Public Engagement Meeting Agenda Item 5
Subject: Deputations from members of the public.
Date of meeting: 21 July 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 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 listen to Marine Gate residents
Spokesperson – Lynda Hyde
Supported by:
As per supporting document
Councillor Mac Cafferty, Leader of the Council will reply.
Deputation
Residents in Marine Gate are concerned that they are not being listened to by the Council and that the Council is not treating the building as the historic building it is.
Marine Gate, built between 1937 and 1939, is a unique building in Brighton and Hove. It needs to be remembered that this is recognised by the Council as an historic building but the Council are currently not recognising that fact, which is why I am bringing this Deputation today.
Designed in a U-shape to allow all flats to have a seaview and portholes to the bathroom windows provide a subtle nautical feel. Given its position, Marine Gate is recognised as providing a landmark when travelling along the Coast Road.
The disused gaswork site lies between the Marine Gate historic building and the Kemp Town Conservation area. This means that any development plans for the Gasworks site need to be sensitive to not only the Conservation area but also the historic marine gate building.
The current proposals would have a tremendous impact on the West side of this historic building and the residents within and the amenity of homes
The local residents of Marine Gate have their own local community, and feel like they have been ignored by both the developer and the council, who are not adequately consulting with them.
This deputation is to remind the Council that Marine Gate is recognised as an historic building and that this needs to be reflected in the Council’s thinking and actions on the gasworks site.
Residents are calling for.
- More and improved consultation with Marine Gate residents on the future of the gasworks site going forward.
- The council to recognise that the current proposals are totally unsympathetic to Marine Gate as an historic building and are unsuited to the site.
- Any future plans to recognise the historic and recognised historic status of Marine Gate.
Supporting Document:
(2) Deputation concerning New Accessible Foot and Cycle Bridge at Hove Station Quarter
Spokesperson – John Mitchell
Supported by:
Tony Newson Diane Warburton
Diane Smith Mike Gibson
Helmut Lusser Bob Ryder
Angela Devas
Councillor Davis / Heley, Co-Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee will reply.
Deputation
We, the undersigned, support Artists Corner Residents Group in their request to secure design funding for the new accessible pedestrian / cycle footbridge connecting the Sackville Trading Estate redevelopment with Hove Station.
The redevelopment of the Sackville Road Trading Estate site is regenerating one of the largest brownfield sites in Hove.
The site offers the opportunity to provide an accessible footbridge connecting Hove Station with the development and communities in Hove Park, Westbourne, Goldsmid and Central Hove Wards. It will also contribute significantly to the regeneration of the wider area including the shops on George Street and Church Road.
This proposal is key to connecting the various parts of Hove Station Quarter and to help create an integrated new city quarter around Hove Station
The provision of a new accessible pedestrian footbridge is one of the major infrastructure proposals set out in the Hove Station Neighbourhood Plan / Hove Station Area SPD. The SPD identifies a “potential pedestrian / cycle bridge over railway line”. The bridge would provide east-west routes connecting Hove Station with the community to its north-west (Community Hub 4).
The next step to progress the pedestrian bridge project is to secure design funding.
This deputation asks
the Council to support the allocation of £70,000 of Sackville
Road Trading Estate redevelopment S106 funds and/or Hove Gardens 2
Community Infrastructure Levy to secure design funding for the
proposed new bridge.
Supporting information:
Annex:
Extract Hove Station Area Master Plan SPD 18, page 25
Shows potential pedestrian / cycle bridge across railway (yellow arrow) -illustrative alignment
(3) Deputation concerning a request to introduce parking restrictions in Nevill Avenue, Hove
Spokesperson – Jenny Herbert
Supported by:
Cllr Samer Bagaeen Carole Price
Helen Rye-Stafford Sophy Lloyd
Richard Lloyd
Councillor Davis / Heley, Co-Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee will reply.
Deputation
As residents of Nevill Avenue, we are increasingly worried about road safety on this road for ourselves, our visitors and primary and secondary school children from surrounding schools.
There has been a problem for a number of years as people from Legal and General and Lloyds TSB use Nevill Avenue to park during the day as do users of Hove and Aldrington stations. Further, since parking restrictions have been brought in across Hove, notably around Hove Park, our road has seen a significant increase in long-term parking, especially vehicles such as campervans, vans and other large vehicles. This situation will only get worse with the Sackville Estate development, a scheme which lacks sufficient parking for the amount of residences being built.
As these parked vehicles block the line-of-sight, it makes pulling out of driveways dangerous, with many residents with children in their cars. Especially with the average speed being 37 mph on this road, according to police monitoring.
There is also the issue that these large parked vehicles cause blind spots for cyclists.
Having met with local Cllr Samer Bagaeen to discuss this matter, he advised us that the first step was to raise a petition voicing our concerns. There was a positive response and we have gathered 54 signatures to date from residents of Nevill Avenue (Greyhound Stadium end up to Bishop Hannington Church) who are in support of this action.
To be clear, we are advocating for “light touch” restrictions (typically only requiring a residents permit between 11am and 12pm, and 6pm and 7pm or suchlike). We believe that this would achieve a reduction of non-resident parking, with the least amount of cost/inconvenience to residents.
We are hoping that our petition will trigger an official consultation with the residents of Nevill Avenue and other relevant roads in order to join the Hove Park Parking Zone P.
We have been informed that in recent months the council has looked favourably on requests for light touch parking, extending the Hove Park Zone P into Withdean. So we asking for equal treatment in this regard.
(4) Deputation concerning Gender Inequality in Brighton & Hove
Spokesperson – Bella Sankey
Supported by:
Rupert Wilkinson Rachael Baylis
Tristram Burden Bella Sankey
Jacob Darby Allen Paris Palmano
Leslie Alan Pumm
Councillor Osborne / Powell, Joint Chair of the Tourism, Equalities, Communities & Culture Committee will reply.
Deputation
Gender inequality is clearly a major issue internationally, nationally, but also here locally.
The disastrous US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade has garnered a lot of international media attention, but abortion is still criminalised in England, Wales and Scotland under the Abortion Act 1967 unless specific exceptions and tests are met and abortion services are yet to be commissioned in Northern Ireland.
In the justice system, recent data shows that almost 1,800 rapes were reported in Sussex last year, but only 50 cases went to trial and only 22 men were convicted. There is so more to be done to counteract violence against women and girls (VAWG), and to stop women and girls being killed, raped or physically assaulted in their homes and on the streets. That includes rethinking how we educate our children before sending them out into the world.
In health, recent NHS data shows over a third of women in Brighton & Hove missed smear tests and cervical screenings last year, despite cervical cancer killing hundreds of women every year. This can be down to fear, lack of understanding, and NHS pressures. We need greater public health awareness to help people receive the healthcare they need.
In the economy, women and girls are disproportionately impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, the pandemic, the benefits cap and the cuts to universal credit. Extortionate childcare costs unfairly impact women, preventing many who want to work from doing so. Period poverty has escalated and there are charities providing red boxes in schools and food banks, but there is more the council can do to tackle period poverty.
What we need to see is the Council working with organisations across Brighton & Hove to set up a Gender Equality Strategy, to focus on issues such as Health, VAWG and Safety, Economic Disadvantage and Education.
We need investment in public health awareness campaigns to address gender health inequalities.
We need a proper Night Time Safety Charter to support vulnerable people in our bars and clubs and streets at night.
We need funding to tackle period poverty, and more places for those in need to access free sanitary products.
We need gender equality training and education in our schools, so boys are taught about patriarchy, misogyny and VAWG from a young age and the next generation of men can be better allies in the struggle for equality.
We acknowledge the positive work being done by women's organisations across the city, and we recognise and applaud their efforts. We are also proud of Brighton & Hove’s reputation as an inclusive, diverse city. However, the gender inequality issues we face in this city are not just reflective of the national picture, in some areas they are acute and they are worse.
For this reason, we hope that the council will respond to this deputation in good faith, and honestly engage with the specific issues we have raised, and not try to distract by focusing on work being done in parallel areas.