Date of meeting: 20 March 2025

A period of not more than fifteen minutes shall be allowed at each ordinary meeting of the Council for the hearing of deputations from members of the public.

Notification of the following Deputations has been received. The spokesperson is entitled to speak for 5 minutes.

1) Deputation: New England House

1. The impact of the Council’s sudden closure of the building on 8 November 2024 - including the impact of the meeting between Tenants and Council officers on 8 October 2024 when the word “decant” was first used and we were told that our annual Open Studios would not be possible in December.

2. The uncertainty and insecurity that this initiated for all tenants, and which continued and continues to this day regarding the continuation of our tenancies. As a member of the Tenants Reference Group, I attended all meetings with Council Officers but the lack of information regarding the future of the building and our future as tenants continued and continues.

3. The effect of the uncertainty regarding our tenure on our work and our working practice, and on the atmosphere in the building,

Much of our work is self-generated and may take years to prepare e.g. creating new work and preparing for exhibitions. Many of us have found it impossible to work on projects and unable to take up offers and opportunities to exhibit work, collaborate on exhibitions, undertake commissions when we haven't known whether we would have studios in which to work. It has stifled our creativity and curbed our ambition.

4. Who we are and what we do: painters, photographers, print makers, illustrators, graphic artists, ceramicists, multidisciplinary artists, textile artists and designers, embroiderers, portrait artists, art tutors / lecturers, costume makers, sculptors, book artists, writers, video makers, performers, inventors and more.

5. Our Impact on the Brighton community as a whole and the future of the city and what Brighton will lose through dismantling the creative community of NEH.

What we provide to make Brighton the attractive, inclusive, generous, individualistic, tolerant, creative, exciting city that we all want it to be, and which attracts people who want to make it their home and visitors from all over the world.

(The council is looking to expand the visitor economy through a 10-year growth strategy)

Small businesses: individual and expanding businesses working in the Arts sector in NEH. Examples “Draw” / Drawing Circus: Affordable Drop in Life drawing employing fine artists as tutors, and models who support their other work as performers, musicians, singers, artist, poets. Many of us are one person businesses, artists working alone in our studios but benefiting from contact and

collaboration with the others who work in the building, interacting on organising the Open Studios for over 20 years, running courses, preparing projects for the Brighton festival, for performances, drawing, painting & printmaking sessions, seminars, within the building and throughout the city through creative collaboration that goes on behind our doors; taking interns from Brighton University and then employing them.

5. We seek from the Council that you will be generous and understanding of the impact that any closure and disruption will have on individuals, on all the people who work with us, for us, our clients and families and on Brighton as a whole, and (if the building is to be vacated) to provide us with the certainty of a generous period of notice and assistance in minimising the cost and disruption this will cause to our work and our lives

6. We seek from the Council that you will find and provide for us Artists and Makers suitable alternative accommodation with a building that will allow our creative community to continue, prosper and benefit Brighton and the wider community.

Supported by:

Rea Stavropoulos (Lead Spokesperson)

Heike Roesel

Sam Williams

Lancelot Richardson

Peter James Field

Adam Stower

Brett James

Ken Eardley

Jenny King

David Myers

Marisa Zanotti