Brighton & Hove City Council
Council
4.30pm19 December 2024
Council Chamber, Hove Town Hall
MINUTES
Present: Councillors Asaduzzaman (Chair), Grimshaw (Deputy Chair), O'Quinn, Alexander, Allen, Bagaeen, Baghoth, Burden, Cattell, Czolak, Daniel, Davis, Earthey, Evans, Galvin, Fishleigh, Fowler, Gauge, Goddard, Goldsmith, Guilmant, Helliwell, Hewitt, Hill, Hogan, Loughran, Lyons, Mackey, McGregor, McLeay, McNair, Meadows, Miller, Muten, Nann, Oliveira, Pickett, Robins, Robinson, Rowkins, Sankey, Shanks, Sheard, Simon, Sykes, Taylor, C Theobald, Thomson, West, Wilkinson and Williams
PART ONE
46 Declarations of Interest
46.1 No declarations of interests in matters appearing on the agenda were made.
47 Minutes
47.1 The minutes of the last ordinary meeting held on the 24 October 2024 were approved and signed by the mayor as a correct record of the proceedings.
48 Mayor's Communications.
48.1 The Mayor gave the following communications:
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem (In the Name of Almighty; the Most Merciful).
Good afternoon councillors, colleagues, and residents.
I would like to extend my warmest welcome to you all at our final Full Council meeting of 2024.
Before we move to the formal agenda, I would like to take a moment to share some highlights of the events I have attended over the past couple of months. It has been a vibrant and memorable period, filled with occasions that have reinforced my pride in our city and its people.
At the end of October, I had the honour of leading the commemorations at the India Gate in the Royal Pavilion Gardens. This poignant ceremony reflected the deep gratitude our city holds for the soldiers from the Undivided India who served alongside the British Army during the First and Second World wars.
I was deeply honoured to lead the city’s Remembrance commemorations this year. Across Brighton & Hove, we held solemn services to honour those who have served and sacrificed their lives. These included a service in the Garden of Remembrance, parades at the Brighton and Hove War Memorials, and civic ceremonies at All Saints Church in Hove and the Brighton & Hove Progressive Synagogue.
Brighton & Hove remains unwavering in its commitment to honouring those who have given their lives in service to our nation, as well as those who continue to serve with courage and dedication today.
I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Remembrance Committee, colleagues, veterans, cadets, members of the armed forces, the emergency services, and the wider community for their dedication and efforts in ensuring that this important occasion was marked with the respect and dignity it so richly deserves.
In October I had the honour of presenting awards at the Hove and Adur Cadet Awards Ceremony. I have been deeply impressed by the dedication and commitment of the city’s Cadet Forces. This year, they have played a vital role in supporting numerous Mayoral and civic events. Their discipline, enthusiasm, and strong sense of duty exemplify the absolute best of our community, and I am profoundly grateful for their contributions.
It was a pleasure to welcome participants as they crossed the finish line of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run on Madeira Drive. I also met with fundraisers supporting Off the Fence’s Big Sleep Out at St Peter’s Church, and welcomed the High Commissioner of Rwanda to Brighton to help celebrate our city’s vibrant Rwandan community.
As the year draws to a close, I have been fortunate to attend a variety of events marking Christmas and end of the year festivities. These include the Together Co Winter Warmer Luncheon, the Celebration of Love and Life Service hosted by University Hospitals Sussex, and the Patcham Silver Band Christmas Service. I also joined the opening of the Brighton Winter Fayre Market and attended many carol concerts and nativity plays, including memorable performances at the Rudyard Kipling, and Woodingdean Primary Schools. One standout moment was meeting Santa Claus and turning on the Christmas Tree lights at Palmeira Square!
Stand for Ukraine Brighton & Hove has asked me to send their heartfelt thanks to the city of for its generous donations and unwavering support. This community group, formed in response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, has delivered vital aid and evacuated over 2,000 people, with their first ambulance departing in June and the next vehicle set to journey across Europe over Christmas. Thanks to Brighton and Hove's compassion, they have delivered 50 tonnes of aid to the Kharkiv region, including 800 Christmas presents for orphaned children. They would like to thank everyone for their solidarity and help in making a tangible difference in the lives of those impacted by this devastating conflict.
I want to express my gratitude to everyone who worked tirelessly on these events. In the coming weeks, I hope you all find time to relax, spend quality moments with family and friends, and reflect on your accomplishments of the past year.
Wishing you a peaceful, joyful, and healthy 2025.
It is now my privilege to welcome our very special guests to the Chamber, Chief Fire Officer Dawn Whittaker of East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, who will be retiring this month. We are also delighted to welcome Assistant Chief Fire Officer Mark Matthews, who will assume the role of Chief Fire Officer in January.
Today we recognise Dawn’s remarkable career and her outstanding contributions – which has left an indelible mark far beyond our city and county to the wider fire and rescue community.
As a member of the Fire Authority, I have had the honour of witnessing Dawn’s exceptional dedication, passion, and commitment to East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service. Throughout her career, she has led with purpose, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to serving our community.
It is timely at this point to take this opportunity to mention that work on Preston Circus Fire Station has been completed after the extensive £5 million refurbishment. It's such an important and iconic building serving the city and I look forward to visiting in the New Year.
Members were invited to say a few words. Councillors Evans, Hill and Theobald extended well wishes and thanks.
Thank you. Dawn - as you step into the next chapter of your life—we wish you happiness, health, and success. On behalf of all of us, please accept this certificate as a token of our immense gratitude.
I also want to take this time to congratulate Assistant Chief Fire Officer Mark Matthews on his new role as Chief Fire Officer, which he will take up in January.
Mark has had a distinguished career with East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service which spans over 25 years.
Mark’s dedication and service have been recognised with several prestigious honours. These include the Queen’s Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee Medals and the Fire Service Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. We are fortunate to have someone of his calibre stepping into the role of Chief Fire Officer. Please join me in congratulating Mark and welcoming him as he takes on this important leadership role.
49 Leader and Portfolio Holder's Announcements
49.1 Leader of the Council, Councillor Bella Sankey, gave the following communication:
Thank you very much Mr Mayor. I would like to start by placing on record my heartfelt thanks to all of our Officers and our staff and to all of the Councillors in the Chamber tonight. I'm so proud to lead this organisation. We have an amazing, diverse, passionate workforce and set of Councillors that strive to deliver high quality public services.
This year has been one of change and progress as we've appointed a fantastic new Chief Executive in Jess Gibbons, new Corporate Directors Deb Austin and Genette Laws, and started an important programme of culture change, including moving to a Cabinet system.
This year saw the election, of course, of the Labour Government, turning the tide on 14 years of Tory chaos, austerity and managed decline of our public services. Since we took control of this Authority in May 2023, we've done everything we can to help get our city back on its feet, and while it'd be impossible to list all of our achievements today in the short time available, in the Christmas spirit I would like to highlight 12.
Mr Mayor, on the first day of Christmas, our Labour administration delivered the highest number of homes since 2013.
A home for everyone was a key pledge of our manifesto, and I'm pleased that in our first year leading the Council, we saw the highest number of homes delivered across the city in a year since 2013. That's 1075 new homes built in 2023-24, including new council homes, and that is just the beginning. We want to go so much further. This year we've also passed a new Housing Allocations Policy, creating a fairer framework for council home allocation, and we have, of course, introduced our landlord licencing scheme.
Mr Mayor, on the second day of Christmas, our Labour administration delivered the best EV charging network outside of London and the highest number of homes since
2013.
Earlier this month, we published our Decarbonization Pathway Study which provides our city's road map for a low carbon energy system. We commissioned this study when we came into administration last year and realised that, despite all the rhetoric, the Green administration had no practical plan. The study identifies 110 high-impact projects that we're now working with partners to develop appropriate pipelines and investment vehicles for. The study makes clear that the deployment of solar is key, and so we're pleased to have announced the largest roll-out of solar in this Council's history which includes the process of installing 730 solar panels at various locations across the city, including 292 on the roof of the Prince Regent swimming complex, delivering clean power and reduced costs for particularly energy intensive building. Currently just over 13% of households in our city live in fuel poverty and our approach to decarbonisation will not just help us achieve net zero, it will also help households by reducing energy bills.
The key to net zero, of course, is the decarbonisation of our transport system. That's why we're delighted to have been named as the Local Authority with the best on-street electric vehicle charging coverage in the UK outside of London. This is a big boast for a small city. Despite this recognition, we won't be stopping. We want to go further and thanks to a £2.8 million government grant, we will be installing an additional 500 public electric vehicle charging points every year for the next three years.
Mr Mayor, on the third day of Christmas, our Labour administration delivered a free school meals policy, the best EV charging network outside of London, and the highest number of homes since 2013.
We were delighted this year to become one of the first Councils in the country to introduce a school’s admission priority for children on free school meals, aimed to give some of our city's most disadvantaged pupils a greater choice of secondary school. Described by the Sutton Trust as a bold step forward, it was one of our first steps of many to achieving greater equality in our education system and ensuring that every child in our city has the best possible start in life.
Mr Mayor, on the fourth day of Christmas, our Labour administration delivered a mental health pilot in schools, a free schools meals policy, the best EV network outside of London, and the highest number of homes since 2013.
Our trailblazing mental health pilot for year nines is another illustration of our ambitions for our young people. So far, we've seen 63 young people accessing this offer, with a further 14 young people due to start counselling after the Christmas break.
We know that mental health is a crucial factor in children and young people's overall well-being and their ability to access education and we hope this pilot will lead to a larger roll out so that we can support all of our young people in school attain and achieve and most importantly, of course, attend.
Mr Mayor, on the fifth day of Christmas, our Labour administration delivered a citizen science seawater testing project, a mental health pilot in schools, a free school meals policy, the best EV charging network outside of London, and the highest number of homes since 2013.
Bathing water classifications published by DEFRA this month have seen Hove, Brighton Kemp Town and Saltdean rated excellent and Brighton Central and the newly designated Rottingdean Beach rated good. Being designated as a bathing water site means that the beaches benefit from water quality monitoring by the Environment Agency through the summer months to assess if action is needed to cut pollution levels. In Brighton & Hove though we have gone one step further introducing an innovative year-round volunteer-led seawater testing programme. I'm really pleased that this has been funded by Southern Water after myself and Peter Kyle MP approached them and asked them to do so. Samples are being taken and collated by trained volunteers using specialist equipment, which is being stored at the King Alfred and run by Freedom Leisure on behalf of the Council.
Mr Mayor, on the sixth day of Christmas, our Labour administration delivered an in-house residential home for disabled children, a citizen science seawater testing project, a mental health pilot in schools, a free school meals policy, the best EV charging network outside of London, and the highest number of homes since 2013.
We're developing a new residential home for disabled children and young people in Brighton & Hove. This will be created by converting a vacated wing of Ireland Lodge. The new facility, Rainbow Lodge, is due to open in the spring of next year and it will provide full-time care for up to five children with complex needs.
Creating this new service will allow us to improve our residential care offer within the city, keeping children close to their friends and family which is so important, and enabling them to attend our Ofsted rated outstanding special schools. I'm also proud to say this year that our Children's Services were rated outstanding by Ofsted.
Mr Mayor, on the seventh day of Christmas, our Labour administration delivered spades in the ground on Madeira Terraces, an in-house residential home for disabled children, a citizen science seawater testing project, a mental health pilot in schools, a free school meals policy, the best EV charging network outside of London, and the highest number of homes since 2013.
We're so proud to be the administration that has finally seen the Madeira Terraces restoration get under way, and the last few months have obviously seen real momentum on this project, driven by our administration and in partnership with our local community. From successfully securing £750,000 from Heritage England, to appointing contractors and finally starting work. It's been amazing to see all of this happen following years of inaction.
Mr Mayor on the eighth day of Christmas, our Labour administration achieved Library Service of Sanctuary status, spades on the ground on Madeira Terraces, an in-house residential home for disabled children, a citizen science seawater testing project, a mental health pilot in schools, a free school meals policy, the best EV charging network outside of London, and the highest number of homes since 2013.
Brighton & Hove is proudly a City of Sanctuary and we are committed to doing everything we can to foster a welcoming environment and direct support for asylum seekers and refugees. This year our amazing libraries have been specifically recognised as places of inclusion and welcome. Our city's unwavering commitment to being a welcoming city was most clearly demonstrated over the summer when riots swept through the country and our response in Brighton & Hove was just as it should be. A peaceful protest to counter the threat posed by the far-right was Brighton & Hove at its best. It sent a message of solidarity with all of our communities and made clear that racist violence will never be welcome on our streets.
Mr Mayor, on the nineth day of Christmas, our Labour administration delivered new play equipment in our city parks, Library Service of Sanctuary status, spades in the ground on Madeira Terraces, an in-house residential home for disabled children, a citizen science seawater testing project, a mental health pilot in schools, a free school meals policy, the best EV charging network outside of London, and the highest number of homes since 2013.
Children of all ages and abilities should have access to play areas and equipment for enjoyment, as well as to support childhood development and socialisation. Our administration is proud of our Playground Improvement Programme working with communities, we've improved accessibility crucially, and created inclusive play and learning opportunities for our children and young people.
Mr Mayor, on the tenth day of Christmas, our Labour administration delivered improved air quality, new play equipment, Library Service of Sanctuary status, spades in the ground on Madeira Terraces, an in-house residential home for disabled children, a citizen science seawater testing project, a mental health pilot in schools, a free school meals policy, the best EV charging network outside of London, and the highest number of homes since 2013.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, our Labour Administration delivered accessible public toilets, improved air quality, new play equipment, Library Service of Sanctuary status, spades in the ground on Madeira Terraces, an in-house residential home for disabled children, a citizen science seawater testing project, a mental health pilot in schools, a free school meals policy, the best EV charging network outside of London, and the highest number of homes since 2013.
This year, the Council's toilet reopening and refurbishment programme has seen many toilets reopened and refurbished, as well as changing places toilets.
And Mr Mayor, finally, on the 12th day of Christmas, our Labour administration delivered the Brighton & Hove Winter Fuel Payment, which I know we will come on to discuss later on this evening.
On that note, I'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
50 To receive petitions and e-petitions.
50.1 The Mayor stated that he had been notified of three ordinary petitions to be presented today. He reminded the Council that these were petitions with less than 1,250 signatures and they are presented and responded to without debate. The mayor advised that petitioners had up to three minutes to outline the petition and to confirm the number of signatories and that the petition would then be responded to by the relevant Cabinet Member.
50.2 Carole Ward presented a petition titled ‘South Portslade Parking Permits’ which had received 30 signatures at the time the agenda was published.
50.3 The mayor thanked the lead petitioner and invited Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking and Public Realm to respond.
50.4 Councillor Muten responded:
Thank you Carole for your petition. In short, the answer to your question is yes, we will, but thank you for bringing this petition today for residents of South Portslade. The area was included in a wider South Portslade parking scheme consultation, which took place between 2019 and 2020.
Residents in this area then voted against a parking scheme, hence why these roads are not included. However, having met with yourself and many residents and ward Councillor Robins in September where we walked around Southdown Avenue, Beaconsfield Road, Victoria Park and surrounding streets and discussed in some detail the concerns as raised in your petition, and as you have so kindly explained to Council today, I do appreciate the difficulties residents there are facing daily and would like to be reconsulted to join the existing Zone in this area.
Therefore, we have added your area to our Parking Scheme Priority timetable. Our Parking Scheme Priority timetable aligns with our Parking Review actions and strategy we agreed earlier in the year. This enables us to take a fresh approach to the future of parking in our city to ensure parking is fairer and less complex for our residents, visitors and businesses and parking services truly serve communities, such as yourselves, across our city.
Our plan within this priority timetable is to first focus on consultations within the Hollingdean and Nevill areas in this upcoming year where there is particularly significant high demand for parking causing issues to residents. The timetable will be reviewed once these consultations have taken place to ensure the South Portslade area is prioritised to follow.
50.5 The lead petitioner for the petition titled ‘Newtown Road Traffic Measures’ which had received 46 signatures at the time the agenda was published was not present at the meeting.
50.6 The Mayor noted that a written response would be sent to the petitioner.
50.7 Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking and Public Realm provided the following response:
Thank you for your petition. It has been a pleasure meeting with you and residents of Newtown Road, Fonthill Road, and nearby streets regarding this hazardous junction.
The Council's Safer, Better Streets programme is committed to improving road safety and quality of life for all residents. This junction was identified as one of the city's more hazardous. As then Chair of the Transport and Sustainability Committee, I approved funds last year to make this junction safer, with plans for a raised table junction. I insisted that residents and local stakeholders be consulted before proceeding.
On 19th June, I stood at this junction with Newtown Road residents and observed many HGVs and vans cutting across. I then attended the Hove Station Neighbourhood Forum Management meeting on 26th June where there was broad agreement with the raised table design, however, concerns were again raised about rat runs through the junction.
During the Newtown Road Street Party on 13th July, many residents expressed concerns to me about this junction and the number and speed of vehicles. On 16th July, I arranged for officers to visit the site with Newtown Road Action Group representatives, again witnessing the hazardous conditions firsthand. It was very apparent that something had to be done.
After carefully considering your request to restrict vehicular access at the Fonthill/Newtown Road junction, Transport team officers assessed possible changesto road infrastructure, aiming to limit speeds and traffic volume. They proposed an amended design to close one arm of the junction to vehicle traffic.
We consulted local residents and stakeholders on this amended design from 21st October to 6th December. During this period, I met with Newtown Road Action Group representatives on 5th November and Hove Station Neighbourhood Forum members on 20th November to discuss the design.
The Council received over 200 responses, with overwhelming support for the design, including from the Trustees of the Hove Station Neighbourhood Forum, who fully supported the Council's proposal for the Fonthill/Newtown Road junction - including closing the westbound Newtown Road arm.
In response to your request, we have designed improvements that limit through traffic to main roads like the Drive and Old Shoreham Road, reduce speed, and are expected to reduce rat running on Newtown Road and Fonthill Road including those cutting under the Fonthill Road tunnel and turning left onto Newtown Road. The new design maintains access and improves safety for pedestrians and cyclists, with more space for turning in response to consultation comments and new street trees and cycle parking.
Beyond these junction improvements, a citywide consultation on other aspects of traffic flow and road safety will launch early next year as part of the Local Transport Plan 5 (LTP5). I have discussed with the Hove Station Neighbourhood Forum Management Committee how this will link with their neighbourhood transport plan. I encourage residents to provide feedback on traffic in this area as part of the upcoming consultation.
50.8 The lead petitioner for the petition titled ‘Flawed and rushed consultation on school boundaries for Brighton & Hove’ which had received 350 signatures at the time the agenda was published was not present at the meeting.
50.9 The Mayor advised that a written response will be sent.
50.10 Councillor Taylor, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Finance & City Regeneration provided the following response:
Thank you for this petition and for raising your concerns with us. I believe you are referring to the engagement exercise which took place in October. This was conducted to inform proposals that were put to Council on the 5th December. A public consultation has now started and runs until the end of January 2024.
Further data has been provided for this process and the council are exploring what additional information may be able to be shared with the public before the consultation closes.
Questions are specifically formatted within the consultation survey to enable residents to provide a wide range of responses – including ‘Not sure’, ‘Don’t want to answer’ or ‘Prefer not to say’. Each question comes with a text box where residents can provide any further views on the topic.
I recognise the importance of this matter and the very real questions and concerns this can raise with families and I recommend responding to the consultation that is now live, to ensure that your views are captured.
Thank you for your time today.
50.11 Resolved –
1) That the petition concerning South Portslade Parking Permits be noted
51 Written questions from members of the public.
51.1 The Mayor reported that 7 written questions had been received from members of the public and invited them to come forward and address the council.
1. Christopher Hawtree asked a question:
In these times when health and diet are paramount, would Councillor Sankey please tell us how a proposed rebuilt sports facility which should be the mainspring of the King Alfred will accommodate all of the the great-value, very friendly gym now known as FitLab which, for six decades, has occupied four floors with 250 well-spaced items of “kit”, many of these more substantial than available elsewhere?
Councillor Robins, Cabinet Member for Sports and Recreation replied:
It’s a pleasure to see you again. Gym and fitness classes remain one of the most popular activities across our leisure centres in the city and are an important provision for people to maintain and improve physical and mental health. The new King Alfred Leisure Centre will have its own extensive gym area and will therefore not continue to accommodate Fit Lab in the new centre, which currently leases and occupies a space within the current building to provide its own commercial gym offer.
Fit Lab are aware of and have been consulted with about the council’s plans for the new facility. The gym within the new leisure centre will be a large, high-quality facility with state-of-the-art equipment and will provide more space. For example, the new facility will be better able to accommodate a free weights area. There will also be new studio spaces to provide an enhanced programme of classes and other fitness-related activities. Thank you very much.
Christopher Hawtree asked a supplementary question:
It sounds, from what Councillor Robins is saying, there won’t be room for both the facilities provided, or the three facilities provided, at the Fit Lab, the gym next to the one run by Freedom Leisure and also don’t forget the boxing facility run by another company on Kings Esplanade as part of the King Alfred. But can I say, I know this is a weighty matter, but how does Councillor Robins regard the new hope provided this week for the site with the advent of Angela Rayner’s devolution priority programme which, over the next two years is set to come into being, creating essentially another version of regional authorities, and as Minister Jim McMahon has said, this will provide a stronger set of levers to drive growth in communities.
Would it not be better to wait a little bit longer for the regional authority to be set up here, as Angela Rayner has set out, rather than rush to something yet again where we’ve seen problems with the site in the past. Would it not be better to wait for this authority to become part of a larger one?
Councillor Robins replied:
I don’t think anyone can accuse us of rushing over the King Alfred site. It’s been over 30 years to my knowledge. What we’re aiming to provide is a better, bigger facility. I think that’s what people must understand. We’re not doing anything detrimental. We’re trying to provide a 21st Century state-of-the-art leisure centre complex, and that’s all we’re doing. I don’t know what devolution will bring or what it won’t bring, but what I don’t want to see is us to hold off again with the work that we need to do at the King Alfred, and eventually the current King Alfred will have to close perhaps and then we won’t be left with anything. So, again, thanks very much for your question and thanks very much for the nearly supplementary question and we hope to see you again soon. Thank you.
2. Adrian Hill asked a question:
Local councils are responsible for air quality management. Our city failed to achieve the 2010 air quality limits in the quickest time possible; a legal requirement. DEFRA’s data shows an estimated 3,000 residents have had their lives cut short after exposure to illegal levels since 2010. Around ⅓ of asthma cases in our city are caused by air pollution. The most effective improvements have been delayed or blocked by the council since 2010. A family were recently awarded compensation in London for similar pollution levels to us. How much compensation is appropriate for those affected by air pollution in our city?
Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking and Public Realm replied:
Thank you, Adrian, for bringing this very important matter to this council. I just want to emphasise that we do take this very seriously, as I know you do, and respect you for the work you do in campaigning for this and recognising the priority you highlight for those people with respiratory ailments in particular, but for general health as well.
You’ve referred to the sad case of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, and what I understand to be an undisclosed compensation settlement from the government in response to that legal case regarding her untimely death due to her exposure to air pollution in London.
The protection of public health is paramount to this administration, and we are fully committed to meeting the Council’s statutory duty to monitor and improve air quality levels in the city to the benefit of all its residents. This is being achieved through the publication of the council’s annual monitoring reports and its Air Quality Action Plan. All these comprehensive documents are available on the council’s website which, from our previous discussions, I know you have read.
They show that pollution levels across the city have been reducing over time and, to reassure you and others, I am pleased to be able to highlight that the latest report on our monitoring data indicates that 2023 was the first year that legal limits were met across the city (including roadside hotspots). This has been achieved by the council working together with its national, regional and local partners to improve air quality.
Air quality does fluctuate seasonally and diurnally, and we know there is still much more to do to reduce levels further. A one-size-fits-all approach is not the best for our city. Rather, targeted measures in each Air Quality Management Area within wider measures is more likely to deliver. Our Council Plan has commitments to deliver an accessible, clean and sustainable environment that we can all be proud of, and to ensure we live in a healthy city. Ambitious targets above the legal requirements have been set in the 2022 Air Quality Action Plan based on World Health Organisation guidelines and as an administration, we are committed to, and are working towards, these.
As a data-led administration, we have installed some 50 sensors that measure nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter, alongside temperature, pressure and humidity. This autumn we’ve launched public access to real-time air-quality readings, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We will continue this positive air quality improvement trend by advancing our targeted action and increasing awareness of how pollution affects our health and what we can all do to reduce it.
As I said, there is still much to do, but we are acting and delivering on our key points since 2022, on our air quality action plan, and we’re delivering within it.
Adrian Hill asked a supplementary question:
I am worried about a potential compensation scheme that might have to be paid out, but really it is action now that I want more than anything. I think I’m a bit surprised when you say ‘pleased’. It’s still four times World Health Organisation guideline levels and I don’t think we can be pleased or proud of that at all and I’d like to remind you of your manifesto pledge as well and you did promise to bring an end to polluting diesel vehicles. As far as I understand it, there’s been no action at all on cars, taxis, mini-buses, vans, lorries.
My question is: what is stopping you announcing a clean air zone and a full smoke control area?
Councillor Muten replied:
Thank you, Adrian, for your following question. On smoke control, we’re doing a very targeted and city-wide approach to raising awareness on smoke. It’s very much a strong campaign which has been launched this month to make people aware of the impacts that smoke has, chimney smoke in particular. This is one action which we believe will have impacts not just within our existing smoke control areas, but potentially citywide well beyond those. So I think that’s an effective thing. We’re installing EV charging which Councillor Sankey as Leader summarised in her report at the beginning of this meeting.
We’re actually leading the way as a Local Authority on public EV charging points in the city, promoting electric vehicles. We’re working with our bus operators to drive them to a place where all buses are ULEZ compliant, Euro 6 in particular. There is still some work to do there but they have shown their commitment to making that change. We’re working with them to bring in, in due course, EV buses. And we’re working within our parking tariffs, our residents parking tariffs, to bring about variable costs for parking permits based on vehicle emissions.
There are a number of measures, many of which are targeted and, as I indicated in my response, a citywide approach is not necessarily the best way to target some of the air quality action plan areas. For instance the AQMA in Portslade is very much focused on HGVs connecting to the port and that will be much more important to target in relation to how the port works, perhaps with cleaner vehicles to solve that particular challenge there. So we do have to look at each AQMA and target the change that we’re looking to do.
I’m more than happy to set that out and meet with you again if you wish to work through some of this detail. I assure you we’re working across the city with our partners to bring about the change you are calling for.
3. Robert Brown asked a question:
With the Labour administration looking at parking charges across the city, will the Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking and Public Realm agree that our key workers, especially those who work in our hospitals and who are often low paid, deserve additional support when it comes to parking charges when going to work their 13hr shifts.
What support, if any, will this administration give to support those NHS workers who cannot rely on public transport to get to work and are often finding that they need to pay in excess of £50 a week for parking?
Will this administration agree to look at what options are available and can be implemented, including parking permit options, for these essential workers?
Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking and Public Realm replied:
Thank you, Robert, for your question. I believe the short answer is yes and that’s because we are already on it. But let me put it in some context.
Last summer, as a Labour administration, we swiftly acted to halt the Green-led administration's plan to hike on-street parking charges, including a proposal to quadruple fares around the hospital. Their plans unfairly targeted our NHS key workers, hitting those least able to pay.
May I spell this out: Last year the Greens planned to increase parking around the Royal Sussex Hospital and Queens Park by up to 300 per cent. That is £1.40 to £5.60 an hour. Labour stopped that. From £2.80 to £9.30 for two hours. Labour stopped that. From £5.50 to £15.70 for four hours. Labour stopped that. £7.60 to £22.70 for 11 hours. Labour acted.
A horrid regressive Green Party plan targeting our key workers that had to be stopped. Labour said no! Enough is enough. We took action. We commissioned a citywide review of parking with the aim of making parking fairer, simpler and to serve the city. Our parking review produced over 30 top recommendations to improve parking services for residents, businesses, and visitors, including NHS staff. These recommendations, approved by Cabinet in September, will guide our service's business plan for the next three years.
As part of this plan, we are reviewing tariffs for both off-street and on-street parking. We're making many council car parks more affordable, optimising space, and supporting our local economy. We currently issue hundreds of concessionary parking permits to family members & friends who are carers, professional carers and doctors, allowing them to park close to those they care for and support.
We are committed to supporting NHS services and ensuring our transport infrastructure facilitates commuting. On-street parking restrictions in these areas is generally from 9am to 8pm. Out of hours shifts will only require parking fees for these hours.
While we have good public transport, we recognise there is more to do for our key workers, especially those working in hospitals who often work long shifts on low pay. This is why my Cabinet colleague Councillor Burden, and the Chair of our Health and Wellbeing Board, Councillor De Oliveria, are always liaising with both myself and Councillor Williams to get a better deal for key workers on both parking and housing.
We work as very close partners with the NHS, and Labour are always working hard to make this partnership deliver the best for our residents. As a progressive Labour administration, we are committed for the Council’s Transport Team to work with NHS staff representatives and others to explore options and implement parking solutions, including parking permits for essential workers. We are on the side of low paid key workers.
Robert Brown asked a supplementary question:
I do welcome the fact that you will be talking with the NHS and other partners. Will you also make a guarantee and commitment to also include the additional health and social care workers, especially those across the hospital’s footprint and especially in the ward were I live, in the Kemptown Ward, where we often find people looking at their clock while they’re supposed to be looking after their carers, and indeed parking on the pavements keeping an eye out for the parking wardens.
Councillor Muten replied:
Yes I’m more than happy to take that forward and work alongside Cabinet colleague Councillor Burden and Councillor De Oliveira to see how that best works with our partners, and I will talk to transport officers to see how that can be best done. We do issue permits for many of those workers and we’ve got to see if we have got those numbers right, have we got things that work. I certainly discourage pavement parking, I’ll throw in that opportunity to respond to that point. We’ve got to find something that works better and that’s what the parking review is there to do, to help serve this city better that we have done before. Thank you.
4. Josie Cohen asked a question:
As a Jew and Israeli citizen, I find the memorial in Palmeira Square to Israelis killed and taken hostage on 7th October - and Israeli soldiers killed fighting in Gaza since then - deeply distressing. It is increasingly affecting my mental health. The memorial dominates the square with ribbons on the trees. It’s been there for 14 months and, for all that time regardless of how you feel about Israel/Palestine, it’s been impossible to enjoy the square, or even walk past it, without being reminded of this terrible conflict. Palmeira Square is a public space belonging to all residents. All other memorials – like the one to Sarah Everard – are eventually removed after a respectful amount of time’s passed. Is the Council’s plan to make this memorial permanent? If not, what’s your timeline for working with the local Jewish community to move it to a private community space or remove it?
Councillor Alexander, Cabinet Member for Culture, Heritage and Tourism replied on behalf on Councillor Pumm, Cabinet Member for Communities, Equalities and Human Rights:
The ongoing situation in Israel and Gaza saddens not only Brighton & Hove, but the world. Many of the city's residents have loved ones in the region and are involved in one way or another. The grief that began on 7 October 2023 is still the same grief.
I hear and regret the impact on you, Josie, and I hope that the answer provides you with the needed reassurance.
The Council are in discussions with the Sussex Jewish Representative Council who represent Jewish communities in the city on this matter. Both the City Council and the Jewish Representative Council agree about the temporary nature of this memorial, and we are working towards a solution and timeline.
This is a live situation. People are still missing and separated from their families, and some in the Jewish communities find daily prayers at the site reassuring. Our aim is to manage the sensitivities of the community and the different impacts raised by this question, and to work towards alternative ways of commemorating those killed in the 7 October attack in 2023.
We are about to approach the second Hanukkah since October 7 and I understand that this festive season will not be any easier than the last one, so I hope colleagues join me in wishing the Jewish communities a happy Hanukkah.
Josie Cohen asked a supplementary question:
Obviously as a Jew and Israeli, I'm deeply distressed and I think part of the issue is every time you pop out to get a pint of milk or walk your dog, it's really in your face and it just feels like a misuse of, sort of, public space which should be for everybody.
And I think really the Council has two options so, you know, it's been there for 14 months, make it permanent and go through the proper process, due process, of full public consultation or, as you say, it's really great to hear it's temporary. So I suppose my question back to you is when can local residents of Hove expect a timeline so that we can know, at least tell us when the Council will provide a timeline for it to be moved?
Councillor Alexander replied:
This actually falls under Councillor Pumm’s, who can't be here today's, remit rather than mine. So I will pass the question on to him and ask him to give you an answer on that. But I do know that there has been a lot of conversation so far. So just off the top of my head, I would say that this would be due to happen in the next couple of months.
5. Dominic Nee asked a question:
Air pollution has been above legal limits in Brighton and Hove for years. It is estimated to kill more people than smoking globally and will be having extremely harmful effects on our population. What are you doing to raise awareness about this issue, including measures people can take to reduce exposure?
Councillor Rowkins, Cabinet Member for Net Zero and Environmental Services replied:
Thanks for coming here today, welcome, and it’s right to raise this issue. It’s good to see this coming up the agenda, and I think that’s illustrated by you being the second person in the last ten minutes or something who’s brought the issue of air quality to us.
You may have seen that only in the last week we launched a new campaign aimed at raising awareness focused on the harm caused by burning wood and other solid fuels, and obviously there’s been a lot of coverage of that nationally as well because of the time of year we’re in. Burning solid fuels, and domestic burning in particular, is now the largest source of particulate pollution which I’m sure you know.
We’ve also begun an enforcement pilot in our 5 Smoke Control Areas which, I have to say, although they’ve been in place since the late 60s, early 70s, they have been largely symbolic up until now.
Crucially, and Councillor Muten referenced this earlier, in October this year, we launched the largest real-time air quality monitoring network in the country. This includes more than 50 individual sensors that measure a range of pollutants as well as other atmospheric data, providing all of that data live on a publicly available website. This means visitors to that website can see live data in map format, so they get a really quick indication of the situation where they are, and it also enables them to drill down into more of an analysis from any given site, any one of those 50 or more, over a range of both different types of pollutants and timeframes.
The benefits of that are twofold; from our perspective it’s going to give us a far more detailed evidence base to inform our future actions, and secondly, I think this speaks more to your point, the aim is that it will really help residents understand the risks in their areas, make informed decisions, but similarly just to raise the level of awareness. I think the thing with the solid fuels is that the level of awareness of people burning in their homes in terms of the harm it’s doing to public health is really very low. So our focus is really to try and change that in as short a timeframe as possible.
Multiple council departments are collaborating on this issue, and I think it was the first item on the agenda of the first Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting earlier in the year. So that illustrates that we are taking it very seriously. Councillor Muten, from the transport perspective, has also been working on a number of measures focused on traffic, such as red routes to ease congestion and keep traffic flowing and, of course, significant acceleration of our EV charging network. We will certainly continue to look at further measures, informed in no small part by the larger data and evidence base that we’re now gathering.
Dominic Nee asked a supplementary question:
Thank you for the work you've been doing, really good all the stuff you’re doing about the wood burners, but what specifically will you be doing to raise awareness about that and how will you be measuring the effect that that's had on public awareness?
Councillor Rowkins replied:
It's a great question and what we're aiming to do is simple, hard-hitting messages. We've got a series of four or five not quite infographics, but graphic sort of tiles, for social media. They’re going into various print media as well. We’re going to be running those on a sort of ongoing basis. We’ve got them at bus stops, because we’ve got capacity to advertise or put council messaging in some of the bus stops. We’re focusing some of that in some of the smoke control areas but it’s not limited to those areas.
In terms of how we measure the output of it, I mean that’s potentially hard to measure in the short term, but certainly, as part of this kind of changing approach to solid fuels, there’s going to be a real concerted analysis of this information that we’ve gathered over the course of the winter to inform what we may well do next winter, which we may go even further, who knows. But we really want to sort of establish that proper data set
Measuring the impact of the messaging is quite hard to quantify, because even if there is a change in smooth and solid fuels, that could be down to a range of other areas but it is something that we’re developing a sort of broad set of tools to tackle and it’s certainly something that I want to see us improve.
6. As the questioner was not present at the meeting, the mayor proceeded to the next question.
7. Nigel Furness asked a question:
The adoption of Cabinet has removed the possibility of residents and opposition members to exercise committee scrutiny. Does this conform, Councillor Sankey, with the Gunning Principles, the first of which states: “Proposals must be at a formative stage; the decision-makers should not have already made up their minds”?
Councillor Sankey, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Chair replied:
Thank you, Nigel, and good to see you again. Yes, our arrangements now that we have moved to a Cabinet system certainly conform with all public law and public policy guidelines. Actually, I've been really heartened by the emerging role of both of our Scrutiny committees, both People and Place, who have been meeting regularly and deciding themselves which issues they want to look into that the executive may be considering. They have also been then meeting reactively, when they know that there is a decision coming up, when cabinet is due to meet on something, for example Patcham Court Farm, King Alfred and performing that scrutiny function really, really effectively. And obviously they can meet at all stages, so before Cabinet has even got a thought or an idea about something. I think there’s currently an investigation going on into the regulation of short term lets, something that we've not yet developed any policy on. So they're involving themselves and they're taking the reins of policy development.
Similarly, we recently had a joint scrutiny session preparing for the budget planning process for the year ahead, which myself and Councillor Taylor attended, and at that moment we were talking really in terms of principles and broad directions of travel, so certainly well before decisions have been made.
So the answer, the short answer to your question is yes.
Nigel Furness asked a supplementary question:
Now, Councillor Sankey, given your huge appetite for democracy and people-power in particular, and coupling this with the announcement earlier this week by your government that as a result of your expression of interest now in gobbling down, shall we say, the whole of Sussex, that the elections, both county and local, are likely to be scrapped this year, very democratic I’m sure you’d agree. Would you, Councillor Sankey I have to ask, is this in accordance with the Gunning Principles and does your appetite extend sufficiently to allowing the people of East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton & Hove to have a democracy, a democracy sorry, what a mistake, a referendum by enshrining in our constitution, a direct democracy, as advocated by people in other countries far larger than us and also by Reform UK?
Councillor Sankey replied:
Thank you Nigel, for your supplementary question. I'm proud to be an elected representative in the oldest unbroken democracy on Earth. I don't think anyone can teach us anything about democracy, and I really welcome the White Paper because I think it puts, at its heart, bringing decision making closer to communities and trying to decentralise what has become a very over centralised system in the UK over many decades.
So I think that this will be a an opportunity and a moment for democratic renewal, actually, as we take forward conversations about what that White Paper means for us here in Brighton & Hove and more widely in our county of Sussex.
52 Deputations from members of the public
52.1 The Mayor reported that two deputations had been received from members of the public and invited Diane Montgomery as the spokesperson for the first deputation to come forward and address the council. The deputation concerned Affordable Housing in Brighton & Hove.
52.2 The Mayor invited Councillor Williams, Cabinet Member for Housing & New Homes replied: Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking and Public Realm to reply.
52.3 Councillor Williams replied:
I can assure you that while Council officers are currently progressing, as we’ve heard, with the development of a new leisure centre on the King Alfred site, we are also exploring options for maximising affordable housing on that site. We’re a long way away from deciding exactly what’s going to happen on the site but that’s certainly on the table and we are consulting with Homes England on that very point. But thank you for raising again and reminding us of the crippling housing crisis that we are facing and have been facing.
We are deeply
committed to tackling that housing crisis and, as we have heard,
the highest number of homes since 2013 have been built in this city
this year.
We delivered a significant number of social and affordable homes in
our city and we have plans to deliver many more and we're going
everywhere, every corner of our city. From Portslade, Rottingdean,
Hollingbury, Hove, to building over car parks in Kemptown. We're
building up in Queens Park. We're doing a brand-new housing estate
at social rent in Moulsecoomb, and with the help of this new
government, there is more to come I promise you.
Overall, with New Homes for Neighbours and Homes for Brighton &
Hove partnerships, we have 1109 affordable homes at various stages
right at this moment, so watch this space. You will be seeing lots
and lots of genuinely affordable homes for the residents who
deserve it in our city. Thank you, Mr Mayor.
52.4 The Mayor advised that in view of the similar subject matter of Deputation 2 concerning Smartphones for Children, the deputation and the Petition for Debate on the related subject at Item 55 would be considered together.
52.5 Gregor Ross presented a deputation concerning Smartphones for Children.
52.6 Councillor Daniel, Cabinet Member for Children, Families, Youth Services & for Ending Violence Against Women & Girls replied:
Thank you for your petition and deputation today. I think your campaign has been really timely and inspiring as the wider media and public start to consider the questions on what boundaries should be put around teens and digital tools. I was keen that you came to Full Council so that all our parties could have their say and engage with this campaign.
I agree with Peter Kyle MP that the really critical issue is that technology companies take responsibility for, as well as profit from, the tools that they make available. Research with young people highlights that there is positive sides to mobile phones and social medias in terms of friendship connection, ways to cope and manage moods along with the negatives you have outlined.
We already work with schools on lessons to support better education around both social media and mobile phones and I will organise a round table with school leaders and SENCOs, parents and young people in 2025 and Peter Kyle will join that if he is available.
I am conscious that whatever position we land on we have to bear in mind more disadvantaged families and the fact that too many pupils only can do access on their mobile phones, so we can’t move forward in a way that compounds that disadvantage.
Additionally, I’d want to know that there would be exemptions for carers and disabled children, and I want to support school leaders who currently do enable those children access to their phones whilst by and large banning phones from the school day.
I will also be attending your event on the 23rd January and I’m really looking forward to learning more. Thanks so much for this, I really appreciate it.
52.7 Resolved –
1) That the Deputation concerning Affordable Housing in Brighton & Hove be noted.
2) That the Deputation concerning Smartphones for Children be noted.
53 Halt the current consultation into school admission boundaries
53.1 The Mayor stated that the Council’s Petition Scheme provide that where a petition secures 1,250 or more signatures it can be debated at a meeting of the Full Council. There were three petitions which had reached that threshold. The Mayor invited Greg Fittock to join the meeting and present the first petition.
53.2 Greg Fittock presented a petition for debate titled ‘Halt the Current Consultation into School Admission Boundaries’ which had received 1969 signatures at the time the agenda was published.
53.3 The Mayor invited Councillor McGregor, Chair of Licensing Committee and Portfolio Lead for Communications to reply:
53.4 Councillor McGregor replied:
Firstly, Greg, I want to thank you for putting the petition in and for coming to speak today. One thing that we wanted to mention was that this is an opportunity for us to have these conversations and I think that to stop this consultation would devolve people away from actually having the chance to put their opinions across. And I do understand that the situation may not be perfect but this whole consultation, and the pre-consultation process, allows us to at least have that discussion. The engagement sessions with Councillor Taylor and the Education Department are allowing us to at least have that open and robust discussion.
I think that the situation that we're currently in with the catchment areas is one that we've not addressed for a long time and right now we really need to have that conversation to get the best for all of our children and actually get to a point where we are addressing the issues of inequality in our city. So while I do understand, and the administration understands your concerns, I think now would be the wrong time to stop the consultation to have a conversation, because I think this is the point for us to have everybody's opinion be met and actually listen to people throughout the consultation process and I’ve said say consultation many, many times. But thank you very much.
53.5 Councillor Pickett moved an amendment on behalf of the Green Group which was formally seconded by Councillor McLeay.
53.6 Councillors Theobald and Fishleigh spoke on the matter.
53.7 The Mayor moved to put the amendment to the vote.
53.9 The Mayor confirmed that the amendment had been lost and put the recommendation to note the petition as listed in the original report to the vote.
53.10 Resolved -
1) That the petition is noted.
54 Save the Winter Fuel Payment
54.1 The Mayor invited Dave Hill and Anne Pissaridou to join the meeting and present the petition for debate titled ‘Save the Winter Fuel Payment’ which had received 1266 signatures at the time the agenda was published.
54.2 The Mayor invited Councillor Alexander, Cabinet Member for Culture, Heritage and Tourism to reply.
54.3 Councillor Alexander replied:
So I’m responding to your petition as Chair of our new Poverty Reduction Steering Group. I do want to thank you for your petition calling for the Council to lobby the Government to reverse the decision to remove the Winter Fuel Payment from those not in receipt of Pension Credits. However, we do understand the severe challenges that the government has with the national finances and we, like yourself, were concerned that some pensioners in our city may be negatively impacted by the change to the payment now being means tested, rather being available to every pensioner, whether they needed it to help pay for their fuel bills or not.
So, therefore, we took fast action and we set aside some of our Fairness Fund, including £150,000 from the Household Support Fund, to fund a campaign to encourage more people to take up Pension Credits and so access winter fuel support from the government directly, and also to make our new Brighton & Hove Fuel Payments to pensioners who just miss out on Pension Credits but are still struggling. Our campaign also includes Welfare Officers contacting residents directly who they believe are entitled to Pension Credits but for whatever reason may not be claiming them. Our Administration and our Officers are working hard to ensure that the Government’s relevant funding, as in the Household Support Funding, is targeted to help our residents that are most in need in terms of both financial support and support in ensuring that crisis is prevented.
Our country’s finances needed to be addressed in a strategic manner and thus a decision was made by our government that it was no longer possible to give Winter Fuel Payments to every pensioner whether they need it or not. The upside to this change has meant that many more very low incomed pensioners who had never claimed the Pension Credits they are eligible for, are now claiming them, so we can begin to see that financial support is going in the direction where it is most needed. As a Council we quickly adapted to the government’s policy change and are supporting residents of pension age who have been impacted by this change.
54.4 Councillors Pickett, McNair and Earthey spoke on the matter.
54.5 Councillor Taylor responded to the debate.
54.6 The Mayor put the recommendations to the vote.
54.7 Resolved -
(1) That the petition is noted.
55 Smartphone Free Schools for Brighton & Hove
55.1 The Mayor invited Natalie Dean to join the meeting and present the petition for debate titled ‘Smartphone Free Schools for Brighton & Hove’ which had received 1450 signatures at the time the agenda was published. Due to the similar subject matter of a Deputation these were taken together.
55.2 The Mayor invited Councillor Daniel, Cabinet Member for Children, Families, Youth Services & for Ending Violence Against Women & Girls to reply:
55.3 Councillor Daniel replied:
Thank you for your petition and deputation today. I think your campaign has been really timely and inspiring as the wider media and public start to consider the questions on what boundaries should be put around teens and digital tools. I was keen that you came to Full Council so that all our parties could have their say and engage with this campaign.
I agree with Peter Kyle MP that the really critical issue is that technology companies take responsibility for, as well as profit from, the tools that they make available. Research with young people highlights that there is positive sides to mobile phones and social medias in terms of friendship connection, ways to cope and manage moods along with the negatives you have outlined.
We already work with schools on lessons to support better education around both social media and mobile phones and I will organise a round table with school leaders and SENCOs, parents and young people in 2025 and Peter Kyle will join that if he is available.
I am conscious that whatever position we land on we have to bear in mind more disadvantaged families and the fact that too many pupils only can do access on their mobile phones, so we can’t move forward in a way that compounds that disadvantage.
Additionally, I’d want to know that there would be exemptions for carers and disabled children, and I want to support school leaders who currently do enable those children access to their phones whilst by and large banning phones from the school day.
I will also be attending your event on the 23rd January and I’m really looking forward to learning more. Thanks so much for this, I really appreciate it.
55.4 Councillors Pickett, Hogan and Earthey spoke on the matter.
55.5 The Mayor put the recommendations to the vote.
55.6 Resolved -
1) That the petition be noted.
56 Decriminalise Sex Work and Prioritise Safety
56.1 The Mayor invited Bea to join the meeting and present the petition for debate titled ‘Decriminalise Sex Work and Prioritise Safety’ which had received 1326 signatures at the time the agenda was published.
56.2 The Mayor invited Councillor Daniel, Cabinet Member for Children, Families, Youth Services & for Ending Violence Against Women & Girls to reply:
56.3 Councillor Daniel replied:
Thank you so much for bringing it and it was really nice to meet you outside and I look forward to working with you going forward now you have my details.
Thank you so much for bringing this petition. We are committed to making the city a place to be proud of healthy, fair, inclusive, where everybody thrives. I'm determined that the substance of this petition in relation to access to supportive, non-judgemental services is implemented.
I would say that the Council is already working closely with the
police, health, LGBTQ switchboard and Oasis to support those
working in sex work in order that they can be as safe and healthy
as possible and can also leave when they want to do so. I will
ensure that our new Violence Against Women and Girls Prevention
Board includes those providers and other voices, potentially
including yours, to make sure that any gaps in provision, or
barriers to accessing any element of the public sector services
that we provide in a dignified manner, are addressed.
Your petition is an invitation to start a conversation, and you
have all my contact details. It's a conversation I am committed to.
We will continue to work with partners to support those who are
involved in sex work and we will look at how we can address other
points of the deputation, in particular ensuring that we are not
unwittingly colluding with those who seek to benefit from the
exploitation of others. For example, some years ago I spoke in this
Chamber about my concern about the treatment of people who have
escaped sex trafficking who were subsequently detained and
deported. For me, that's an organised crime charter and it's
something that was left to go on for over a decade under the last
government and I'm very confident that those loopholes and those
perverse incentives will be addressed by the new Labour
government.
So thank you once again and I will defer to the rest of the Chamber
to have a say now.
56.4 Councillor Goldsmith moved an amendment on behalf of the Green Group which was formally seconded by Councillor Hill.
56.5 Councillors Hogan and Fishleigh spoke on the matter.
56.7 The Mayor moved to put the amendment to the vote.
56.8 The Mayor confirmed that the amendment had been lost and put the recommendation to note the petition as listed in the original report to the vote.
56.9 Resolved -
1) That the petition be noted.
57 Call Over for Reports of Committees.
(a) Callover
The following items on the agenda were reserved for discussion:
Item 60 – Timetable of Meetings 2025-26
(b) Receipt and/or Approval of Reports
The Head of Democratic Services confirmed that Items 60 had been reserved for discussion.
58 Written questions from Councillors.
1 Councillor Lyons
Given the previous problems of the ownership of the Woodland Drive Twitten, residents are asking how many other pathways & twittens within the city are not owned by the Council or Highways. We therefore recommend an audit.
Reply from Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking & Public Realm:
Maps containing details of all Public Highway and Public Rights of Way are publicly available on the Council’s website. Maps of all land owned by the Council are also publicly available on the Council’s website. Auditing and mapping assets that are not owned or maintained by the Council would be an expensive exercise for which there is no council budget or resource assigned to complete. Within constrained public resources, it would be difficult to justify prioritising this over essential public services. We are continuously updating asset records including when a matter is drawn specifically to officers' attention, as was the case with the twitten connecting Woodland Drive with Three Cornered Copse.
2 Councillor Hogan
What is the Administration’s policy about tree replacements in 2025/2026? In some roads it seems that more trees have been felled in recent years than planted?
Reply from Councillor Rowkins, Cabinet Member for Net Zero & Environmental Services:
The administration’s policy, in short, is that we need more trees. We have been battling the onslaught of Elm Disease and Ash Dieback for several years now, and it is incredibly frustrating that that consumes the majority of the resources available. For the current financial year, we allocated an additional £422k to help tackle the problem, but that has not been enough to fully contain it or to enable us to ramp up replacements.
This is forcing us to think more creatively. Having brought the council’s budget in with an underspend in the previous financial year, we allocated some additional funds for tree-planting, some of which will be used to set up an ongoing fundraising/sponsorship scheme to get onto a more sustainable footing.
We also commissioned the Treeconomics report in partnership with CPRE Sussex, and that provides a very good basis for planning future planting activity.
3 Councillor Lyons
Why does Brighton & Hove Council lag other councils in PET1 recycling? Is it acceptable that such plastic should continue to be disposed of in household rubbish?
Reply from Councillor Rowkins, Cabinet Member for Net Zero & Environmental Services:
Thank you for your question. We do accept and sort PET1 at Hollingdean Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in the form of plastic bottles. PET1 has made up approximately 3% of our dry mixed recycling this year so far (by weight). This is roughly 500 tonnes a year that is sorted at the MRF.
Pots tubs and trays (PTT) are made from PET1 and PP type plastics and are not currently sorted at Hollingdean MRF. We are working on plans to introduce these materials in 2025, as well as food & drink cartons and aluminium foil.
4 Councillor Hogan
When will the Council allow a resident to donate the cost of a bench or a replacement one in a park, cemetery, seafront or street?
Reply from Councillor Robins, Cabinet Member for Sports & Recreation:
I recognise that in some areas the addition of donated benches would greatly benefit our public spaces so am keen to get this up and running again. We are currently appointing a dedicated officer to look at a donations scheme across cityparks and the seafront. Part of that work will involve reinstating the donated benches scheme. We plan to reinstate the schemes next year.
5 Councillor Lyons
When will the report be issued about parking in Nevill Ave, Nevill Rd & the surrounding area? It was promised in the autumn.
Reply from Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking & Public Realm:
Thank you for your further request to introduce a resident parking scheme in your ward. Following a number of meetings about this with residents and officers over recent months, I do appreciate the difficulties residents are facing and, therefore, we have added the Nevill area to our parking scheme priority timetable as a priority.
I have previously requested at Full Council that the results from the residents' survey undertaken by Councillor Lyons using Council letter headed paper is shared with officers rather than being only available to members of the Conservative Party. Residents may have completed this survey in good faith thinking this was for the Council rather than a councillor and his party. It is understood that the use of the data collected was not made in the survey and some residents may have considered this as Council-led consultation which it was not.
Nonetheless, I am very aware of increasing parking pressures in the Nevill / Orchards area of Hove, in part due to increased developments, pressure on city centre parking, overspill from light touch parking zones where residents chose not to have permits and commuters who park in this area to then catch trains and buses. This is why the Council is committed to respond well to residents’ request for permitted parking in this area.
The Parking Scheme Priority timetable has been agreed and the Nevill Ave, Nevill Road and surrounding area consultation has been included as a priority. Officers are working hard to progress this, and the consultation will begin in Spring 2025.
The Parking Scheme Priority timetable aligns with the Parking Review actions and strategy we agreed earlier in the year and will allow us to take a fresh approach to the future of parking across the city to ensure parking is fairer and less complex for our residents, visitors, businesses and services.
6 Councillor Hogan
Air quality readings within the first week of November in the city have been poor, with resident complaints as to increases in asthma. What plans has the council to deal with this?
Reply from Councillor Rowkins, Cabinet Member for Net Zero & Environmental Services:
For many households in Brighton & Hove, early November is the beginning of the heating season where coal fires and log burning will increase pollutants and particles in the environment.
We have recently launched a campaign aimed at raising awareness of the impact on public health from domestic burning, as well as instigating an enforcement pilot in the city’s 5 Smoke Control Areas.
Also in early November, Guy Fawkes Night bonfires and fireworks contribute significantly to airborne particles over a number of days and will generate a substantial local spike in air quality readings.
The Council has recently launched a new system of continuous real time air quality sensors that are accessible to everyone and intended to promote community engagement and awareness of pollution. This will help local residents make informed choices and provide us with a far better dataset from which to plan future actions.
7 Councillor Lyons
When will residents in The Martlet be consulted about parking restrictions to reduce traffic at school times?
Reply from Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking & Public Realm:
The Martlet is currently within the existing Zone O residents’ parking scheme. If residents would like changes to existing parking restrictions, they can contact officers in the Parking Design & Implementation team outlining the change they would like to suggest and the reason for this.
Officers can then look to investigate any changes that may resolve the situation in liaison with residents. Where there is enforcement issue, we can work with our enforcement contractors to ensure this area is patrolled more frequently at school times.
We are keen also for parents and carers to consider how children travel to and from school and reduce the numbers of vehicles at the school gate. Active travel and car share options can reduce vehicle numbers and make it safer for the school community. We also encourage drivers to park considerately in relation to the local community.
8 Councillor Lyons
Residents in Eldred Avenue are asking when they will receive a response following the deputation in July as to a soft touch parking scheme/restricted access at the southern end of the road.
Reply from Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking & Public Realm:
Thank you, Councillor Lyons, for your further request to introduce a resident parking scheme within Eldred Avenue and the surrounding roads. I do appreciate the difficulties a number of residents are facing and would like to be consulted to join the existing Controlled Parking Zone in the area. Therefore, we have added this area of your ward to our parking scheme priority timetable.
We would not implement new or changes to parking restrictions without first undertaking formal consultation. Further to the deputation to Council in July, should you hold any survey data from residents or outcomes from surveys you have undertaken that demonstrate the scale of support of implementing new restrictions in Eldred Avenue that you could share with Council officers, this would be very helpful.
Our early priorities within this timetable will focus on consultations within the Hollingdean and Nevill area where there is significant high demand for parking causing issues to residents. The timetable will be reviewed once these consultations have taken place to ensure the Eldred Avenue and surrounding area is prioritised to follow.
As outlined previously, the Parking Scheme Priority timetable aligns with the Parking Review actions and strategy we agreed earlier in the year and will allow us to take a different approach to the future of parking to ensure parking is fairer and less complex for our residents, services, businesses and services.
9 Councillor Theobald
How will local councillors be kept informed of progress into finding suitable sites for park & ride? What is the envisaged timescale for consultation and implementation?
Reply from Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking & Public Realm:
Thank you for your question, Councillor Theobold. After some 2 decades of not establishing a Park and Ride for the city, may I thank you for your keen interest in and support for our plans to deliver Park and Ride for Brighton and Hove. A report on Park & Ride will be presented to the Council Cabinet meeting early in 2025.
10 Councillor McNair
Residents are concerned about the speed of traffic in Braybon Avenue and Carden Avenue, and how difficult it is to cross the road, especially by the Sainsbury’s on Carden Avenue and at the bottom of Ladies Mile Road/Mackie Avenue. Can the council examine traffic calming measures at these hotspots?
Reply from Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking & Public Realm:
Thank you, Councillor McNair, for bringing your concerns about road safety on Braybon Avenue and Carden Avenue to our attention. We understand your concerns regarding the speed of traffic and pedestrians being able to safely cross the road. I’m pleased to report Braybon Avenue / Carden Avenue junction is already on the list of sites to assessed in the 2024-25 financial year. Ladies Mile Road junction with Mackie Avenue can also be considered.
We will carry out a preliminary assessment according to the Safer, Better Streets framework and, should the location pass this assessment, we will proceed to a full assessment. From there the team will create a priority list of highly scoring locations and then allocate our resources to as many locations as possible for design and improvement.
When a location makes it to the priority list and is selected for improvements, our Highways Engineers will design the improvements to be the safest and most suitable for the location.
Sainsbury's in Carden Avenue has previously been considered and suitable infrastructure is already in place, new warning signage has been requested to highlight the presence of the zebra crossing facility to drivers.
Please find more details about about the Safer, Better Streets Programme on the Council’s website.
11 Councillor Meadows
Can we have an update on the restoration of the cricket pavilion at Patcham Place? Will it be repaired in time for the cricket season in 2025?
Reply from Councillor Robins, Cabinet Member for Sports & Recreation:
There are no plans to refurbish the pavilion at this stage. It has been vandalised repeatedly over a number of years. This administration have inherited sports pavilions that are in an awful state after years of neglect. We are embarking on an ambitious plan working with sports governing bodies to improve our parks pavilions and move them to a financially sustainable future through self- management by sports club.
12 Councillor Meadows
Can we have any update on progress in improving flood defences in Warmdene Road, Winfield Avenue, Old London Road, Carden Avenue and Surrenden Close?
Reply from Councillor Rowkins, Cabinet Member for Net Zero & Environmental Services:
Thank you, Councillor Meadows, for your question. Over the past 4 years the council has installed over £250,000 of surface water management infrastructure in the Carden Avenue, and Warmdene Road area. This includes two major Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems or SuDS schemes and a number of property level resilience activities.
Under the current round of property level resilience, the concerned resident in Winfield Avenue has been assessed for flood Property Level Resilience measures.
The council has been working with Southern Water to look at the flooding around the Winfield Avenue area.
There have not been any received reports of flooding in Surrenden Close and so are unable to comment on this at this time, Get advice on flooding is a page on the council's web site with more information. The ground water flooding in Old London Road is manged by the property level resilience installed in 2016. If there are other issues of flooding the flood risk management team are not aware of this.
It would be very helpful if you, Councillor Meadows, would kindly pass on the reports of flooding to the Flood Risk Management Team to inform their assessment of risk.
13 Councillor Meadows
Are all grit bins across Patcham & Hollingbury ready for winter? Could the grit bin at the junction on Ridgeside Avenue and Overhill Drive be replaced?
Reply from Councillor Rowkins, Cabinet Member for Net Zero & Environmental Services:
Thank you, Councillor Meadows, for your question. This year, Brighton & Hove City Council are winter prepared with three new gritters ready to roll out when road temperatures drop.
The hybrid vehicles are directed around the route using a state-of-the-art mapping system; they spread grit automatically, depending on the need and width of the roads.
The council has got 350 tonnes of grit, with 1,000 tonnes more on standby. For context, last winter, around 250 tonnes were used on the roads.
Gritting teams, who are on call 24 hours a day from November to April, can treat 156 miles of roads across Brighton & Hove, prioritising key routes, including bus routes and roads that lead to places like hospitals and the city centre.
The grit bin on this junction was reset recently when it had been overturned. Where a git bin is damaged but still serviceable, it will be kept. However, if a grit bin is damaged beyond repair it will be replaced. Please do report any damaged or overturned grit bins to the Council team and we will respond promptly once we are made aware. Having grit available in strategi locations in local communities is an important safety measure during cold icy conditions.
14 Councillor Theobald
The pavement between 88 and 94 Overhill Drive has loose and dangerous slabs which could cause serious falls. What are the plans to relay the paving at this location?
Reply from Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking & Public Realm:
Thank you,
Councillor Theobold, for raising this matter. The area inspector
will visit the site within 10 days of a report. If the inspector
identifies an investigation level defect, then the slabs will be
reset/ replaced. Defects such as this need to be reported via the
website so that they can be assigned to an inspector in good time.
We review the condition of roads and pavements routinely and
prioritise planned works within the resources available. Where a
defect is deemed hazardous or dangerous, action will be
taken.
Please feel free to raise such matters with the Council team
directly rather than necessarily via Full Council. Officers are
ready to respond and where a hazard is brought to your attention, a
swifter response to make safe can be made.
15 Councillor McNair
There is a very large Elm tree in the Peace Gardens which is either due to be removed or has been. Are there plans to replace it? Can residents have a say in the tree replacement? How?
Reply from Councillor Rowkins, Cabinet Member for Net Zero & Environmental Services:
There is indeed a large elm due to come down at the Peace Garden. Of course we would like to replace it, but a source of funding has not yet been identified. However, the tree planting officer is optimistic that we will find the funds to replace it, and we would of course welcome views from residents.
16 Councillor McNair
The lights behind flats 38-48 in Bramble Way are extremely dim making walking there after dark extremely difficult. When are the lights going to be fixed?
Reply from Councillor Williams, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Housing & New Homes:
Our Housing electrical team attended to inspect on 27/11/24 and they have an appointment on Monday 16 December to carry out the work to the lights behind 38-48 Bramble Way.
17 Councillor Theobald
Residents in Patcham & Hollingbury have been requesting the bus stop before Churchill Square in Western Road be reinstated, as the distance between the two existing stops is significant. Could the council and Brighton & Hove Buses discuss this?
Reply from Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking & Public Realm:
Thank you for your question, Councillor Theobold. The bus stops were removed last year as part of the Western Road plans approved under the previous administration following public consultation. This was decided in partnership with bus operators because the stops were relatively closely spaced. This was designed to improve the flow of buses through the area. The new road layout would make it possible to reinstate the previous westbound bus stop at Castle Street, but this would be a decision for operators and the main bus operator has so far decided against this. The Western Road improvement scheme is now complete making significant and much called for improvements along Western Road between Montpellier Road and Churchill Square including new bus stops, seating, street trees, safer crossings, wider pavements and improved bus journey times. We are currently inviting feedback on the project. The survey is open until the end of January, we welcome feedback, and I would encourage residents to respond to this.
18 Councillor McNair
Residents are obviously concerned about the impact of the insolvency of the i360 on the city’s finances. What practical effects will the insolvency have on the council’s finances? What is the council doing to find alternative provision? What is the likelihood of finding an alternative owner? How much longer will the i360 continue as an attraction?
Reply from Councillor Taylor, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Finance & City Regeneration:
The amount outstanding under the financing arrangement with the i360 Company is £51 million. However, this includes a commercial mark-up, accrued interest, and a £4 million Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership loan (i.e. a government-backed loan). The underlying loan debt that the council will need to manage and repay is approximately £32 million. The council has had in place an approved Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) policy to pay this off at a rate of £2.2 million per annum until 2041.
However, due to the poor performance of the i360, the council made provision for £1.2 million of the MRP payment within its revenue budget in 2024/25 to partially cover non-payment in the expectation that the i360’s revised business model would recoup this sum in future years. That is clearly not going to happen. The council is likely therefore to need to make further provision of £1 million per annum to fully service the MRP payment, subject to the outcome of the company administration process i.e. whether or not any sale proceeds are received to reduce the debt. The additional impact on the council’s budget of this latest turn of events is therefore £1 million per annum.
It is interesting that the Conservative member does not understand that, despite the Green and Conservative Groups voting to provide the i360 with a loan in 2014, they were agreeing to provide a loan to a private company over which the council has no jurisdiction. They were agreeing for council to effectively act as a bank.
We are now in a legal company administration process. Although, like a bank, the council has some rights as a secured creditor, such as veto over sale to another operator, it is for the Administrator, appointed by i360, to achieve the best possible outcome for all creditors. The Administrator is statutorily required to consider all available options.
Assuming the Administrator achieves a sale of the business, the future of the i360 will be for a new operator to determine as they will own the business and its assets. While I wish to see any operator succeed for the sake of continuing to provide employment and an attraction for the city, I am clearly not in any position to give any guarantees over its future.
19 Councillor Bagaeen
Addressing residents’ urgent concern about a rogue builder and freeholder
I am grateful to the Leader and her team that the council arranged and conducted a formal inspection under Housing Health and Safety Rating System to Nevill Court in Hove. Following this inspection a Statutory Improvement Notice was issued to the builder/freeholder detailing the works required and the deadline to complete them.
Officers have said that they are obliged to provide the freeholder time to complete these and to consider any reasonable representation the freeholder may make. Officers have also said that the freeholder has the right to appeal this notice within 21 days of the notice being served.
Can you please assure the tenants/leaseholders that the Council is also looking out for them and doing everything it can to support them while they are living in flooded, cold and mouldy homes?
Reply from Councillor Williams, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Housing & New Homes:
The council takes the ongoing repairs issue in Nevill Court seriously. As indicated, our Private Sector Housing Team have served an enforcement notice. However, there are specific legal procedures that must be followed to ensure that enforcement is carried out correctly. Our main objective in this case is, and always has been, to resolve the issues of water ingress as soon as possible.
Our case officer has been maintaining contact with affected tenants and leaseholders and we have provided support to tenants/occupiers by referring them to our Housing Advice Service to review options for temporary accommodation for those worse affected. Where leaseholders have asked for legal advice, we have also advised that they contact LEASE (http://www.lease-advice.org/which) is a government funded independent advice agency for residential leaseholders.
20 Councillor Bagaeen
MODA/BHCC s106 Agreement
In correspondence from March 2024 from Legal Services (Council ref. 105829/Sackville), officers wrote that as of the [then] last financial year, the Council’s Local Employment Service had spent £4,715 of the total sum received (£233,560) for the Residential Local Employment Contribution as contained in the MODA/BHCC S106 Agreement dated 5 August 2020. Under Schedule 11 of this s106 Agreement, in paragraph 4, the Council has committed: “... to directly support the delivery of the Local Employment Scheme with direct provision of construction training job opportunities to be provided on-site during the construction phase(s) in relation to the Proposed Development and provide specialist and/or bespoke support that local residents may need or would benefit from whether unemployed, under-employed, or with little or no skills.”
Can you please outline how the Council has spent this skills funding and who the providers/beneficiaries were?
Reply from Councillor Sankey, Leader of the Council & Cabinet Chair:
A total of £9715.00 has been spent from the developer contribution associated with the Sackville Trading Estate Development. This sum (4% of the overall sum paid) contributes to the administrative costs off managing the Local Employment Scheme for Construction, which includes development, implementation and monitoring of the employment and training strategy which is a requirement of the Section 106 agreement. Where sums remain uncommitted beyond the completion of the construction phase due to a lack of suitable opportunities on the site, they are then used to support wider construction skills development and training opportunities for residents and businesses in the city.
21 Councillor Bagaeen
MODA CLG Projects
Community groups and sports clubs, residents, the Hove Civic Society, schools, and the Friends of Hove Park have for months been promised by the Council a S106 workshop to address the unresolved issue of the previously agreed MODA Hove Community Liaison Group s106 project allocation.
The Council has failed thus far to hold this workshop and these groups have only faced obfuscation from the council.
Can you please identity what steps and actions are being taken bring this workshop forward as a matter of urgency so that community volunteers can responsibly continue to manage important community infrastructure?
Reply from Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking & Public Realm:
Thank you, Councillor Bagaeen, for your question. The Community Liaison Group hosted by MODA was disbanded in July 2024. In response to coordinate the Council’s S106 allocation, a workshop with community groups and representatives was proposed and agreed. In response, a series of dates for the workshop in November were proposed but none proved convenient. The council is keen to ensure that all of the groups representing projects seeking funding are able to participate. Fair allocation to meet the needs of the local communities is important and we are committed to facilitating this. A new set of dates has been proposed in early January which will hopefully prove to be more successful.
22 Councillor Bagaeen
Parking woes on Nevill Road, Nevill Avenue and Cranmer Avenue
Thank you for your efforts and unwavering support in addressing ongoing parking issues on Nevill Road, Nevill Avenue and Cranmer Avenue.
When we agreed in the Autumn 2023 ETS Committee, which you and I sat on, to look at an integrated solution rather than a piecemeal intervention for these three roads, we were advised to wait for the council’s parking review.
Can you please detail all of the actions taken by officers relating to addressing severe and ongoing parking issues across these three roads and what solutions have been identified for all three?
Reply from Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking & Public Realm:
Thank you, Councillor Bagaeen, for your question and request to introduce a resident parking scheme in the Nevil area of Hove. Following a number of meetings about this with residents and officers over recent months, I do appreciate the difficulties residents are facing and, therefore, we have added the Nevill area to our parking scheme priority timetable as a priority.
I am very aware of increasing parking pressures in the Nevill / Orchards area of Hove, in part due to increased developments, pressure on city centre parking, overspill from light touch parking zones where residents chose not to have permits and commuters who park in this area to then catch trains and buses. This is why the Council is committed to respond well to residents’ request for permitted parking in this area.
The Parking Scheme Priority timetable has now been agreed and the Nevill Avenue, Nevill Road, Cranmer Avenue, Court Farm Road and surrounding area consultation has been included as a priority. Officers are working hard to progress this, and the consultation will begin in Spring 2025.
The Parking Scheme Priority timetable aligns with the Parking Review actions and strategy we agreed earlier in the year and will allow us to take a fresh approach to the future of parking across the city to ensure parking is fairer and less complex for our residents, visitors, businesses and services.
23 Councillor Shanks
The area near Sainsburys on New England Road has no street lighting currently, can this be looked into? It’s very dark and is difficult to see the steps.
Reply from Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking & Public Realm:
This area does not fall under the Highway Street lighting asset. This query has been referred to Hyde Housing who are responsible for this area. They can be contacted via
https://www.hyde-housing.co.uk/tenants/repairs-and-maintenance/report-a-repair/ or on 0800 3 282 282 between 8am – 5pm, Monday to Friday.
24 Councillor Shanks
The lift from the back of the station managed by Hyde housing has had many operational problems. It is often out of order but provides a vital means of access to and from the station for local residents. Will the council intervene to ensure it is made permanently operational?
Reply from Councillor Williams, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Housing & New Homes:
The provision and continued operation of the lift was secured through a S106 agreement in December 2011 linked to one of the development sites in the New England Quarter. It forms part of the station link improvement, which was deliberately designated as unadopted highway in private ownership so as not to cause a further burden on the council’s highways budgets.
As a single lift, it is unreasonable to expect that it will be permanently in service 24/7 365 days per year. It’s owner (Hyde Housing) will need to make it unavailable for statutory maintenance, repairs and breakdowns. During periods of unavailability, there are alternative accessible routes in the area, although they do require a significant detour.
The council last engaged with Hyde in relation to problems with the lift in October 2020. If Councillor Shanks can provide the Director of Place with more information on recent problems, he will arrange to engage with them again to ensure that they are complying with their ongoing responsibilities under the S106 agreement.
25 Councillor Shanks
My ward of West Hill and North Laine has a large amount of CIL money and none has yet been allocated for the vital community use that is needed. The S106 money allocated for London Road/Providence Place has also not commenced. Can we please have an update?
Reply from Councillor Taylor, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Finance & City Regeneration:
There is currently circa £51k that has been received from planning permissions taken forward within your ward secured through the Community Infrastructure Levy. The Administration will be consulting with residents and local members in deciding how that money should be targeted on local priorities in your ward early in 2025.
S106 monies of circa £1m have been received to develop the New England Quarter and circa £165k has been spent developing a concept plan of proposals. A consultation on the plan will be undertaken in early 2025, including options for an initial phase of works as there is insufficient funding to deliver the entire plan. Once the consultation has been undertaken, it is anticipated that the first phase will move to the construction procurement stage in Autumn 2025.
26 Councillor Shanks
What will the council do to support Magpie to stop them finishing the service?
Reply from Councillor Rowkins, Cabinet Member for Net Zero & Environmental Services:
I have been in touch with Magpie since the news came that they were to stop their recycling collections. As a customer myself, I am very concerned at the loss of their service. Magpie have not contacted us requesting any support, but I have written to them and am meeting with them this week to see if there is anything we can do.
27 Councillor Davis
Will the Council work to keep the TRO on Balfour Road School Streets?
Reply from Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking & Public Realm:
Thank you, Councillor Davies, for your question. The Experimental Traffic Order which supports the Balfour Road School Streets restriction is coming to an end. Officers have collated consultation data who met with myself, ward councillors (including yourself) and the next stages will be considered. At the officer led briefing with myself and ward councillors on 11th October 2024, it was agreed that Preston Park Ward councillors were to approach to the school community to determine whether volunteers could be found to keep this scheme operational. We know from experience in 2023/24 school year that this scheme has been a success. However, it is concerning and disappointing that many drivers have ignored the restrictions choosing to take their cars to the school gate rather than follow the signs and allow them and others to walk, cycle or scoot close to the school gate at the start and end of the school day putting at greater risk their children and others in school community.
The schools are committed to staffing one of the roads. Nonetheless, it is recognised that for this school streets scheme to sustainable, volunteers are needed. It was agreed that if ward councillors were unable to help facilitate a volunteer base, the scheme in its present form may have to cease or be put on hold until additional powers of enforcement can be found.
28 Councillor Hill
Residents on Springfield Road have expressed concerns regarding parking as the street is filled with parked cards often. How is the council looking to alleviate this problem, particularly in regards to new developments in the Zone J parking zone?
Reply from Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking & Public Realm:
Thank you, Councillor Hill, for your question. Having met you with residents in Springfield Road concerning street tress earlier this year, I’m sorry to hear of the concerns from residents regarding parking in Springfield Road. A lot of work was undertaken by officers previously which included a review of parking in Zone J in 2021. Residents indicated they were in general happy with how the scheme was then operating so no major changes were proposed based on these responses from residents and business.
If following additional parking pressures in the area, residents would like to see changes to existing parking restrictions or questions regarding new developments then residents and ward councillors can contact officers in the Parking Design & Implementation team outlining the change they would like to suggest and the reason for this. Officers can then look to investigate any changes that may resolve the situation in liaison with residents. Where there are enforcement issues then we can work with our enforcement contractors to ensure this area is patrolled more frequently at school times.
29 Councillor Hill
Sylvan Hall Residents Association has not been consulted as part of the Section 20 notice for Sylvan Hall. I have been sent information by association members that suggests that it should be given formal notice and a right to choose the contractors for the major works. Does the council accept this position?
Reply from Councillor Williams, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Housing & New Homes:
Improving the quality of our council homes is one of our key priorities. We are proposing extensive external works at Sylvan Hall including replacement of roof covering; undertaking concrete and masonry repairs; cavity wall and loft insulation; replacement of windows and balcony doors; repair of main entrance doors and rear doors to the building.
We are at the informal stage of consultation which is on plans for our proposed works ahead of formal tendering of works and the appointment of a principal contractor.
We are not at the stage of formal consultation with leaseholders, where Section 20 notices of proposed works are issued. When formal consultation commences, the selection of contractors for major works schemes will follow a legally compliant process. We are happy to engage with residents over how best to enable their input into procurement of a contractor for these works.
30 Councillor Hill
At last Cabinet meeting, Cllr Taylor rejected the Green Party's suggestions to consider additional measures regarding the proposed catchment policy to give preference in catchments children who do not have an EHCP but are in the process of acquiring one by having to take the council to tribunal. Does Cllr Taylor recognise that the new catchment proposals mean many more children who should really be entitled to an EHCP and have special educational needs will have to travel long distances to school under this proposal? Many of whom struggle with burnout when in education anyway and that is made worse with a long journey to school. Does he not appreciate that a pre-existing problem of the Council denying EHCPs to SEND children will be exacerbated by this? This can be true even whilst the policy has benefits in other areas.
Reply from Councillor Taylor, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Finance & City Regeneration:
We recognise the breadth of need there is in the city and where children need an Education, Health and Care Plans there are processes in place to assess and deliver on that.
‘Catchment areas’ do not influence eligibility for EHC needs assessments or EHC plans. The statutory criteria for these assessments are based on the individual needs of children, not the schools they attend. The Council regularly conducts a significant number of EHC needs assessments and issues a high volume of EHC plans compared to other Local Authorities, demonstrating that the Council does not deny EHC plans to SEND children. In fact, over the past five years, there has been a 48% increase in the number of EHC plans issued in the city. Additionally, the Council performs well in terms of timeliness, with assessments being completed 28.5% faster than the national average.
31 Councillor Hill
In the last 5 years the Brighton & Hove only won 7 out of the 64 cases that actually went as far as a SEND Tribunal. Is it not time that the Council looks at changing how it approaches applications for an EHCP to stop so many families being dragged into expensive legal processes?
Reply from Councillor Daniel, Cabinet Member for Children, Families, Youth Services & for Ending Violence Against Women & Girls:
As a council we will seek to avoid a situation where we are in any sort of formal disagreement with parent-carers around the best solution for education and support for SEND children. We are improving our Alternative Provision and support for schools around the best ways to accommodate and provide appropriate support for SEND children within mainstream settings and a detailed paper on the tiers of support around SEMH options came to cabinet last summer. We will always seek feedback on improvements to our processes. The numbers of tribunal findings against the council have decreased further in the last two years in contrast to the national picture. We always aim to resolve cases where possible so that only essential cases reach the tribunal and that is what I will continue to work with our new Director on. Over the last five years 169 cases have gone through mediation rather than a tribunal and of those 80% have been resolved in that process avoiding an escalation to a tribunal. This is a much more effective way to work with families and children and I thank the SEN team for their progress on this approach and will ask our Director to keep me updated on these figures annually as a minimum with the expectation that we increase the proportion resolved in this far more constructive way.
We have been particularly successful in resolving SEND disputes through mediation, where most cases do not escalate to formal appeals. This reflects the effectiveness of early intervention and dispute resolution processes, which offer families and us an alternative to formal tribunal proceedings. By continuing to invest in mediation and offering proactive support to families, Brighton and Hove can maintain lower numbers of tribunal cases and foster more positive outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The council does not proceed to a tribunal hearing unless necessary, however, there are cases that must go through the legal process particularly cases where parents are appealing for very high-cost independent school provision which represents an inefficient use of public funds and council funds.
Having said all of that it is important to set the statistics you cite in a benchmarking context for transparency. In comparison to national statistics we are performing slightly better than average as nationally, 98% of tribunal cases are determined in favour of the appellant, leaving councils with a success rate of just 2%. This highlights the challenges faced in defending decisions relating to SEND provisions. In contrast to the national trend, Brighton and Hove has managed to secure a higher success rate in SEND tribunal appeals. Over the last 5 years the council’s success rate is 11%, which is above the national average.
As set out above, whatever the outcome at a tribunal, it is costly for us as authority and for families in terms of both time and emotion and I will instead focus my leadership attention on increasing our resolutions through alternative processes because that’s better for a collaborative working relationship between our teams and the families and ultimately, I believe, that’s what is better for the child and their outcomes.
32 Councillor Hill
I have been told by constituents that the stress of SEND Tribunals has been compounded by the catchment proposal. Will the council make a particular effort to listen to families in this situation as part of the consultation process? They feel their voices are not being listened to.
Reply from Councillor Daniel, Cabinet Member for Children, Families, Youth Services & for Ending Violence Against Women & Girls:
Catchment area doesn't link to parental preference for a school for a child or young person who has an EHC plan. The L.A always approaches SEND tribunals by listening to the views of parents and carers.
It is important that the council hears from a wide range of parents/carers in the city during this current consultation process. Targeted approaches are being made to ensure the families of children with SEND are heard and that their lived experiences can influence Council decision making. I am making appointments with parents who have raised this issue for January and working with officers to ensure that their concerns are addressed in whatever final proposal arises from the consultation.
33 Councillor Hill
Regarding the sibling link, can the council reassure families in Round Hill who have written to me worried that they will be more likely to have to send their children to different secondary schools due to the catchment proposals?
Reply from Councillor Taylor, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Finance & City Regeneration:
There are no catchment area changes proposed in the RoundHill area of the city. Even in areas where there are proposed boundary changes, the council will honour the sibling link for those families if the older child is still on roll at the school when the younger one starts in year 7.
34 Councillor Hill
The Council have promised in writing to me that to help mitigate flooding risk on Park Crescent writing to me that 'We are going to install a kerb along the centre of the road. This meets the desires of the residents, it returns to a solution which was in place 7 years ago. As this is only a kerb, this shouldn't affect the operators'. When will the kerb be put in place?
Reply from Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking & Public Realm:
Thank you, Councillor Hill, for your question. We are committed to resolving the flooding issues including finding effective flood risk mitigation measures for Park Cresent. When this communication was originally offered up to you, Cllr Hill, this was based on a concept design. Unfortunately, further investigations have determined it is not possible to construct this solution due to buried services and signalling loops which have been installed.
Other options are being investigated to move the water away from Park Crescent. We are working in partnership with Southern Water who, subject to their business plan determination by Ofwat, have indicated a substantial commitment to improving drainage and mitigating flood risk in our city over the next 5 years. As a Council, we will be working closely with Southern Water to ensure that they follow through with their commitments and communities in our city see the improvements that are needed.
35 Councillor Hill
Will additional street cleaning be considered to accompany the introduction of a food waste collection in the city next year? In my experience of living in Cardiff, I found that food waste bins there tended to cause a lot of mess in student areas. This led to rats and seagulls in the streets. While secure caddies do help, they don’t always get used correctly and mess is inevitable with a new system like this.
Reply from Councillor Rowkins, Cabinet Member for Net Zero & Environmental Services:
Thank you for your question. We are mindful of the operational challenges of the new food waste service and developing plans accordingly, to mitigate against some of the risks associated with waste spillage. The food waste vehicles will be fitted with jet washing units and other equipment to deal with any issues as they present. We will also ensure communal bins receive routine cleaning and maintenance.
We will be introducing the new service in stages so that we can learn from any issues that arise as we go.
36 Councillor West
At a public meeting held on 23 June 2005, residents were assured by experts that the Waste Transfer Station and Materials Recovery Facility to be built at Hollingdean, would be “a modern facility, designed in such a way that odour releases are thoroughly trapped and filtered… and it was guaranteed that “you won’t see odours or anything else which would offend you”. This is taken from a transcript of a recording made at the meeting (which is still available). Far from being a state-of-the-art facility fit and able to contain odorous organic waste, this facility, agreed to by the Labour administration, has from day one blighted residents' lives with the stench of waste; forcing them to keep windows shut and unable to enjoy their gardens in summer. Does the Council recognise this is an unacceptable state of affairs?
Reply from Councillor Rowkins, Cabinet Member for Net Zero & Environmental Services:
Thank you for your question. Hollingdean Material Recovery Facility (MRF) operated by Veolia, plays a crucial role in managing waste and recycling for the city. It operates in full compliance with the site’s planning consent and environmental permit, which includes an odour management plan.
The facility is regularly inspected by the Environment Agency and local council officers.
Veolia has made several enhancements to ensure the site operates in accordance with industry best practices. Recently, they replaced the hall doors with a model that opens and closes much faster than the previous ones. Additionally, extra odour suppression units equipped with carbon filters have been installed to help extract dust and odours from the air. These improvements complement existing measures, including priority haulage to minimise waste levels, deep cleaning of the building twice a year, proactive replacement of worn panels, and annual odour management training for site staff.
If local residents notice any unpleasant odours in the air, we encourage them to contact Veolia immediately at 01273 511310. The site manager will survey the site and surrounding area to identify and address the source of the issue. Please also encourage residents to contact me so that I can monitor the issue.
37 Councillor West
Despite the best efforts of Veolia to ameliorate smells at the WTS, it has proved impossible to find a technical solution to the smell. In 2014 the Environment Agency identified the problem as “the design of the building and the nature of the waste received. The primary source is the food waste contained within domestic refuse. The only possible way for the council to remove that is for the local council to instigate separate waste collections for food waste”. So, with the advent of universal food waste collections, we have a once in a generation opportunity to resolve the 20 year problem created by the inability of the WTS to contain the odour of rotting food, by ensuring this is organic matter is taken directly and separately from door-step caddies to a different location away from homes. Where will that new food waste handling facility be located?
Reply from Councillor Rowkins, Cabinet Member for Net Zero & Environmental Services:
The proposal for Hollingdean Waste Transfer Station (WTS) is to store food waste inside sealed containers when separate food waste collections commenced. These containers are effective at minimising the escape of odour. Veolia will ensure that the transfer station doors are closed when vehicles are tipping food waste into these containers. The containers will also be prioritised for onward haulage to the composting facility to minimise the amount of waste at the transfer station at any given time. Veolia has experience of handling food waste in this manner inside the transfer hall at Newhaven ERF, where food waste from Lewes District Council was tipped into similar types of containers. We are confident that a similar arrangement will work well at Hollingdean. As we will be rolling out food waste in stages, we will be able to identify any issues as we go and address them accordingly.
38 Councillor West
I understand that the i360 may be closing for maintenance in January. Given the attraction is in administration, has the council sought assurance that it will reopen again? If no one else will take it on, it is surely vital the council keep it going to avoid the significant costs of mothballing or demolition. No one could have predicted the changes to the way people live their lives that covid brought, the impact this would have on visitor attractions, and all manner of public gatherings. From the outset Labour have talked the attraction down, encouraging public derision, which has impacted visitor numbers, and will now be discouraging potential buyers. If no buyer is found, and the council is left to operate the attraction, will Labour finally find the good sense to start talking the i360 up?
Reply from Councillor Taylor, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Finance & City Regeneration:
The i360 has filed for administration, and if a buyer cannot be found will be entering administration. if that happen, all decisions about opening and operation will be taken by the administrator. The administrator has a duty to represent the council’s needs as the major creditor to the i360, but they also have to ensure the i360 trades solvently without requiring further injections of public cash.
I have been meeting almost daily with the administrators and potential buyers and I have been making clear that despite the mistakes of the past this administration is supportive of the i360 and want it to continue as a going concern that contributes to the vibrancy of the seafront.
Comments from politicians have not shifted the dial on the number of visitors coming to the i360, so the problem has been the assumptions about visitor numbers in the original business case being wholly unsustainable.
39 Councillor West
The Cabinet has decided to increase verge mowing in the quest for a ‘neat and tidy’ appearance. For the past 10 years or more City Parks have been operating a single annual autumn cut on many broad verges, for example those alongside Carden Hill and the south side of Surrenden Avenue along to Ditchling Road. This low mow approach has been of great benefit to biodiversity as native species have re-colonised these areas, and the approach has been well respected and understood by the public. These areas are not currently included in the Wilder Verges scheme which are protected from frequent mowing. Will they be added to the scheme or face being trashed by the Councils mowers?
Reply from Councillor Robins, Cabinet Member for Sports & Recreation:
We would like to expand the number of verges covered in the Wilder Verges scheme. We will be looking for verges where there is both public support and good biodiversity potential. I can officers to consider these two verges from a biodiversity point of view and ask ward Cllrs about local support.
40 Councillor McLeay
It has been reported that over the past year, the Combatting Drugs Partnership has closed down 38 county lines, which led to 99 arrests and over 8,000 drug seizures and added 80 young people to prevention programmes. These are impressive numbers. However, residents communicate that drug related ASB is more prevalent than ever. If drug dealing and drug misuse continue to take place on the doorsteps of residents, and residents are told by officers and police that "a lack of resource" prevents them from taking further action to resolve the situation - what would the administration recommend residents do next? What more can be done to "reduce harm caused by drugs and alcohol for everyone who lives in, works in, or visits Brighton & Hove" if there is a lack of resource?
Reply from Councillor Burden, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health & Service Transformation:
The Combatting Drugs Partnership is a multiagency partnership including representation from Police, probation, local authority public health, housing, community safety and children and young people teams, drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services, and people with lived experience. Members also sit on this Board. It is the police activity that has delivered on the breaking the County Drugs Lines and arrests. The draft Drug and Alcohol Strategy, which is currently out for consultation, builds on the work over the past 2 years of the Combatting Drugs Partnership and focuses on three work steams: to reduce the supply of drugs into the city; improve the treatment capacity and quality of the service, and to reduce the demand for drugs by addressing the risk factors (poor mental health, trauma etc) and to challenge the normalisation of the drugs culture in the city. The programme of work is enhanced by additional national funding streams, one of which has just been secured for 25/26. These come with certain conditions for evidenced based interventions, but does mean that some services will have a protected resource. Members and Officers and other partners, including the police are working with residents to continue to work to reduce the harms of ASB. This includes recent meetings in the council chamber that residents attended along with partners for a coordinated listening exercise specifically around ASB in the Regency, Brunswick and Adelaide Wards. Actions have been noted for members of the board and other partners to take forward to mitigate the impact of ASB on residents and our services. Many of those actions are applicable city wide and will be advanced over the next few months.
41 Councillor McLeay
I have been advised by officers that the Council will only consider a gating PSPO measure if there is “evidence of serious violence, including violence against women and girls (VAWG)”. With a rape reported on Zion Gardens back in July of this year (2024) – why are the council still refusing to issue a gating PSPO to the Air Street end of the alleyway [Zion Gardens]? How many more people need to get hurt before this measure will be implemented?
Reply from Councillor Daniel, Cabinet Member for Children, Families, Youth Services & for Ending Violence Against Women & Girls:
Given the incident raised alongside the other concerns from the councillor, officers reviewed the situation to look at a gating order but unfortunately, they consider that this is not a viable solution for the following reasons:
It’s a public highway with right of way. All residents on and backing onto Zion Gardens would need access (potentially hundreds of people), there’s a private driveway to an underground car park and an office block on Queens Square that has a fire exit on Zion Gardens.
Instead, Community Safety and Neighbourhood Policing have reviewed Zion Gardens with regards to complaints and the incidents raised and are undertaking the following actions:
1. The police are working alongside our drug outreach partners to address drug users and using evidence to identify suspects where necessary.
2. City Clean are also visiting 3 times a week. There has been a multi-agency response to this matter.
3. The local PCSO is managing the problem profile and has regular contact with those affected.
We would ask that both you and residents continue to report any concerns and incidents to the police to ensure the appropriate resources can be targeted. They would then discuss at the Joint Action Group (JAG) where consideration can be given to looking at police actions and deploying resources accordingly.
Their current focus is on identifying suspects and sending a clear message, whilst reinforcing this with civil powers such as CPW’s and CPNs with the council’s support.
42 Councillor McLeay
We have heard that the council is committed to transparency to accountability. I have been made aware by Brighton Pavilion's MP, that despite Caroline Lucas requesting over 18 months ago that fire risk assessments (FRAs) be made available to tenants online, they are still not accessible online. Residents in my ward have been reaching out to their MP for help. Can we get a commitment that fire risk assessments, in particular for high-rise and medium-rise buildings, will be published online and made accessible to residents before the end of January 2025?
Reply from Councillor Williams, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Housing & New Homes:
Our priority is to ensure the health & safety of our residents and those who visit and work on our homes.
In order to ensure ongoing compliance and that we have a full set of up to date risk assessments for all our properties, we have commissioned a contractor to undertake a full new set of fire risk assessments on our high risk and lower risk buildings takes time and this work is nearing completion.
We plan to publish the risk assessments for the Large Panel System Blocks on the council website by 17th January 2025. The publication of FRAs for other high-rise blocks and medium rise blocks will not be complete before the end of January but the timetable for publishing those FRAs will be known and shared with residents and ward councillors.
43 Councillor McLeay
In 2019, planning committee granted permission for the development of Longley Industrial Estate. At that time the s106 amount committed was in the region of £1.3M. In 2022 a project manager was appointed to support with the disbursement of these funds in the local area. The local community (residents and businesses on Elder Place, Providence Place, London Road and New England Street) have not seen the disbursement of any of these funds - they are understandably getting anxious over the number of years that have passed and how much of the fund will remain for projects they have communicated are needed. Can we get an update as to how much of the s106 funding from this development remains in the pot? Can we also get a confirmed date for when we will see plans and proposals for the disbursement of this s106 funding?
Reply from Councillor Taylor, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Finance & City Regeneration:
S106 contributions of £790,808 and £215,857 were secured for public realm and sustainable transport infrastructure improvements respectively. A contribution of half a million pounds towards the enhancement of outdoor/indoor sports, parks and gardens, children’s play space, allotments, and semi-natural space was also made, but was allocated to other citywide projects and so does not form part of the project budget.
The monies must be spent within 7-years of the date of receipt. With 50% paid at commencement and 50% at completion, by December 2027 and June 2030.
Pre-project costs have been incurred, and a project budget of about £841k remains. Spend to date has been on surveys, searches, design fees, engagement activities, and staff costs. The sustainable transport contribution also funded the new Beryl Bike Hub on New England Road.
The project budget is insufficient to fund the Concept Plan in full, and implementation will be phased, with the first utilising the entire project budget.
Non-statutory public consultation on the Concept Plan is being planned for early 2025.
Following public consultation and finalisation of the Concept Plan, the project will progress to detailed design stage for Phase One, and it is hoped that capital works procurement and construction would commence by Autumn 2025.
44 Councillor McLeay
I have received a number of messages from residents in the past year alerting me to used needles found discarded in public walkways - Brighton Greenway, Valley Gardens, Frederick Gardens, and Zion Gardens specifically. Fortunately, these discarded sharps were found by adults who reported them for collection. In Sydney, Australia, the local authority introduced "council sharps bins" installed in community centres, libraries, parks and public toilets to encourage responsible discarding of sharps and for them to be managed separately from general waste. While I’m aware there are some community sharps bins located in parts of the city, what would be the administration's appetite to explore rolling this out more broadly, making them more visible in public areas across the city?
Reply from Councillor Burden, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health & Service Transformation:
We are working closely with residents and City Clean to try to address the drug litter problem, including discarded needles. City Clean have started to focus on high litter areas with a more frequent service and residents can report litter. In addition, we have started to pilot sharps bins in areas of the city with high drug litter, e.g. seafront toilets. We currently have 76 sharps boxes in 23 of our public toilet sites across the city. While this does seem to help in terms of reducing discarded needles, it can also act as a focus for drug activity. The public meetings mentioned in a previous response (Q40) also identified necessary work in this area. We are currently coordinating partnership working between City Clean and the drug and alcohol treatment service (Change Grow Live (CGL)) to evaluate the impact of the sharps bin pilots and to explore further the benefits and challenges of rolling out sharps bins more broadly.
45 Councillor Pickett
In light of the high proportion of Armed Forces Veterans that end up homeless in Brighton & Hove, when will the council enable a Veterans Hub to be set up that will provide assistance to these people, who we know are hesitant to engage and admit if they have problems. A hub (as set up in other cities) would provide a contact point and help this particular and vulnerable group find a way off the streets.
Reply from Councillor Williams, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Housing & New Homes:
It is a tragedy that Armed Forces Veterans across the country face homelessness and that is why when making recent changes to our Housing Allocations Policy we have given veterans a greater priority for social housing.
Unfortunately, the reality is that we are in the midst of a national housing crisis and we are regularly faced with the difficult fact that is more local demand for homes than there is housing.
Preventing homelessness is therefore our priority and we encourage all veterans experiencing homelessness to contact the council to get help as early as possible.
59 Oral questions from Councillors
59.1 The mayor noted that oral questions had been submitted and that 30 minutes was set aside for the duration of the item. He asked that both the questioner and responder endeavour to keep their questions and answers brief, to enable the questions listed to be taken.
1. Councillor Davis asked a question:
Councillor Muten, many months ago you made a statement in connection to parking charges about residents driving rounds and round looking for spaces, and many months ago, I wrote to you to ask to see that data about the residents driving round. Can I see that data please?
Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for
Transport, Parking and Public Realm replied:
Thank you Councillor Davis, I appreciate the question. The reason I know this happens is because I used to live in Zone M. I lived a decade in Zone M as the zone was introduced and that zone is constrained, it's got a limit. When the zone was put in, many drivers would drive and park just north of Zone M, such as Davigdor Road or near St Ann’s Well Park, for instance. That was fine at that point, but then the next zone was introduced to the north and to the west. Zone M is very constrained and the residents of Zone M will tell you that they have to wait a very long time to get a parking permit, and that’s in the hundreds, and that's the case in other inner city zones. So I myself drove around looking for a space between five and seven o’clock because there were very few spaces at that time.
Since being elected, I've gone to many
residence meetings and I've heard this again, time and time and
time again. Residents are driving around, they pass their house,
they're driving to the end of the road, they're going to the next
road, not finding space, going to the next road. So I can
categorically say this is happening, because I've heard it from
testimony after testimony from residents, time and time again. Now
one of the things that we are in this party, we’re a
listening party. We've knocked on doors campaigning. This is
something we were told. Perhaps you should do the same.
Councillor Davis asked a supplementary question:
Earlier in this meeting, you said we are a data-led administration. You're clearly not because you can't give me the data. My supplementary question is: many months ago I wrote to you and asked you whether you could keep the Traffic Regulation Order on Balfour Road, so that hopefully we could get the information with cameras. I did write quite a while ago, so could you let me know whether you can keep the Traffic Regulation Order on Balfour Road for the School Streets please Councillor Muten?
Councillor Muten replied:
I do want to be really clear about Balfour Road School Streets Scheme. Last year it was introduced as an experimental traffic order, it was very effective with a volunteer base of schools. One end of the road were committed to put staff on that, but it did require the community to volunteer to make it work. Now this school year, we have found that many drivers have been dropping off their children on the way to school, or perhaps just driving through their area ignoring the signage at the beginning and the end of the school day. In a meeting we had with all Councillors, and which I attended with officers, you offered that you would go as Ward Councillors to talk to the school community to see whether you may be able to find some volunteers and I agreed, reasonably, that you would try and do that and that if you could find those volunteers by Christmas we’d continue with the scheme.
It is the case, I am advised, that you have not found those volunteers from the school and it is really with regret, because I think it was quite an effective scheme with those volunteers prepared to put the time in. But if we haven’t got the volunteers from the community, then I think we probably have to withdraw those restrictions during those beginning and end hours. We can keep the signs up, we’re more than happy to put the signs up and perhaps keep a review of that. But whilst we haven’t got moving-traffic power offences we’re unable to really enforce it within the resources we have. Thank you.
2. Councillor Theobald asked a question:
With so many parents rightly anxious about their children’s school places, will the Council consider extending the consultation?
Councillor Taylor, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and City Regeneration replied:
Thank you, Councillor for your question. As you say, this is always a difficult subject. School admissions and indeed anything to do with schools because it relates to people's families, their children, their education and future. So it's a really, really important subject.
In terms of the consultation, and as I
mentioned earlier, the consultation exists within statute, and it
must be concluded by the 31st of January for us to be able to set
our admissions. But the important bit to reiterate is it's a
genuine consultation, we will listen to the input and decide what
to take forward.
Councillor Theobald asked a supplementary question:
Can parents be reassured that all their children will be able to attend the school of their choice within their catchment area?
Councillor Taylor replied:
It's a really important question because, in today's system, and indeed every other previous system, there has never been a guarantee that you can choose a school within catchment and it be guaranteed. That was a really important principle that was set out in 2007 when the council established catchment areas and, indeed, there have been years where because of changes in demographics, or bulge years, that families have not been able to secure a place within catchment. So the Council has never, and will never, guarantee that someone can choose a specific school within catchment and be guaranteed a place.
The broader consultation and the issues
we're looking at is trying to balance, as I say, the question of
fairness and access to schools with the geographic realities of the
city, and that's what we'll need to do. Thank you.
3. Councillor Fishleigh asked a question:
You might remember that Ben Carr, who Farms Council-owned land in owing Dean, came to the last full council to beg for help. I also sent you all photos of his crops that have been ruined by fires, barbecues, picnics, fly-tipping and emptying of portaloos and bowels by some of the people who stay overnight, roadside and vehicles.
Councillor Leslie Pumm subsequently visited and heard direct from
Farmer Ben. Please would you update us on what the Council is
planning to do to prohibit overnight camping on the road, called
Greenways in Ovingdean?
Councillor Alexander, Cabinet Member for Culture, Heritage and Tourism replied on behalf of Councillor Pumm, Cabinet Member for Communities, Equalities and Human Rights:
I'm replying on behalf of Councillor Pumm who can’t be here tonight so this is his response: I was pleased to accept Councillor Fishleigh’s invitation to come to Ovingdean, and I'm grateful that she and Ben Carr took the time to show me firsthand the problem of antisocial behaviour and damage to Ben's crops.
It is frustrating that our existing legal tools, such as notices, are not as effective a deterrent as we had hoped. I have discussed Councillor Fishleigh’s proposal to introduce a bylaw with Officers and have concluded that the bylaw is uncertain in its effectiveness and expensive to introduce. If something is expensive to do, it should at least have a high degree of certainty that it will work. But I don't want to just bury my head in the sand. So one of the solutions is to identify proper sites, with adequate access to bins and other facilities, which would relieve the issue in Ovingdean and other parts of the city, because it is not just about this street or that street, and moving van dwellers around the city is not the answer.
I do apologise that things are not progressing as quickly as I would have liked, but I can assure you that they are progressing.
Councillor Fishleigh asked a supplementary question:
Those people that I've spoken to who stay on stay on Greenways know about Balsdean, but they just can’t afford it and they don’t want to access the funding that’s available to help them pay to stay so it’s great that you’re looking at alternative sites. I mean I’m not quite sure where they will be and how long this will take.
In summary I’m going to go back to Ben. He’s going to be absolutely devastated that we’re still not helping him, you know. He’s growing crops that are eaten by people and animals in our city, he’s having them regularly damaged, it’s affecting his livelihood and we can’t do anything. That’s not really a supplementary, it’s just a comment.
4. Councillor Thomson asked a question:
It's Christmas time, people might have noticed, and I found myself not getting my bicycle out quite as regularly and catching the odd taxi here and there and I’ve been told recently by a couple of our local taxi drivers that the city is currently being swamped by drivers from outside the city. They mentioned Lewes, they mentioned Portsmouth, they said that some of them come from even as far away as Essex simply because there’s more work here. But it’s hurting our local drivers who are already facing stiff competition from Uber and I wondered what we can do to protect their business?
Councillor McGregor, Chair of Licensing Committee replied:
It’s actually a bigger problem than Essex. I was in a taxi last week, I think it was in Manchester that he’d got his taxi licence, and I asked ‘why didn’t you get it in Brighton?’, and his response was ‘the test is very difficult in Brighton and I would rather get it from a cheaper place’. So what we have to do, especially in Licensing, is to make it much more competitive and have much more understanding of the issues the taxis are having. We’re currently doing the consultation work with transport to see whether we should change the rules on that. So there’s a lot that we can do.
It
is a bygone thing of the Cameron government, I’m afraid, they
opened up County Lines for taxi drivers so, again, another
fantastic movement by the last Tory government. But thank you for
your question and we are going to look into ways we can actually
help taxi drivers in the city because it's a big, important issue.
Thank you.
5. Councillor Shanks asked a question:
We’re very lucky, or we fought hard, or people in the city don't really want the academisation in the city or privatisation of our schools. At the moment we've got less than 10%. So I know that there have been initiatives recently. I just wondered what the plan is to try and keep our schools within our family of schools, both in the short term, with, I think it's West Hove currently, and in the longer term?
Councillor Taylor, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and City Regeneration replied:
As we discussed before, we're in agreement on this issue. We generally don't think that academisation is the way to go for the country. As you say, there's a current consultation for two schools within one Federation in the city which we have strongly opposed as an administration, and we’ve been taking part in that consultation.
We've also made representations to the school about the offer of the local authority. Essentially, a counteroffer to what the academy chain is proposing, and the real benefits of staying within the local authority which, in my view, are sometimes taken for granted and not always fully understood. Because there are many benefits, including the different services that we offer within the local authority.
I think more generally, locally, we need to be more proactive and promote the offer of the local authority and the benefits; promote the principles of public services being run by the public for the public and publicly funded.
Nationally there is a white paper, I
believe, that's just been published that has some interesting
things on academies, including a proposal to bring admissions back
to local authorities for academies, which I think will be an
important factor as schools and local authorities think about the
structure of education. So I hope that sort of demonstrates that,
nationally, I think there's a focus on this issue and, locally,
we’re very clear that we want our schools to remain within
the local authority and we think there are many benefits of doing
so.
Councillor Shanks asked a supplementary question:
I'm really pleased to hear that you're lobbying the Labour government who, after all, introduced this awful policy. Obviously it was expanded greatly by an awful, well, Mr Gove.
Locally it might be possible to do
parental ballots, for example. I think lobbying, nationally, if
Labour really are going to change their mind on this, they need to
do it quickly because we’re lucky that we've only got 8%, but
there are plenty of authorities now where 100% of schools have
become academies and I'm not sure quite how they're going to roll
the clock back on that really. But, I suppose, the question is
whether you can run a local ballot for those parents who would
probably vote against it?
Councillor Taylor replied:
This is something that we've suggested. We understand, and we've tested this to death with legal, but we as the authority can't run the ballot and contact the parents, only the school actually has the contact details of parents and are justified in in contacting them.
But we have requested a ballot, I think
it'd be a good idea. I think the consultation has shown a
relatively high-level of opposition and concern from parents and I
would just urge, again, on the record that the governing body of
the Federation think really carefully. There's absolutely no
animosity between the local authority and the governing body,
they’re a are brilliant governing body and a brilliant head
teacher, we want them to stay as part of the local authority family
and I know that they're considering that very carefully now.
6. Councillor McNair asked a question:
Thirteen schools in this city are not
on track to be out of deficit within five years. This is likely to
hurt Council services to all residents. What is the Council doing
to ensure these schools finances are brought under control?
Councillor Taylor, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and City Regeneration replied:
Thank you, Councillor McNair. It's a really important question and the answer is we're doing very many great things to address this issue. There's a number of different ways that the local authority need to intervene on this.
The first is that we had to address the issue of falling pupil numbers, which is a significant driver of financial difficulty for schools because they're funded on a per-pupil basis and, in particular with one-form entry primary schools, if they're well below their overall size, it is difficult to set budgets. If the number decreases each year, you’re chasing your tail in trying to set budgets.
So we had to make some difficult
decisions on school organisation and we had to close two schools,
which is the last thing that we wanted to do. But we're convinced
that we know that was the right thing to do, and by the way, so did
90% of chairs and governors and head teachers in the city. And then
we also reduced the size of some of those other schools. Now that's
not the only piece, there's an intervention on budgets and the
Council is scaling up their resources to assist schools directly
with that budget planning and budget analysis to be able to get
them to bring their budgets in scope. We know it's difficult, we
know the context is difficult. We are very much focused on trying
to get those deficits down and get schools into a more sustainable
place.
Councillor McNair asked a supplementary question:
Many schools in this city are making
huge sacrifices to stay financially on track. One school has been
offered £40,000 not to academize. Can all schools which are in
the black have an extra £40,000?
Councillor Taylor replied:
It's important to be very clear on the amount that Councillor McNair is referencing in the in the context of this consultation. That is an amount that the council has suggested to the school in response to submissions they've made as to why that deficit was historically accrued. We’ve got to be very, very clear that schools with deficits, the council can't just wipe those out in a way that, in my view, the multi-academy trust are somewhat disingenuously offering to the schools. Because ultimately wiping out a deficit means taking a reserve from somewhere else, and that academy trust will have built up those reserves from other schools and their funding. So, I think that's an interesting offer and probably not a good system.
I want to be very clear that this is
not a bribe to the schools, this is a response to their specific
submissions as to why that historic deficit was accrued and it's a
very, very small proportion of the overall deficit. But it's an
important part of a much broader offer that we've said to the
school, about giving them the support that they will need over the
coming years to maintain the fantastic outcomes they have at that
school, and then work through the budget issues.
7. Councillor Earthey asked a question:
My question is sort of inspired by the
recent briefing note we've got on the i360 at the end of November.
So the dire situation at the i360 affects us all as we as Members
are collectively responsible to our council tax payers for
recovering their losses as best we can and to mitigate against
further ones.
This burden of collective responsibility does not fall solely upon the Labour Group, although with your majority you may think that it does, or you can wish it to be so.
So bearing this this in mind, this
notion of collective responsibility, my question is: can the Labour
Group assure this Council that as the i360 is in a near-terminal
state of financial health, will a full cross-party special Scrutiny
Committee be set up to investigate and report on a) how this
situation has arisen, and b) to consider a full range of commercial
options to minimise the financial and job losses to our council tax
payers?
Councillor Taylor, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and City Regeneration replied:
Thank you, Councillor Earthey for your question. In terms of Labour Council wanting to take all the responsibility, now I can assure him I'd love nothing better than to not to have to deal with it and take responsibility for it. Alas, it’s the inheritance from our Green and Conservative colleagues that we have to deal with, as is similar with many areas.
In terms of his question about the
Scrutiny Committee, that will obviously be for the Chairs of
Scrutiny Committee, but I think it sounds like a reasonable idea
that Scrutiny may wish to look at this. I also think that so
serious is the amount of money at play here, and so serious is the
legacy, my personal view is we actually need, probably, an external
audit on this issue to look at the historic decision making and the
amount of money that was extended. I think that is another bit. And
again, that's not about blame game at all, that's about genuinely
learning the lessons. I mean, this is a vast amount of public
money, whatever the outcome is. A vast amount of public money to be
lost on one decision, and I think for good health and good
governance, we need to learn the lessons of that. So scrutiny might
be one way and an external audit might be another way.
Councillor Earthey asked a supplementary question:
Yes, I think we're more or less in violent agreement here but I’ll just make an observation anyway. Last time I talked about having a cross-party thing I was knocked back on the grounds of confidentiality, although I think in this case it's quite clear that all of us Members in this Chamber have already signed an issue of confidentiality to protect Council business. At least half the Members in this Chamber belong to Cabinets and Committee things with even more stringent things of confidentiality.
But I think the most important point is that the poor quality of the commercial judgement of the i360 Management Team is an open secret in every venue in the city and it's remarkably easy to get any information we want from this peer group within the city. Although the other thing I just want to say is that as we are now collectively responsible for the fate of the i360, there can be no secrets from us. So you can forget a whole thing of confidentiality, if we are responsible for it nothing can be hidden from us, otherwise you can't discharge our duty.
So really I think my question, again, possibly in violent agreement
here. So Councillor Taylor, can you assure this Chamber you will
now dismiss these redundant excuses of confidentiality and
implement a totally transparent cross-party approach, open the
books of the i360 for the Members and fully exploit the commercial
talents contained within our
city?
Councillor Taylor replied:
I'd certainly like to unlock the many
commercial talents that exist within the city and I agree with him
on that. In terms of the confidentiality point I think I'll have to
just consider it, because my understanding is that during the
administration process, the administrators would want that
information on the full finances to be available only to commercial
partners that were seriously exploring the prospect. I believe that
is what is happening, well I know that's what's happening, that you
can enter a data room and look at that. Perhaps Councillor Earthey
might want to buy the i360 and then he can sign the NDA and go in
the data room and have a look himself. But I can come back to him
on what we could potentially make available via Scrutiny or
elsewhere.
8. Councillor Nann asked a question:
My question is what can be done to
ensure that disability access to our nightclubs is a level playing
field citywide? Research is showing that some nighttime venues
receive good reviews for this feature, whilst the others do not,
and we need to ensure equality of access to all.
Councillor Alexander, Cabinet Member for Culture, Heritage and Tourism replied on behalf of Councillor Pumm, Cabinet Member for Communities, Equalities and Human Rights:
So the Council's own venue, the Brighton Centre, has received a gold-status from Attitude is Everything, a national organisation working to connect people with disabilities to music and entertainment venues across the country. But work definitely needs to be done on some of our city’s venues that are outside of the Council's control. I have been speaking with Councillor Leslie Pumm this week on this issue and we have agreed that we will arrange to visit venues that fall short of where they need to be when it comes to being fully accessible, and we can definitely advise venues on what would be best practice, and we will encourage venues to improve where needed. Thank you.
Councillor Nann asked a supplementary question:
I've collected a number of reviews from
various venues across the city. If I forward them to you,
Councillor Alexander, would you commit to using them to inform the
work you did?
Councillor Alexander replied:
Yes, please, that, that would be really useful information. Thank you.
9. Councillor Sykes asked a question:
For the second time in recent history, Labour's axed the council’s sustainability team and lost their long-serving officers. And this time the team has been replaced by a net zero team focusing on citywide decarbonisation projects, which are largely out with Council control.
Can councillor Rowkins tell us where leadership now sits for
internal sustainability and environmental management, in which
tasks and activities continue under the new net-zero
team?
Councillor Rowkins, Cabinet Member for Net Zero and Environmental S Services replied:
Well, Councillor Sykes, I'm both discombobulated and disappointed. I thought you were going to take this opportunity to congratulate me on all the hard work that we've been doing on decarbonization. Perhaps the largest solar deployment in the in the Council's history, or as we heard earlier, the nation-leading EV charging infrastructure, or maybe bringing the National Wealth Fund to the city so quickly after their formation by this new government.
As you rightly said, we do now have a net-zero team, which
incidentally is larger than the previous sustainability team. It
currently has nine people in it and will continue to grow as
projects come online. The short answer to your question is that all
of the functionality of what was the sustainability team now sits
within the net zero team, including risk and adaptation and various
other things. There's also exciting stuff happening in other teams
like the Circular Economy Route map, which is coming through, led
by Councillor Goddard over there. So, I'll leave it there. Thank
you.
Councillor Sykes asked a supplementary question:
It's great news that the new team is
larger than the previous one, I'd understood that not to be the
case so that's great. Thanks very much for that. My supplementary
is: independent accreditation and peer review is important to
demonstrate leadership and promote sustainability in the Council's
supply chain. So I wonder if you could update us, Councillor
Rowkins, on where we are with the Council's sustainable
environmental policy, any relevant accreditations such as ISO 14001
Environmental Management Systems, newer accreditations around
carbon in construction PAS 2080, things like sustainable events
management ISO 12021 external accreditations. I wonder if you
could update us? Thank you.
Councillor Rowkins replied:
Well, Councillor Sykes, you clearly have a much more encyclopaedic knowledge of all of those regulations than I do. I can certainly assure him that embodied carbon, and certainly scope 3 emissions and all of that, is very much within consideration. I'm happy to come back to you if you want to give me a list of those particular accreditations. I'll happily come back to you on that. But clearly what we're really focused on in the net zero team has only been in place for a few months now. The city is belting out nearly three million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, and that's been our focus. So when I get a minute, I'll happily come back to you on that.
10. Councillor McNair asked a question on behalf of Councillor Meadows:
In the e-mail I sent out on the 4th of
November to Councillors regarding City Plan 2041 Consultations,
Patchman and Hollingbury was not listed as a consultation location.
Why were Councillors not updated about the consultation in Patcham
on the 4th of December?
Councillor Taylor, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and City Regeneration replied:
Thank you, Councillor McNair, for your
question instead of Councillor Meadows. The honest answer is I
don't know about that. If there was an event in your Ward and you
weren't aware of that, then that is not correct and I will ask
officers to look into what happened because you should have been
invited.
Councillor McNair asked a supplementary question:
Why was the consultation at 2pm in the afternoon when most people are working and not, for example, at 6pm?
Councillor Taylor replied:
Fair question. As someone who's currently doing a lot of consultation events on schools, we often get feedback that if you do meetings in the evening, that's difficult for people who have children. If you do them in the daytime, it’s difficult for people who work. If you do it at the weekends, that's difficult for those who've got family to look after at the weekend. So I think it's important, and what we try to do when we have large consultations, is to have a spread of events across both locations and times and formats. So that one was at 2pm, perhaps that wasn't great for everyone, but the Council tries to accommodate everyone in our consultations.
60 Timetable of Meetings for 2025/26
60.1 Councillor Robins introduced, and formally moved the report.
60.2 The Mayor noted that an officer amendment had been published in the addendum papers.
60.3 The Mayor noted that there was an amendment from the Green Group in relation to this report as set out in the addendum papers.
60.4 Councillor Shanks withdrew the amendment on behalf of the Green Group.
60.5 The Mayor put the recommendations as detailed in the officer amendment to the vote which was carried.
60.6 Resolved -
1) That the proposed timetable of meetings for the 2025/26 municipal year be agreed; subject to any necessary amendments following changes to the Constitution and/or committees’ requirements.
2) The addition of one extra meeting for the Place Overview & Scrutiny and People Overview & Scrutiny committees, bringing the total to five meetings each.
61 Fuel Poverty for Pensioners
61.1 The Notice of Motion as listed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor McNair on behalf of the Conservative Group and formally seconded by Councillor Theobald.
61.2 The Mayor noted that there was an amendment from the Labour Group in relation to this motion as set out in the addendum papers.
61.3 Councillor Alexander moved the amendment on behalf of the Labour Group which was formally seconded by Councillor Mackey.
61.4 Councillors West and Earthey spoke on the matter
61.5 Councillor McNair responded to the debate and did not accept the amendment by the Labour Group
61.6 The Mayor put the amendment to the vote and confirmed that it had been lost.
61.7 The Mayor put the motion as amended to the vote and confirmed that it had been carried.
61.8 Resolved to:
1) Note the continued promotion in January and February 2025 via council communication avenues the opportunity for those pensioners who need support, beyond those already on pension credits or other means tested benefits, to apply for the Brighton & Hove Fuel Payment Support Fund.
2) Review the uptake of the Brighton & Hove Fuel Payment Support Fund in advance of the budget setting process.
3) Thank officers who are working hard to help residents’ eligibility checks and applications for Pension Credit, as well as provide direct financial help with energy costs and wider advice on keeping warm this winter.
62 Addressing Infant Mortality – Baby Box Initiative
62.1 The Notice of Motion as listed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor De Oliveira on behalf of the Labour Group and formally seconded by Councillor Robinson.
62.2 Councillors McLeay and Shanks spoke on the matter.
62.3 Councillor De Oliveira responded to the debate.
62.4 The Mayor put the motion to the vote and confirmed that the motion had been carried.
62.5 Resolved to:
1) Request the Health & Wellbeing Board to review the possibility of working with the 3rd sector to Distribute BabyBoxes to up-to 100 newborns annually in the most deprived postcodes including essential items like clothing, bedding, and personal care products.
2) Explore collaboration with health professionals and community - 3-organisations to ensure effective delivery.
3) Advocate for enhanced national implementation and collaborate with government and local authorities to share insights.
4) If a program is considered deliverable, collect data on program uptake and impact to guide future expansion and integrate the BabyBox program into wider strategies targeting health disparities, working with partners in health, education, and social care.
63 Motion for the Ocean
63.1 The Joint Notice of Motion as listed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Fowler on behalf of the Labour Group and formally seconded by Councillor Earthey on behalf of the Brighton and Hove Independent Group.
63.2 The Mayor noted that there was an amendment from the Green Group in relation to this motion as set out in the addendum papers.
63.3 Councillor Sykes moved the amendment on behalf of the Green Group which was formally seconded by Councillor Pickett.
63.4 Councillor O’Quinn spoke on the matter.
63.5 Councillor Fowler responded to the debate and did not accept the amendment.
63.6 The Mayor put the amendment to the vote and confirmed that this had been lost.
63.7 The Mayor put the amendment by the Green Group to the vote and confirmed that this had been lost.
63.8 The Mayor put the motion to the vote and confirmed that the motion had been carried.
63.9 Resolved to –
1) Request officers to bring a report to Cabinet which explores:
· The actions and projects that will contribute to an ocean recovery in/around Brighton and Hove.
· How to embed ocean recovery in all strategic decisions, plans, budgets, procurement and approaches to decisions by the Council (particularly in planning, regeneration, skills and economic policy), aligning with climate change mitigation and adaptation requirements, and considering ocean-based solutions in our journey towards a carbon neutral and climate resilient future.
· How to ensure that local planning supports ocean recovery, working closely with the Marine Management Organisation to embed strong links between the Local Plan and the Southeast Marine Plan.
· What work can be delivered with partners locally to improve water quality and increase sustainability in marine industries, and to promote a sustainable “blue economy” that delivers ocean recovery and local prosperity; including the local fishing industry and the vital work of Sussex IFCA.
· How to grow ocean literacy and marine citizenship, fostering pride in our seaside city, including: a. How to ensure pupils are given the opportunity to experience the ocean first-hand before leaving primary school. b. Exploring how the council can work with cultural, business and civic organisations throughout the city to promote marine and coastline clean1ups and volunteer opportunities.
64 Fraud Error and Debt Bill
64.1 The Notice of Motion as listed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Sykes on behalf of the Green Group and formally seconded by Councillor Goldsmith.
64.2 The Mayor noted that there was an amendment from the Labour Group in relation to this motion as set out in the addendum papers.
64.3 Councillor Taylor moved the amendment on behalf of the Labour Group which was formally seconded by Councillor Miller.
64.4 Councillor Lyons spoke on the matter.
64.5 Councillor Sykes responded to the debate and did not accept the amendment.
64.6 The Mayor put the amendment by the Labour Group to the vote and confirmed that this had been carried.
64.7 The Mayor put the motion as amended to the vote and confirmed that the motion had been carried.
64.8 Resolved to -
1) Request that a report is brought to a future Cabinet meeting once the bill is published which:
a) sets out the potential impact of these new powers on B&HCC, including the
b) impact on benefit claimants and of new administrative responsibilities;
c) explores the legal duties that would fall on the Council in enforcing any measures in the bill.
65 Keep the £2 Bus Fare Cap
65.1 The Joint Notice of Motion as listed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Davis on behalf of the Green Group and Brighton and Hove Independent Group which was formally seconded by Councillor Earthey.
65.2 The Mayor noted that there was an amendment from the Labour Group in relation to this motion as set out in the addendum papers.
65.3 Councillor Muten moved the amendment on behalf of the Labour Group which was formally seconded by Councillor Nann.
65.4 Councillors Hill and Lyons spoke on the matter.
65.5 Councillor Davis responded to the debate and did not accept the amendment.
65.6 The Mayor put the amendment by the Labour Group to the vote and confirmed that this had been carried.
65.7 The Mayor put the motion as amended to the vote and confirmed that the motion had been carried.
65.8 Resolved to –
1) Commend the Cabinet Member for Transport, Parking and Public Realm for having proactively met with local bus companies to discuss how we could work together to keep the bus fare cap, at the lowest possible cost to the Council;
2) Give encouragement to the Leader of the Council to engage in devolution discussions with the government which could gift new powers for our region to take buses back under public control as Mayor Andy Burnham and Mayor Steve Rotherham have successfully done.
66 Close of Meeting
The meeting concluded at 9.59pm
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Signed
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Chair |
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Dated this |
day of
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2024 |