BRIGHTON AND HOVE CITY COUNCIL
GREATER BRIGHTON ECONOMIC BOARD
28.01.2025 – MINUTES

Attendees: Cllr Sankey (Chair), Cllr Martin Lewry, Cllr Jeremy Gardner, Cllr Robert Eggleston, Cllr Michael Jones, Cllr Sophie Cox

Jess Gibbons, Rob Cottrill, Kathryn Hall, Ian Duke, Catherine Howe, Andy Willams

Stephen Lightfoot, Dean Orgill, Andrew Swayne, Debbie Keeling, Siôn McGeever, Dan Power

Francis Mitchell, Natasha Bridge, Andy Hill, Rachael Harding, Alex Voce, Ellen Smith

12 – Procedural Business

12.1 There were no declarations of substitutes.

12.2 There were no declarations of interests.

12.3 There were no part two items.

13 – Minutes of the previous meeting

13.1 The Minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as correct record.

14 – Chair’s Communications

14.1 The Chair delivered the following communications:

Good morning, everyone,

I’d like to begin today’s meeting by addressing two important developments that impact our region’s economic landscape.

Devolution

In December, the government released the much-anticipated English Devolution White Paper, which outlines the framework for transferring greater powers and resources to regional authorities with a clear ambition for devolution to reach every part of the country to support local growth.

This initiative aims to empower local governments, enhance economic autonomy, and tailor policies more closely to our unique needs.

Following special cabinet meetings in East and West Sussex and Brighton & Hove on 9th January, all three councils agreed to submit an expression of interest to the Government to form a Mayoral Strategic Authority for Sussex and to join the Devolution Priority Programme which would put us on an accelerated timeframe. A decision from Government is expected in the coming weeks.

This Board was born from a City Deal in 2014, which was a form of devolution. As this new chapter in the devolution journey evolves, the Board will keep close to the developments in Sussex and work to support collaboration to drive economic growth in the region.

DBT Tech Team Visit: Outcomes

In November we hosted a successful 2-day visit of colleagues from the Technology Investment Team at the Department of Business & Trade. The team work with overseas investors to attract investment into the UK.  This visit was a great opportunity for us to showcase why this region is such a fantastic place for businesses, particularly technology businesses. The visit was received positively and the DBT team were impressed by the presence and participation of senior representatives of the universities, colleges, business support organisations, businesses and local authorities throughout the visit, demonstrating the importance Greater Brighton places on inward investment. Thank you all for your support with it.

They recognized our region’s burgeoning strength in quantum computing, a field where we have demonstrated remarkable progress and potential. Our region can help the UK to capitalize on its research excellence in quantum computing to give rise to a world-class industry sector. To realise this ambition, government funding is needed. I raised this to Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, and as a result, a ministerial visit has been scheduled for him to see the quantum computing potential of the region first hand. The Board will provide a quote and photo to include on the day, send a letter of support following the visit to demonstrate the importance of the sector to the region and continue our dialogue with DSIT. Following our meeting today please stick around so we can take this photo.

Kathryn Hall presented an overview of Burgess Hill’s Science and Technology Park, emphasizing the significant growth being delivered at Burgess Hill, as well as local facilities, services and its gigabit connectivity. The primary request was assistance from government to enable delivery by increasing capacity at the key A23/A2300 junction. In response, departments across government are working with the Council. It is hoped this approach will enable collaborative support from multiple government departments, to fully realise the region’s growth potential.

Papers for today

NHS Sussex ICB

In July I received a letter from the NHS Sussex ICB formally requesting to join the Board. Last Board meeting we heard from Amy Galea, their Chief Integration & Primary Care Officer about the rationale for them joining the Board. In that meeting we agreed that we were supportive of including them as a Board member. Since then, each Council has formally ratified this membership extension. This topic is coming back to the Board today to officially approve that the NHS Sussex ICB should join the Board. 

Sussex Energy

The Board launched the Sussex Energy Mission in July. The Sussex Energy update paper highlights the progress made since the last Board meeting in October. Building a Sussex-wide network of sustainability networks to co-create the Sussex Energy Programme is critical to its success and to build towards this there has been engagement with a wide group of sustainability experts across Sussex, including all Local Authorities. The key development has been the establishment of a Core Network of sustainability experts to steer the programme, which includes representation from each of the Sussex upper tier authorities and the South Downs National Park Authority. Building these relationships has been achieved through a diligent effort within a complex and sensitive environment. The Core Network are developing a proposal for a forum to enable engagement of a wider group of sustainability stakeholders, for knowledge sharing and to shape the Sussex Energy programme.

15 – Admission of New Member to the Board

15.1 Andy Hill introduced the report for this item, providing an overview of the boards admissions processes and recommending that the board formally agree the NHS ICB as a member of the board.

15.2 Stephen Lightfoot thanked the board and provided an overview of their professional career as well as their personal motivations.

15.3 The board unanimously agreed the recommendations of the report.

16 – Sussex Energy Update

16.1 Natasha Bridge introduced the report for this item, providing an update on the progress of Sussex Energy and engagements with stakeholders of the organisation.

16.2 Andrew Swayne invited the board and stakeholders to share how they plan to accelerate the development of Sussex Energy.

16.3 Cllr Sophie Cox was informed of the types of organisations that Sussex Energy were engaging with, such as Local Authorities, Gatwick Airport and Rampion Wind Energy.

16.4 Stephen Lightfoot emphasised the importance of collaborative work and stated the NHS’s support for decarbonisation.

16.5 Natasha Bridge stated that the aim for Sussex Energy was to achieve carbon energy-neutrality the county by 2040, and that there was currently not a plan to establish Sussex Energy as a company.

The meeting concluded at 10:36.