Date of meeting: 21 June 2022
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.
Deputations received:.
(2) Deputation: Request the Council to support the creation of a Pocket Park on the footpath at the southern end of St Aubyns, Hove
By supporting our proposal we believe the Council has substantial opportunity to improve our environment and help deliver its objectives to become carbon neutral by greening neglected corners of our City. The scheme requires council officer support and pump priming to allow grant funding to be generated. It is proposed that an element of S106 contributions are made towards the matched funding element of grant funding applications that will be made by the community. Further, we ask the Council to use St Aubyns as a Pilot Project for pocket parks across our City.
Background: Pocket Parks, so called because of their small size, can transform unloved and neglected areas into green spaces for people to enjoy. Research demonstrates they have wide ranging benefits from reducing crime and improving health, to building social capital, enhancing biodiversity, reducing pollution and mitigating climate change. These attributes are recognised by leading cities who see pocket parks as essential elements of their green infrastructure, strategically linking them together as important contributors to maintaining their natural and social capital. It is therefore not surprising that the Government recently provided £9million of funding to support the creation of 100 new pocket parks across the UK.
Location and Site Description: St Aubyns lies within the Old Hove Conservation Area and leads from Kingsway north to Church Road. The southern end is highly prominent with a graceful sweep of buildings, which were originally enhanced with planting. Where the road was narrowed several decades ago there is a large expanse of black top tarmac on the south eastern side. This is in poor condition with 8 - 10 waste and recycling bins mostly situated on the pavement.
The area attracts illegal parking on the pathway, it is a magnet for fly-tipping and consequently costly for the Council to maintain. It is currently a deplorable entrance to the Old Hove Conservation Area that creates a dire impression to the 1000s of people that pass by every day. It is a drain on Council resources and a blot on our landscape!
The Proposals: Local residents, together with support from Hove Civic Society have been working with MA students studying Architecture & Urban Design at the University of Brighton, who designed a scheme as shown in the annex. The proposals have received universal support, including from all relevant areas of the Council with whom the local initiators have been working.
The key elements to the scheme include relocating the waste and recycling bins onto the road to allow more space for greening and introducing raised beds with native planting to ensure they are sustainable and easily managed by local residents. This will mean there is less need for hard surfacing and the tarmac can be replaced with attractive paving. A sculptural wall will be created to both disguise the bins and provide shelter from strong winds. The scheme introduces some seating and small scale green roofs for the bins and cycle racks, which will be retained on the site.
Sustainability is at the heart of the project from the use of durable, high quality and recycled materials and urban drainage considerations, to ongoing maintenance, which will be managed by the community at no cost to the Council. The community is also willing to raise funds for the scheme but will need pump priming and an element of matched funding support from the Council to make this happen.
Benefits: Our City is in climate and biodiversity loss crisis in particular flooding, loss of coastal ecosystems and species. This scheme offers design solutions to help tackle these issues sustainably, it will create an attractive space the community can be proud of and be built around.
It will make a significant contribution to the conservation area and the design could be used as a template for use in other areas, for example at Hove Station and the Artist Quarters, where there is already strong community support for Pocket Parks.
In supporting this Deputation by making a small resource available, including available Section 106 funding contributions towards the fundraising efforts of the community, the Council will assist in attracting considerable funds to the city which otherwise might not be forthcoming.
Supported by:
Heather James (Lead Spokesperson)
Penny Hudd
Sue Johnson
Alan Moon
Helmut Lusser
Andrew Nichols
Susan Wright
Supporting Information:
St Aubyn’s today
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Community Partnerships have never been more important, together with your support we can transform this area and others like it.
Proposed site layout with new paving
and introducing raised beds and rain-
water gardens planted with native
species.
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Sustainable Planting to green the space (viewing south to north)
Enhancing the Old Hove Conservation Area (viewing east to west)
(3) Deputation: Proposals for a Hanover and Tarner LTN
Elm Grove is not simply a ‘boundary road’. It is a residential street with a primary school, nurseries, cafes and independent shops. Hundreds of families live here. Sadly, as it is the air quality frequently reaches the UK legal limit at the junction with Lewes Road, causing serious respiratory problems for residents. The pavement is choked with parked cars. Poorly planned junctions, parking and bus lanes result in congestion, and disregard for the 20mph speed limit results in many serious accidents every year. So-called boundary roads on LTNs see mixed results, and at their worst result in a huge increase in traffic.
It is no surprise that plans for the LTN provoked worry and anger here. These considerations were sadly neglected in initial proposals for this pilot. We thank the councillors for listening now. For our safety and welfare, we are asking you to commit to a more ambitious vision for Elm Grove and set three conditions to this pilot:
1. The full additional £1.1m funding from the Carbon Neutral Fund and effective community participation in decisions on ambitious priorities, including enforcement of the 20mph speed limit, safer ways of crossing our street, traffic calming measures and safer pavements for wheelchair users too. Regreening, if done in earnest, could be transformative (see overleaf). We further invite the council to consider a School Street on Elm Grove and a ‘green wall’ between the school and the street.
2. Comparative data to evidence why an LTN is needed in Hanover above anywhere else, and what the projected impact will be in terms of risks and benefits, including acceptable risk thresholds and a clear plan B - including if necessary halting the pilot - agreed with residents on both traffic and air pollution.
3. Confirmation that a Local Traffic Order will be put in place on Elm Grove by September if legislation on pavement parking has not been passed, making parking on Elm Grove residents only, and only in marked bays.
Supported by:
Joanne Gorsuch (lead spokesperson)
Michelle Patel
Fiona MacDougall
Ross MacDougall
Suzanne Neumann
Ben Walker
Dorothy Norkett
Annette Kane
Stuart Hughes
Alice Brooke-Smith
Elm Grove could be an asset to our community, with room for nature, for families and for businesses
(4) Deputation: Proposals for a Hanover and Tarner LTN
We hope a way forward can be found that takes account of people’s understandable concerns and meets all needs.
All areas and people across the city should have good air quality and 'liveable streets.'
We have a climate crisis and we need to grasp the nettle and take urgent action.
We owe it to others around the world who are impacted by the effects of climate change right now, and to our children and future generations to take bold actions.
What we learn from this pilot will help us develop a sustainable transport strategy to addresses similar issues across the city
We are confident that goodwill and ingenuity of planers, council officers and residents will help us get this process ‘right enough’ for everyone.
We look forward to an informed debate.
One of our deputees who lives on Queens Park Road requests that this be heard:
"As a boundary road resident in the Hanover/Tarner proposed LTN, I appreciate the concerns of some local residents. However, there is strong evidence that similar projects elsewhere lead to huge benefits and that worries about increased traffic have little justification in the longer term
However, it’s clear that many people are unaware of this and focus on the negatives rather than the huge improvements that will be delivered. How will the council deliver better communication and engagement to explain to people the benefits of LTNs in general and encourage them to change established habits and adopt climate-safe, people-safe travel?"
Supported by:
Ian Macintyre (Lead Spokesperson)
Sarah Gorton
Paul Norman
Dina Clark
Mark Strong
Katy Rodda