DEPUTATIONS FROM
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
A period of not
more than fifteen minutes shall be allowed at each ordinary meeting
of the Council for the hearing of deputations from members of the
public. Each deputation may be heard for a maximum of five
minutes following which one Member of the Council, nominated by the
Mayor, may speak in response. It shall then be moved by the
Mayor and voted on without discussion that the spokesperson for the
deputation be thanked for attending and its subject matter
noted.
Notification of
one Deputation has been received. The spokesperson is entitled to
speak for 5 minutes.
(1)
Deputation
concerning the Gasworks site in East Brighton
Spokesperson
Marie Sansford
Supported by:
Keeley Bignal
Stephen White
Pip Tyler
Michael Pegley
Ward
affected: East Brighton
Councillor Mac
Cafferty, Leader of the Council will reply.
(1)
Deputation
concerning the Gasworks site
in EastBrighton
Spokesperson
– Marie Sansford
Action on
Gasworks Housing Affordability, Safety and Transparency
AGHAST
presentation to Full Council 22 October 2020
Brighton Gasworks
Development recently in the pre-application
process.
AGHAST is a
group of concerned residents of East Brighton and we are here to
urge you to robustly invoke health and safety protections in
dealing with this application. Berkeley Homes/St William
propose to build 600-700 flats on the gasworks in blocks of up to
15 storeys, placed around gas pipes and other installations still
in use. These will require deep foundations in the areas currently
occupied by huge, redundant gas tanks and ducts. Soil tests for the
site are unavailable and testing will be done once permission is
obtained.
Brownfield sites
are seen as the way forward to provide more housing. However
there is a material difference between developing railway sidings,
goods yards etc, and developing gasworks, because of the toxicity
of the latter. When Hove gasworks was developed in the
1980s-90’s, and a survey by Hove Borough Council detected
untreatable toxins in the fabric of the site, it was deemed
unsuitable for residential use. It now houses a Tesco and a large
car park, which required shallower foundations than tower
blocks.
In 2010 Ealing
Council refused Berkeley’s application for planning
permission on the Southall Gasworks on environmental and health
grounds. When, as Mayor of London, Boris Johnson overturned that
decision, residents soon experienced strong toxic smells of
petroleum, and were exposed to naphthalene, a known carcinogen, at
levels considered too high by PHE. There has been a higher than
normal incidence of ill-health involving peoples’ airways,
from breathing difficulties to terminal cancers. A legal case being
built by local residents seeks a stop to the works on the grounds
of `Nuisance’. In Brighton similar work on the gasworks site
could spread pollution over a vast residential area in which are
located ten schools and colleges, parks and playing fields, golf
courses and our main hospital.
Berkeley now own
more than 20 gasworks sites around the country. Worried residents
have created a national pressure group, Gasworks Communities
United, to demand the highest standards of safety and monitoring of
these developments. The Campaign for Clean Air in Southall and
Hayes (CASH) is supported by the local and national Green Party,
which made a film viewable on the CASH website. We understand that
Green Party colleagues from Ealing have approached the leadership
of B&H Council with their concerns.
We urge the
Council to take seriously its responsibility for the protection of
Environment and Health under DM40/41 of City Plan 2, and propose
that it should follow the example of Hove Borough Council and allow
only limited development of this site. If nothing else, we call
upon the Council to ensure that a thorough independent assessment
of the site is carried out before planning permission is even
considered., We request that the findings are shared with the
community before any planning permission is
granted.
Brighton Gasworks
development – pollution concerns
Summary of
concerns
Development of
the Brighton Gasworks site risks releasing potent toxins including
carcinogens into the atmosphere. These pose a direct threat to
human health as well as the surrounding natural environment
including the South Downs National Park – home to rare and
protected species.
Pollutants found
on a typical gasworks
Former gasworks
sites typically contain a range of pollutants in the soil. These
include polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), petroleum hydrocarbons,
asbestos, metals, cyanides, sulphur, and ammonium compounds and
nitrates.
What happens when
these pollutants are disturbed through construction?
Pollutants will
be released from the soil and into the atmosphere in both
particulate and gaseous form. Small particles pose the greatest
danger as they can reach deep into the lungs. These light particles
will remain in the atmosphere for long periods increasing the risk
of exposure through inhalation.
The toxins will
enter homes where they can be concentrated to harmful
levels.
As well as being
present in the atmosphere the toxins will settle and contaminate
the soil in surrounding gardens and parks including the South Downs
National Park.
Harmful effects
of exposure to these toxins
These toxins
include carcinogens (cancer causing), mutagens (cause genetic
deformations) and teratogens (harm foetus in the womb). They have a
range of other impacts including causing breathing difficulties,
asthma, kidney and liver damage.
There are no safe
levels for many of these toxins.
These impacts are
real and happening now at sites developed by St William
Residents near to
former gasworks developments including Southall, Hornsey and Bow in
London have reported long term breathing difficulties, increases in
incidences of asthma, nausea, mental confusion, eye problems,
headaches.
Impacts on the
surrounding natural environment
The chalk
grassland of the South Downs National Park hosts rare and protected
species of birds, butterflies and plants. Pollutants risk
ecological impacts such as altering species composition, direct
toxic damage and making plants more vulnerable to frost, drought
and pathogens.
Conclusion:
The safest place for these harmful toxins is to keep them locked
away in the soil and undisturbed on the site.
Dr Keeley Bignal
– expertise in air pollution including
PhD in motor vehicle pollution and post-doc research on combustion
emissions such as PAHs.
Brighton Gasworks
– pollution concerns. References.
https://www.thecentriclab.com/air-pollution-health-in-southall-london
Banks,
M.K., Schultz, K.E. Comparison of Plants for Germination Toxicity
Tests in Petroleum-Contaminated Soils. (2005). Water Air Soil
Pollution 167, 211–219
Kuppusamy S, Maddela NR, Megharaj M, Venkateswarlu K
(2019)
Impact of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons on Human Health. Total
Petroleum Hydrocarbons
Kim K, Ara Jahan S, Kabir E, Brown RJC (2013) A review of airborne
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their human health
effects. Environment International
Kisku GC, Tripathi S, Raj A (2018). Polcyclic-aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAHs) in environment and human health: a review. International
Journal of Advanced Research
Jan Alexander, Diane Benford, Andrew Cockburn, Jean-Pierre Cravedi,
Eugenia Dogliotti, Alessandro Di Domenico, María Luisa
Fernández-Cruz, Johanna Fink-Gremmels, Peter Fürst,
Corrado Galli, Philippe Grandjean, Jadwiga Gzyl, Gerhard
Heinemeyer, Niklas Johansson, Antonio Mutti, Josef Schlatter, Rolaf
van Leeuwen, Carlos Van Peteghem, Philippe Verger. (2008)
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Food. Scientific Opinion of the
Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain. The European Food
Safety Authority Journal
https://www.southdowns.gov.uk/wildlife-habitats/habitats/chalk-grassland/
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/skylark/
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/butterflies
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/22/residents-demand-new-clean-air-rules-for-former-gasworks-sites-in-england