maintenance.
A lifecycle approach is a data-led technique used by most local authorities to monitor and predict the future condition of their highways assets so that they know which roads to treat, how to treat them and when to treat them to maximise the lifespan of each asset. This reduces the whole life cost, enhances the asset life and reduces carbon overtime.
By following a lifecycle approach we treat roads at each stage of their lifecycle so that the overall life of the asset can be extended. This delays the need for costly resurfacing and reduces the whole life cost of the asset. A lifecycle plan includes cost-effective preventative maintenance such as rejuvenation and preservation treatments that are applied to surfaces whilst they are still in good condition. This way we keep our good roads good for longer.
Alternatively, if we took a ‘worst first’ approach then we would only be treating roads once they had failed. Resurfacing roads is very expensive in terms of cost and carbon and, therefore, following this approach would result in only a small number of roads being treated each year within our grant funding. This would result in more roads failing each year than we could afford to resurface and therefore the cost to reactively maintain the roads in a safe state would grow year-on-year.
Each year we carry out a full network condition survey and re-prioritise the roads based on the new data. The next survey is scheduled to take place in May/June and this will inform the 2026-27 planned maintenance programme.
I am aware that Council Transport officers have recently met with yourself and Rottingdean Parish Council to discuss options for Rottingdean High Street. I am more than happy to come to Rottingdean following this next scheduled survey of the A259 between Roedean Road and Rottingdean High Street to discuss its inclusion in the planned maintenance programme accordingly together with other local transport plans.
2) Councillor Fishleigh – Local Transport Capital Programme 2025/26
Please would you explain the £748k allocated to Valley Gardens 3 in the Local Transport Plan Capital Programme 25/26, what is it match funding and is this money in addition to the £5m loan and £1.8m allocated by BHCC?
Response: Councillor Muten
Thank you, Councillor Fishleigh, for your question regarding the delivery of the transformational Valley Gardens Phase 3 project.
Just to recap, Valley Gardens is an exciting transformational project which will redesign the heart of the city improving key public space.
Once complete it will provide enhanced environment and renewal of this key visitor destination in the heart of city.
It will provide a space that is inclusive and accessible to everyone.
It will improve the safety and travel experience for pedestrians and cyclists while simplifying the road network for all.
The £748,000 allocation is part of the initially agreed Local Transport Plan grant element and compliments the Local Growth Fund allocation of £6Million and the £5million Council loan. This funding has already been agreed, and officers are not anticipating to exceed agreed budget on this project.
Having visited this project with the project manager last week, I can confirm excellent progress to programme and to budget. In fact, we are steps ahead and the work to date is already transforming the eastern side of the Old Steine. There is more to do this previously shabby-looking area, yet we are making a huge difference and delivering a well-planned fully funded scheme. It's about time and this administration delivers.
3) Councillor Fishleigh- Local Transport Capital Programme 2025/26
Why hasn’t any money been allocated to improving safety for walkers and people on wheels on the undercliff? In January I submitted a document prepared by local groups to Councillor Muten which suggests a number of measures that would improve the tense situation down there
Response: Councillor Muten
Thank you, Councillor Fishleigh, for your question specifically related to the safety of pedestrians and cyclists along the Undercliff pathway.
LTP funding is allocated towards a number of important safety improvements. Notably the School Streets improvement programme which is key to keeping our children in the city both safe and active. Furthermore, we are investing in the Safer Better Streets programme of works. This is a programme of improvements that our residents tell us we need to make and identifies the priorities based on a thorough data led approach which is fair and transparent.
I thank you for your question specifically relating to safety along the Undercliff and I acknowledge this is a very important and popular route for both pedestrians and those on wheels including cyclists. The safety of all who use and enjoy this popular route is very important. We will commit to exploring what further measures can be introduced to ensure the safety and comfort for all users by including this on our assessment process through the Safer Better Streets programme.
4) Councillor Fishleigh- Local Transport Capital Programme 2025/26
Why does BHCC need to spend any money on bike hire facilities? Isn’t this the responsibility of Beryl Bikes?
Response: Councillor Muten
Thank you, Councillor Fishleigh, for your question regarding the increasingly popular and successful BerylBTN Bike Hire Scheme as expanded to all parts of the city in 2023.
The Council approved the reorganisation of the scheme in November 2020 under the previous committee system and with cross party support. The committee report (Item 49) was based on a specification with a comprehensive business case (Appendix 1 of the report) to introduce e-bikes and make the scheme city-wide, which also looked at the wider environmental, health and wellbeing benefits for the city. The tender that followed was won by Beryl, who now operate the bikeshare scheme on behalf of the Council. The Council invested with the initial purchase of the bikes and infrastructure in 2022-23 using public sector borrowing and a surplus reserve from the previous scheme. Additional funding is also forthcoming from developer contributions for active & sustainable travel infrastructure. The funding for operations including all repairs comes from rider and sponsor revenue with some additional revenue funding support. Any surplus generated annually is shared with the Council, which has committed to a 100% reinvestment of our share back into the scheme.
Our bike hire and e-bike hire provide a genuine service to the city with many residents and visitors in communities across Brighton and Hove benefiting. The contract with BerylBTN enables and encourages more journeys by active travel and fewer by vehicles and has fitness, health and environmental benefits
5) Councillor Meadows- Capital Asset Strategy
Why can’t all councillors view part 2 papers? These involve commercially sensitive details but without sight of them, how can councillors represent their residents? Councillors used to be able access these papers. We may not be part of Cabinet but how can we be a part of decision making in this council without access to part two papers. We are elected members too and some of these decisions may have to come to council for example.
Response: Councillor Taylor
The Council’s approach regarding access to reports is guided by the general principles of openness and transparency, having regard to any legal duty of confidentiality and the need to be able to conduct its business as a responsible authority. The rights of Members to access Reports to the Council’s decision-making bodies other than through the Overview & Scrutiny Committees are set out in the Constitution here: Part 3E - Access to Information Procedure.pdf
There are occasions where the matter under consideration is such that it is necessary to limit the distribution of reports to Members directly involved in decision making only, for example where the disclosure of the information would be likely to have a detrimental effect on any commercial negotiations.
6) Councillor McNair- Capital Asset Strategy
Which urban fringe sites (para 3.6) are likely to be built on first?
Response: Councillor Taylor
There are two sites identified in the report, both recommended for appropriation to the HRA for the development of affordable housing. However both sites are tenanted, which is why the sites are currently considered commercially sensitive and identified in the Part 2 report.
7) Councillor Meadows- Capital Asset Strategy
Are there any urban fringe sites not allocated in City Plan part 2 which the administration is interested in developing?
Response: Councillor Taylor
One of the background documents for City Plan Part One was an urban fringe assessment. This was updated for City Plan Part Two where a number of urban fringe sites were allocated for development. As part of the review of City Plan, the planning team will need to review the urban fringe assessment to understand whether there are further opportunities for development or in some cases it may be to demonstrate they are still not viable options when the plan is tested for soundness by the Planning Inspectorate.
8) Councillor Meadows- Capital Asset Strategy
Can the council reassure residents that no parks or school playing fields will be developed for housing?
Response: Councillor Taylor
No Parks or school playing fields are included the list of assets being considered in these reports. The planning team are currently reviewing City Plan, as part of this process they will need to consider a number of aspects that the city needs, this will include housing; employment; sports and recreation. The City Plan will need to be in accordance with national government guidance which does set out an ambitious approach to housebuilding but also recognises the importance for open space. One of the background documents for City Plan will include an open space study.
9) Councillor McNair- Local Transport Plan Capital Programme 25/26
As one of the major routes in Patcham & Hollingbury, and a bus route, Carden Hill is also one of the roads most in need of resurfacing in the city. Will Carden Hill be resurfaced completely in 2025/26?
Response: Councillor Muten
Thank you, Councillor McNair, for your question. You may be pleased to hear that Carden Hill is included as an additional site for resurfacing using a micro asphalt treatment. This has not been included in the indicative programme as the suitability of Carden Hill for the proposed resurfacing method had not been confirmed by engineers at the point of publishing the full programme. However, now the survey report confirms the proposed method is suitable and the need is a priority, resurfacing of Carden Hill has been included in the 2025-26 resurfacing priority list
10) Councillor McNair- Local Transport Plan Capital Programme 25/26
Across Patcham & Hollingbury, dozens of properties flood many times per year, partly because of blocked drains but also through badly thought-through development such as Patcham Court Farm. Why is only £100,000 being spent on drainage when £150,000 is being spent on dropped kerbs?
Response: Councillor Muten
Thank you, Councillor McNair, for your question. It may be helpful to understand how the grant funding is allocated by central government and other means of funding to then better appreciate how both these important improvements will be delivered for our city’s residents.
Annually, The Department for Transport (DfT) allocates LTP funding to highway authorities. This year the funding has been allocated in two specific ‘blocks’: Integrated Transport Block and Maintenance Block. The allocation towards the Dropped Kerbs and accessibility improvements which are vital to improve accessibility of our pavements and wider transport network for our residents is from the Integrated Transport Block. This is separate for the funding for Maintenance including drainage improvements.
As a result of climate change we are aware of the surface water run-off from heavy rainfall is resulting in more frequent and intense storms and associated ‘flash’ flooding. This is a key challenge in the city. This is why we are already acting to ‘climate proof’ the city. This includes creating ‘rain gardens’ to slow down heavy rainfall, reducing the burden on the drainage system, the introduction of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) and coastal protection works such as the new sea wall at Black Rock and groyne field work coming to today’s Cabinet meeting.
The Wild Park rainscape is being created to filter surface water run-off from the A27 road through planted shallow basins reducing flood risk and preventing polluted water from reaching the underground chalk aquifer, which provides most of the city’s drinking water.
The Wild Park Rainscape is one of many such schemes where the council are and will be working in partnership funding to deliver a substantial programme of drainage improvements and flood risk mitigation and reduction. The budget for many such schemes will greatly exceed that of the Council’s contribution.
Patcham Court Farm development has not been built yet, so cannot be presently adding to flooding in Patcham as set out by your question. In fact, the new development will attenuate water in a way the existing site does not and therefore may, through good design, attenuate and reduce flood risk.
Flood reduction and drainage improvements together with making Brighton and Hove an accessible city are very important priorities to this administration and we are delivering on these and much more.
11) Councillor McNair- Local Transport Plan Capital Programme 25/26
Regarding heritage assets (para 3.6), the 400-year-old Patcham dovecote (grade II listed) and Patcham clocktower are both suffering serious decay. Are there any immediate plans to ensure these important and rare structures are safeguarded for future generations?
Response: Councillor Muten
Thank you, Councillor McNair, for your question regarding these heritage structures in Patcham.
The Local Transport Plan grant funding allocation is provided for Highway Structures and Highway asset maintenance including street lighting, signals drainage etc. The Patcham dovecote and clocktower are not highway assets that this grant funding can justifiably be allocated towards.
May I direct you to para 3.6 of the Asset Management Strategy (rather than the Local Transport Plan Capital Programme), which advises a review is completed of the council’s heritage assets to better understand the costs and value.
The council owns many heritage assets that require maintenance and investment. Such a review is not part of the Local Transport Plan grant funding from the Department for Transport. To ensure our limited resources are correctly prioritised and allocated it is proposed that a review be completed of all the council’s heritage assets with options and recommendations put forward for their future maintenance, funding and use for Cabinet to consider.
12) Councillor Meadows- Local Transport Plan Capital Programme 25/26
We need to make Winfield Avenue speed hump into a school crossing so why can't we put white lines on the hump to indicate to drivers it is a crossing? Drivers do not see the tactile paving so do not slow down or stop.
Response: Councillor Muten
Thank you, Councillor Meadows, for your question regarding traffic calming and lineage on Winfield Avenue in Patcham.
I can advise that road markings and warning signs are present on the new raised table in Winfield Avenue, These are set out to alert drivers of this feature and to slow down.
This project was approved for both design and construction at the Environment, Transport and Sustainability (ETS) Committee in January 2023. It was subsequently developed by qualified engineers in accordance with the latest guidance from the Department for Transport, including the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD 2016), and the design principles outlined in the relevant traffic manuals. Applying the TSRGD, these safety improvements were progressed by the Transport team through Section 106 developers funding. A ‘Road Hump’ notice was introduced and the scheme was developed inline within the criteria of the Section 106 funding.
Options to install a zebra crossing at this location (like the one further North) were considered but it was deemed not appropriate at the time of design due to the location, and other factors such as light or light for long periods of pedestrian flow outside the school operating hours.
Any change to the design including restrictions and changes to lines and markings would require aa Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process at further cost to the council only two years since undertaking this previously as funded from developers’ contributions.
Please be assured that we remain committed to the safety of all road users and to prioritise safety across Brighton & Hove. We are keen to listen to residents’ views and progress safety improvements such as that delivered for Winfield Avenue in 2023.
13) Councillor Meadows- Transfer or Adult Social Care Learning Disability Services
You are outsourcing four more Learning Disability group homes and transferring staff. How many more group homes for those with a learning disability are there left to outsource? And will the council monitor the situation as these are our most vulnerable residents, and private providers may not have their best interest at heart?
Response: Councillor Allen
Following the transfer of the four services there will be one group home left in our portfolio of LD services - Beach House respite and Wellington House day centre – which will continue to be managed by the council.
We will only award a contract to a provider or providers who can evidence that they have supplied similar, high-quality services – and this means providers who understand that person-centred services come from well supported staff.
The contract will include ongoing performance management, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and outcome monitoring. Should any concerns arise regarding the quality of these services, the Adult Social Care team already have well established contractual and quality assurance processes in place to rectify any quality-of-care issues. This is overseen by our Quality Assurance and Contract Monitoring service.
14) Councillor Pickett- Capital Asset Strategy
Your Capital Asset Strategy has been set up to identify assets that can be used or sold to shore up capital receipts for the council’s innovation fund and capital investment fund. My particular concern at this point is the future of the Downland Estate, much of which is part of the National Park. I understand your consideration for rationalism, but would you not agree that land and in particular, land in the Southeast, is always going to be at a premium price financially. In light of the number of councils around the country falling bankrupt wouldn’t it be prudent to secure these assets for future generations should the city once again find itself in this dire financial situation? Can you assure residents that it is not your intention to sell off our Downland Estate for short term and short-sighted gain?
Response: Councillor Taylor
The council’s City Downland Estate Plan sets out the strategic management of the Downland Estate for the next 100 years. The council is committed to retaining the Downland Estate to meet the objectives of the Plan. Some of the Urban Fringe allocations in the CPP2 are within the Downland Estate. Any proposed development of these sites will consider the impact on the Plan and the delivery of the Plan’s objectives.
15) Councillor Pickett- Transfer or Adult Social Care Learning Disability Services
With regard to the procurement exercise to appoint new providers to take over the 3 residential care homes including Preston Drove, Leicester Villas and Windlesham Road, and the supported living service at Burwash Lodge, whilst I am sure the council will do its utmost to appoint providers to provide the best care such finances can buy, how can we be sure that this maximisation of efficiencies will really provide the residents with the same or better care than they already receive? I have a particular interest in Preston drove care home where I have had relatives contact me. They are very complimentary of the current in-house service and are worried that any change in provider will down-grade the service as they have experienced elsewhere. Can you please give these residents some assurance that this will not happen and if it does what will be the plan to rectify it?
Response: Councillor Allen
Potential providers will only be considered as suitable to provide these services if they can demonstrate quality in a number of key areas including mobilisation, service delivery, staffing and organisational management, alongside commitments to social value and sustainability. They will need to evidence that they have supplied similar, high-quality services.
The contract will include ongoing performance management, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and outcome monitoring. Should any concerns arise regarding the quality of these services, the Adult Social Care team already have well established contractual and quality assurance processes in place to rectify any quality-of-care issues. This is overseen by our Quality Assurance and Contract Monitoring service.
In terms of maximising efficiencies, these will be found by looking at four services as part of the wider Learning Disability Provider Services. The staff who transfer as part of the contract award will do so under TUPE regulations; this means continuity of staff's terms and conditions, and – importantly – there will be continuity of care for the people supported by these members of staff.
16) Councillor West- Capital Asset Strategy
3.8 of the report lists four properties identified for disposal. However, it is clear from the text that these are only some of the properties identified, with others hidden from public and opposition in part 2 under the guise that they are regarded commercially sensitive. In this now typically thin public report, no rationale is offered as to why the four properties listed have been identified. The suggestion being that this detailed information, along with all details of the other properties, is also being kept from us - why is that? How are the public and opposition councillors to know what publicly owned assets are to be disposed of, and why that might be regarded as a good idea?
Response: Councillor Taylor
The four properties identified in the Part 1 report are vacant and surplus to operational requirements. Properties in Part 2 are commercially sensitive, but the part 2 report has been shared with the cross-party Place Overview and Scrutiny Report.
17) Councillor West- Local Transport Plan Capital Programme 25/26
It is welcome to see that two sections of Ditchling Road and Fiveways are listed in Appendix 1 for resurfacing, and it is appreciated that the cabinet member has listened to Green ward councillors concerns about the urgent need for this. While many residents will welcome inclusion of their streets, I cannot however understand the rationale whereby so many lightly used roads, including short cul-de-sacs, are to be improved while busy bus routes, that are in no better condition than farm tracks, for example Carden Hill, remain overlooked. Given the scale of public funding being committed here, does the cabinet member agree that detail of the rationale behind each proposed improvement should have been included in appendix 1 so that the public would be able to see how the prioritisation choices have been arrived at?
Response: Councillor Muten
Thank you, Councillor West, for your question. I am sure you value the importance of following an objective and fair data-led lifecycle asset management approach to develop a prioritised programme of planned maintenance.
A lifecycle approach is a data-led technique used by most local authorities to monitor and predict the future condition of their highways assets so that they know which roads to treat, how to treat them and when to treat them to maximise the lifespan of each asset. This reduces the whole life cost and reduces carbon overtime.
By following a lifecycle approach we treat roads at each stage of their lifecycle so that the overall life of the asset can be extended. This delays the need for costly resurfacing and reduces the whole life cost of the asset. A lifecycle plan includes cost-effective preventative maintenance such as rejuvenation and preservation treatments that are applied to surfaces whilst they are still in good condition. This way we keep our good roads good for longer.
Alternatively, if we took a ‘worst first’ approach then we would only be treating roads once they had failed. Resurfacing roads is very expensive in terms of cost and carbon and therefore following this approach would result in only a small number of roads being treated each year. This would result in more roads failing each year than we could afford to resurface and therefore the cost to reactively maintain the roads in a safe state would grow year-on-year.
Carden Hill is being included as an additional site for micro asphalt treatment. This has not been included in the indicative programme as the suitability of the proposed resurfacing method for Carden Hill had not been confirmed by engineers at the point of publishing the programme. However, now the survey report confirms the proposed method is suitable and the need is a priority, resurfacing of Carden Hill has been included in the 2025-26 resurfacing priority list.
18) Councillor West- Local Transport Plan Capital Programme 25/26
3.12 notes that the council receives around 200 enquiries about pot holes every week - that is over 10,000 a year! Can the cabinet member say how many of these complaints are about the impact pot-holes are having upon road safety and damage to vehicles? Can we have a breakdown of this including insurance claims being made against the council for vehicle repairs, and injuries?
Response: Councillor Muten
Thank you for your question, Councillor West. With more than a decade of underinvestment and decline under the previous Tory government, our nation’s roads are a poor state of unmanaged decline. Potholes are a symptom of Tory decline – the bane of motorists, cyclists and bus passengers – and are a safety issue.
We very much welcome Labour’s commitment to start to tackle the issue through substantially more funding. The Tory decline and backlog in our city from the is unacceptable. This year we will collate and publish our progress on tackling the backlog so residents can see clearly the work we are doing to maintain highways and the numbers of potholes fixed in their communities. Further, the paper today brings to Cabinet an update to the Highways Maintenance Policy – not refreshed for some four years. The clarity publishing this policy update sets out clearly our response to potholes and planned maintenance of the highways and pathways.
Under the previous policy, specific impacts of potholes were not recorded. It has, therefore, not been possible to breakdown the number of enquires that relate specifically to the impact of potholes as your request. Nonetheless, under our new approach, officers are putting in place a new IT system that will make this type of reporting possible in the future, accessible to residents and communities to see.
19) Councillor West- Local Transport Plan Capital Programme 25/26
3.13 notes that the estimated backlog for maintenance of roads is £57m and £39m for footways, and further states that to prevent further decline of these assets alone requires an estimated budget of £8.45m. The sum committed by the Labour administration to highway maintenance given in table 1 is however just £5.283m, far less than what is needed just to stem the decline, let alone address the backlog. Does the cabinet member agree that the Government funding is woefully inadequate, and that if the Government is to be believed in its pledge to “fix the foundations”, then it needs to make a serious commitment to increase in funding so that all our roads and footways will be properly restored by the end of this parliament?
Response: Councillor Muten
Thank you, Councillor West, for your question and concern.
With over a decade of underinvestment into maintaining our nation’s highways and pathways under the previous Tory government, it cannot be understated we have a sever backlog. Further, potholes are a symptom of a deeper problem. Timely maintenance saves costs. Yet, the Tories did not care about our roads and left us in a state of decline.
And as much as I very much welcome the new Labour Government’s substantial uplift in grant funding for our roads and pathways, I wish to make it very clear – we will not reverse over a decade of decline in one year’s budget.
We will do more with some £8 million in this year’s Local Transport Plan Capital Programme 2025/26 – much more than before. It is not sufficient to undo the impact of more than a decade of Tory underfunding. However, our commitment is clear – with more we will do more. This is why we will continue to lobby the government for further long-term investment and in the meantime, we are exploring options to secure additional funding by alternative means to strengthen our ambition to make our roads and pathways safer and better for all.
20) Councillor West- Local Transport Plan Capital Programme 25/26
6.2 reminds us of the recently announced distrustful new terms Government has set out for councils to receive road maintenance funding, including the need to report details of pot-hole filling progress in order to access the final 25% of promised funds. Given the Government funding falls way short of what is required to properly fix our highways, does the cabinet member agree that the additional administrative burden of having to list the pot-holes that have been filled is an unwelcome and pointless expense that will merely detract from getting the job done. And, does the cabinet member also agree that instead of setting up more hoops for councils to jump through, the Government needs to instead increase the funding so we can get on with the task of ensuring roads are safe to use and more cost effective to maintain?
Response: Councillor Muten
Thank you, Councillor West, for your question and concern about resourcing the reporting requirements.
After year-on-year decline and underinvestment in our highways under the previous Tory government, we very much welcome Labour’s commitment to significantly more grant funding for highways maintenance and tackling potholes. We very welcome that Labour wish to see highway authorities nationally have much greater transparency in measuring and reporting.
It may help to know that Councils have already been required to prepare and submit similar information on an annual basis for several years to satisfy the previous Incentive Fund criteria set by the Government. The new criteria include the additional requirement to publish this data for transparency which is most welcome. We support the view that residents should have better access to information around our progress on repairing and maintaining roads and pathways in their communities ane welcome Labour’s commitment to make this information more accessible to all. Because we have already made improvements in tracking progress on our planned highways maintenance and pothole response, Officers are confident that they can satisfy the requirements without placing additional burden on the service.
Additional government funding will always be welcomed. With more we do more.
21) Councillor Hill- Transfer or Adult Social Care Learning Disability Services
The document states that ‘Some families are keen to be involved in the evaluation and selection of the new provider/s and they have been asked to identify any particular requirements that they would expect of a potential provider and a small number of family members will develop and evaluate a question for bidders.’ If bids received do not meet the family’s expectations in their evaluation, will you keep the care home provision in house? Do you believe that families feel sufficiently involved as desired in the selection process?
Response: Councillor Allen
We are committed to involving families in the evaluation and selection of the new provider or providers. However, procurement legislation requires transparency, fairness and integrity in decision-making, so we have received advice about how best to involve families in a decision which can hold against any legal challenges.
To ensure appropriate scrutiny of bids, we require experienced and qualified evaluators for the questions that test a provider’s ability to meet the requirements. Most questions, therefore, will be evaluated by Council Officers. Should bids not meet the quality expectations the contract would not be awarded at this stage, and decisions would need to be made regarding a future procurement.
We have consulted family members on their insights into what is important in a good quality service and have given them the opportunity to develop and evaluate an element of the tender.
Families of service users will be evaluating this element which will feed into the overall score for each provider that is made up from several evaluation questions.
We have engaged with the local market in principle and are confident that high quality bids will be forthcoming.
22) Councillor Hill- Transfer or Adult Social Care Learning Disability Services
How do you intend to achieve the £400,000 saving?
Response: Councillor Allen
Thank you for your succinct and direct question. To achieve in-year delivery of £400,000 of savings, without affecting terms and conditions of staff transferring with the service or the ongoing quality of care, we are looking at efficiencies across the wider Learning Disability Provider Services.
This includes consolidating group homes where there is under-occupancy such as the Ferndale Road facility. The single resident at Ferndale can move into a vacancy at Burwash Lodge. The Ferndale staff team will transfer to Burwash Lodge and therefore reduce vacancies that are otherwise covered by agency staff. There will also be some additional service savings from the closure of Ferndale Road on premises related costs and supplies, and we are looking at alternative uses for this property in the future.
There are also opportunities to ensure that the correct funding body is paying for the residents' care through the annual reviews of their care needs, ie, some service users may be eligible for Continuing Health Care funding from the NHS rather than the local authority.
190 Matters Referred to the Executive
There were none.
191 Representations from Opposition Members
191.1 Cabinet received a representation from Councillor West on Item 192: Capital Asset Strategy
191.2 Cabinet received a representation from Councillor Hill on Item 195: Transfer of Adult Social Care Learning Disability Services.
192 Capital Asset Strategy
192.1 Cabinet considered a report that set out the principles for the ongoing strategic management of the council’s asset portfolio (excluding the Seafront Portfolio) and set out a Capital Asset Strategy for managing and identifying assets to support capital receipts for the council’s Innovation Fund and Capital Investment Programme.
192.2 Councillors Daniel, Taylor, Allen and Robins asked questions and contributed to the debate of the report.
192.3 Cabinet moved to confidential session at 2.58pm and reconvened the public meeting at 3.08pm.
192.4 Resolved-
1) Cabinet approves the Capital Asset Strategy which comprises the 5 principles set out in paragraph 3.6.
2) Cabinet agrees to the appropriation for housing purposes or disposal of the assets identified at paragraph 3.8 and in Part 2 of this report in the manner set out in this report.
3) Cabinet delegates authority to the Director Property & Finance in consultation with the Director Governance & Law and the Cabinet Member for Finance and City Regeneration to approve terms and take any necessary steps to facilitate and complete the appropriation for housing purposes or disposals of the properties identified in the Part 2 report and achieve best consideration.
193 Local Transport Plan Capital Programme 25/26
193.1 Cabinet considered a report that sought approval for the allocation of Local Transport Plan (LTP) capital grant funding of £8.366m for 2025/26 and set out the indicative 25/26 Planned Maintenance programme and an update to the Highway Reactive, Safety Maintenance & Inspection policy.
193.2 Councillors Taylor, Robinson, Sankey, Miller, Allen and Robins contributed to the debate of the report.
193.3 Resolved-
1) That Cabinet agrees the £8.366m 2025/26 Local Transport Plan Capital budget is allocated as set out in table 1, section 3, of the report.
2) That Cabinet notes the detailed indicative 2025/26 Planned Maintenance Programme, as set out on Appendix 1 and agrees the Highway Reactive Safety Maintenance & Inspection Policy as set out in Appendix 2.
194 Brighton Marina to River Adur Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) scheme – Project Update and Phase Two Procurement Strategy
194.1 Cabinet that sought Cabinet approval to deliver Brighton & Hove’s Phase 2 commitment to the Brighton Marina to River Adur - Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Scheme which consists of work within its boundary.
194.2 Councillors Sankey, Allen, Robinson, Miller contributed to the debate of the report.
194.3 Cabinet entered confidential session at 3.55pm and reconvened in public session at 4.05pm.
194.4 Resolved-
1) Cabinet agrees to increase the capital contribution for the BHCC Phase 2 works from £6.515m to £11m for the Brighton Marina to River Adur Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Scheme.
2) Cabinet agrees to release the unapproved sums - allocated to the Scheme for the purposes of BHCC Phase 2 works and contained within the forward capital plan - to approved status. These sums are stated in Part 2
3) Cabinet agrees to authorise an open procurement process to select a suitable and competent supplier to carry out the BHCC Phase 2 construction works within the BHCC area.
195 Transfer of Adult Social Care Learning Disability Services
195.1 Cabinet considered a report that sought approval to conduct a procurement exercise to appoint suitably experienced and qualified provider/s to take over four Council run services for people learning disabilities some of whom are also autistic.
195.2 Councillors Daniel, Allen, Taylor, Williams, Robinson and Miller asked questions and contributed to the debate of the report.
195.3 Resolved-
Cabinet delegates authority to the Corporate Director for Homes & Adult Social Care, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Service Transformation, to:
1) Take all necessary steps to procure and award contract/s for the provision of residential and supported living services for adults with learning disabilities and autism;
2) Take all necessary steps to award repair and maintenance leases for the 4 buildings described in 3.5 and 3.6;
3) Agree the anticipated maximum value of the contract/s of £31m, subject to final confirmation of pension contributions; and
4) Agree to initial five (5) year terms for the contracts and leases, with the option to extend for a period or periods of up to five (5) additional years, subject to paragraph 2.2.
5) Cabinet delegates authority to the Corporate Director for Homes & Adult Social Care, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Service Transformation, to grant the optional extension of the contract/s referred to in 2.1.1 and the leases in 2.2.2, subject to satisfactory performance of the provider/s.
196 Capital Asset Strategy (Exempt Category 3)
As per the Part Two minutes.
197 Brighton Marina to River Adur Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) scheme – Project Update and Phase Two Procurement Strategy (Exempt Category 3)
As per the Part Two minutes
198 Part Two Proceedings
198.1 Resolved- That the confidential items listed on the agenda remain exempt from disclosure to the press and public.
The meeting concluded at 4.17pm