Issue - items at meetings - Public Involvement

To consider the following matters raised by members of the public:

(a)               Petitions:  

To receive any petitions presented by members of the public to the full Council or at the meeting itself.

(i)                 Stop fencing in Tenantry Down for Grazing- Sue Grimstone

(ii)               Allotment plot chopping in Brighton & Hove- Gary Johnson

(b)               Written Questions:

To receive any questions submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 20 March 2013.

(c)               Deputations:             

To receive any deputations submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 20 March 2013.

(a)               Petitions

(i)                 Stop fencing in Tenantry Down for grazing- Sue Grimstone

58.1         The petitioner did not attend the meeting therefore a response would be provided in writing. The Chair also read out the response at the meeting as follows:

“I absolutely agree that sites such as Tenantry Down must be accessible the public and I am pleased to say that sheep grazing does not stop the public from using the site for recreation. All it means is that we ask dog walkers to have their dog on a lead when the sheep are on site.  This works well in other areas such as Beacon Hill, Green Ridge, Sheepcote where public continue to enjoy those valuable green spaces. Indeed I understand that some of the dog walkers who use Tenantry Down, think the fence is an improvement as, when the sheep are not there, they can take their dogs off the lead safely – knowing they cannot run into the traffic.

 We are blessed with our beautiful Downland countryside within and around the city and our chalk grassland, its flora, fauna and wildlife, have developed because of many centuries of sheep grazing.  Unfortunately 97% of the flower rich downland grassland disappeared in the last century and the remaining 3% is under threat from spreading scrub. Conservation, by returning to sheep grazing is the best way of enhancing and preserving our chalk grassland.  Mowing is crude method which causes greater disruption to wildlife and is also a costly option particularly when we consider the grants we receive from Natural England through our Higher Level Stewardship scheme to introduce grazing.  And of course, many people do enjoy seeing the sheep. We have 100 plus lookerers all keeping on eye on the well being of our sheep and a dedicated twitter account informing people of movement of the sheep. 

We did include Tenantry Down in the Whitehawk Hill consultation which was an extensive process”.

58.2         RESOLVED- That the petition be noted.

(ii)               Allotment plot chopping in Brighton and Hove- Gary Johnson

58.3         The petitioner did not attend the meeting therefore a response would be provided in writing. The Chair also read out the response at the meeting as follows:

“As you are aware, the council has been letting smaller allotment plots for a numbers years now and as well as being of a manageable size producing food for many, this has allowed us to increase the number of people able to have an allotment and grow food.  We are looking at new allotment sites but these will not be able to deal with even a quarter of those people on the waiting list for an allotment.

I am very pleased that the meetings with the Allotment Federation on the strategy are going well and at the Allotment Federation AGM it was really positive to hear the progress made – for example agreeing excellent objectives for the strategy.  My view has been that all issues and ideas should be discussed at the strategy meetings – everything should be on the table as we work out ways to meet the objectives.  I think it is right that the issue of plot size has been raised at those meetings and it is important to look at the impacts of plot splitting, enlarging or choice will have and for further discussions to take place.

It also extremely important that we consult allotment holders, those on the waiting list and residents on that strategy. With that in mind, I don’t think it is right to make changes in policy until we have had that consultation but please let’s keep the dialogue going through the strategy meetings”.

58.4         Councillor Theobald stated that he hoped there could be flexibility in the plot sizes available. He asked if discussions with the Allotment Federation were ongoing.

58.5         The Chair confirmed that discussions were ongoing. The Chair added that a pragmatic approach to plot sizes had been undertaken in an attempt to meet demand which had still not been achieved. He stated that he was open-minded as to plot sizes available but there was an requirement of the council to meet the demand too. The Chair supplemented that the outcome of the allotment strategy was still unknown at this stage.

58.6         Councillor Theobald noted his support for the Chair’s statement.

58.7         Councillor Mitchell asked when the Draft Allotment Strategy would be published.

58.8         The Chair stated that as the process would be led by the Allotment Federation and sufficient time would be needed for discussion, he was unsure of a timescale for publication at this stage. The Head of City Infrastructure added that, subject to discussions, it was likely that there would be a city-wide consultation in the summer of 2013 with the draft Allotment Strategy possibly published sometime in 2014.

58.9         RESOLVED- That the petition be noted.