1. Purpose of the report and policy context

1.1 To receive any petitions submitted directly to Democratic Services or any e-Petition submitted via the council’s website.

2. Recommendations

2.1 That the committee responds to the petition either by noting it or where it is considered more appropriate, calls for an officer report on the matter.

3. Context and background information

3.1 To receive the following petition signed by 95 people at the time of publication:

Re-open the Pavilion Gardens Toilets

We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to reopen the Royal Pavilion Gardens Toilets by 1st August 2023. The closure of these toilets is wrong on Equalities' Grounds. Older people, those with some medical conditions & many with restricted mobility are being stopped or discouraged from using the Gardens & the Pavilion Gardens Cafe. The nearest public toilets at the Jubilee Library are not easily reached by a significant number of people – however easy it is for others.

The full e-petition text can be found here

3.2 To receive the following petition signed by 258 people at the time of publication:

On street Hospital parking- Zone H

We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to Leave the parking charges around the hospital as they are. Many hospital staff use the surrounding roads to park so they can attend their long shifts at your local city hospital. The new hospital has has a huge recruitment drive in the past few years, bringing lots of people to the area.

Staff work more than 8 hours per day as any normal set shift, with a huge percentage of the staff regularly working 12.5 hour shifts, this puts the price increase at 198% from what it is already! This is not sustainable.

Please support the hospital staff get to work by signing this petition. With no staff there is no service.

3.3 To receive the following petition signed by 200 people at the time of publication:

Re-instate cash and card parking meters

We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to re-instate all existing cash and card parking meters in Brighton and Hove immediately. Changing payments to an app only system requires drivers to have a smartphone with a connected bank account available at all times. This is discriminatory against certain people, for example: - The elderly and others who may have difficulty managing the technology - People who don’t wish to have a smartphone, or to have to carry one with them at all times, whether that is for personal reasons or reasons of general privacy. - Visitors to the city, who may not want to download a new app for a short trip. - People that are worried about security issues when connecting bank accounts to phones. - People on Pay As You Go phone contracts that may not have credit available on their phones when needing to park.

This is also another step towards a cashless society, something that concerns many, including respected financial journalists, consumer watchdogs, human rights organisations, homeless charities, and some in the banking sector.

Parking fees generate huge amounts of income for Brighton and Hove. Some of this money should be used to keep parking meters in service to provide fair access to parking for all.

3.4 To receive the following petition signed by 805 people at the time of publication:

No to ULEZ or other discriminatory traffic schemes in Brighton and Hove

We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to scrap proposals to charge drivers for driving in Brighton and Hove in legally-owned vehicles which have passed their emissions tests or be discriminated against via LTN traffic obstruction schemes in the course of our daily lives and businesses.

The proposed ULEZ and LTN schemes are both unnecessary - as Brighton and Hove is not a high-emissions industrial city but a breezy seaside city - and discriminatory to those who can least afford it - ie sole traders and single mothers.

Moreover vehicles are already moving over to EV, rendering all such schemes unjustifiable.

Please scrap them.