Brighton & Hove City Council
Tourism, Equalities, Communities & Culture Urgency Sub-Committee
11.00am 28 November 2022
Council Chamber, Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove, BN3 3BQ - HTH/CC
Minutes
Present:
Councillors:Osborne, Bagaeen and Evans
Part One
1 Procedural Matters
(a) Declarations of Substitutes
Councillor Evans was present in substitute for Councillor Grimshaw.
Councillor Bagaeen was present in substitute for Councillor Nemeth.
(b) Declarations of Interests
There were none.
(c) Exclusion of Press and Public
It was agreed that the press and public be excluded from the meeting if necessary.
2 Brighton Marathon 2023
2.1 Ian Baird introduced the report starting on page 5 of the Agenda.
2.2 Councillor Bagaeen was informed that:
· It was discovered in May 2022 that Grounded Events were in financial difficulty, but there wasn’t a full picture of their internal finances.
· 3 weeks prior (to the 28th November) the Council were informed that previous debts from Grounded Events were unlikely to be settled, after which it was decided not to grant the License to GC.
· Alternatives were looked at including London Marathon events as a replacement Licensee.
· Over the past 3 weeks (as of 28th November) briefing notes have been shared with the Chairs of TECC and the Leader of the Council.
· LME have agreed to take care of all debts, whatever the final cost is.
· The money owed to the Council relates to office accommodation.
· The Council’s priorities are always to support local businesses.
· The Council received several assurances that Grounded Events was on the way to recovery.
· The Council can’t prevent a company selling an event online regardless if they have been granted a License.
· Grounded Events is going into administration – the Council are trying to save the event and contributions people have made towards the 2023 event.
2.3 Councillor Evans was informed that:
· The contract needs to be for 5 years to take on the outstanding debts which will be taken from the profits raised from the first event. It needs to be 5 years due to the calculations made to make the investment viable.
· The LMCT (London Marathon Charitable Trust) have committed to taking on all outstanding debt, ensuring that no one is out of pocket.
· The 3+2 contract was suggested by the Council instead of a 5 year contract.
2.4 Councillors Evans and Bagaeen both raised that they were unhappy with the late correspondence with opposition and group spokespeople regarding this matter. Councillor Osborne responded that the matter was raised at Full Council in October but neither Councillor raised any queries, and the reason for calling the urgency sub-committee was only realised the week before (28 November).
2.5 The Committee then moved into closed session at 11.35am.
2.6 Councillors Evans and Bagaeen raised that they were unhappy with how the issue was handled, and they are passing the recommendations because there was no other option.
2.7 The Committee agreed:
1. That Committee agrees to grant a licence to deliver a marathon in the City for a period of 3+2 years commencing in 2023 and running to 2027, subject to the negotiation of the terms of that licence.
2. That Committee notes that the Brighton and Hove area will become eligible to apply for funding from the London Marathon Charitable Trust (LMCT) as part of this agreement.
3. That Committee Authorises the Executive Director Economy, Environment & Culture to negotiate and agree the formal licence agreement.
3 Brighton Marathon 2023 (Part 2)
4 Part Two Proceedings
The meeting concluded at 12.27pm
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Signed
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