Issue - items at meetings - Issues Raised by Members

To consider the following matters raised by councillors:

 

(a)      Petitions: to receive any petitions submitted to the full Council or at the meeting itself;

(b)      Written Questions: to consider any written questions (copy attached);

 

a)    Madeira Terraces (Lockwood Project)  – Councillor Nemeth

b)    Summer Tourism – Councillor Peltzer Dunn

c)    Green Space at Hove Museum – Councillor Nemeth

d)    Meetings with Senior Tourism Figures – Councillor C. Theobald

e)    Issues that Deter Tourism – Councillor Peltzer Dunn

f)     Improvement in the Planning Service – Councillor Nemeth

g)    Hive Seafront Railings (Major Projects) – Councillor Nemeth

 

(c)      Letters: to consider any letters;

(d)      Notices of Motion: to consider any Notices of Motion referred from Council or submitted directly to the Committee.

 

i)    Estate Agent’s Board – Referred from Full Council 21 July 2016 (copy attached).

b)        Written Questions

 

17.1    The Chair noted there were seven written questions listed on the agenda.

 

            Madeira Terraces (Lockwood Project)

 

17.2    Councillor Nemeth asked: “At the last meeting of the Economic Development & Culture Committee, the Committee resolved to ‘request a full public statement from the Leader of the Council on the Administration’s plans for the Madeira Terraces, with specific reference to the recent Victorian Society report that gave much lower repair figures than official estimates….’ Will the Chair please provide evidence that the Committee’s request was made?”

 

17.3    The Chair provided the following written response: “A bid to the Coastal Communities Fund for the Madeira Terraces was made in June 2016, and a report detailing this was presented to Policy Resources & Growth Committee on 14 July 2016.

 

The issue raised about referencing the Victorian Society report was covered in the Committee report, and represents the Council’s current position.

 

If this could/should have been separately provided to members of the Committee in a letter, please find it reproduced here:

 

‘Working with Historic England and other stakeholders

 

3.13 In order to adequately address the points made by heritage stakeholders and complete the Coastal Communities Fund application, the Project Team have been working on the following tasks:

 

- Developing a full and current Statement of Significance for Madeira Terraces. This document will serve to capture the various elements of the Terraces (engineering, social significance and value, architectural significance etc) and create the platform against which any future restoration or refurbishment proposals can be judged.

- Developing a “base case” restoration strategy based on a review of existing surveys and an up to date conservation structural assessment provided by Mott MacDonald’s structural engineers. This will address the comments recently made by the Victorian Society who have expressed reservations about some of the cost estimates previously produced.’”

 

17.4    By way of supplementary Councillor Nemeth stated his view that his question had not been answered and he asked for evidence that the request was made to the Leader.

 

17.5    The Chair replied that he had no specific evidence, but provided assurance that the request was made.

 

            Summer Tourism

 

17.6    Councillor Peltzer Dunn asked: “With the summer now over, will the Chair confirm what criteria he is now using to evaluate the success or otherwise of the summer tourist season?”

 

17.7    The Chair provided the following written response: “The key criteria we use to evaluate tourist seasons are the tourism figures for Brighton & Hove which are prepared for VisitBrighton by Tourism South East. The figures are 1 year in arrears as it takes a period of time to collect and review the data, therefore we currently have the figures for 2015.

 

The highlight figures for 2015 are shown below;

 

Total number of tourism day trips: 9,100,000 (9% decrease on 2014)

Day Trip Expenditure 2014 = £322 million (6.4% decrease on 2014)

This echoes a 5% decline in volume of trips in South East with a 12% decline in expenditure. England as a whole saw a 1% decline in volume with a 1% increase in expenditure.

 

Staying trips: 1,456,000 (1.5% increase on 2014)

 

Staying trips made by Domestic Overnight Visitors = 1,069,000 (2.1% increase on 2014)

Nights spent by Domestic Overnight Visitors = 2,726,000 (1.1% increase on 2014)

 

Staying trips made by Overseas Overnight Visitors = 387,000 (static on 2014)

Nights spent by Overseas Overnight Visitors = 2,268,000 (1.7% increase on 2014)

 

Staying Visitors Expenditure 2014 = £526 million (1.5% increase on 2014)

 

Total Number of Visitors = 10,556,000 (7.7% decrease on 2014)

 

Total (Direct) Value of Tourism in Brighton & Hove = £815 million (1.8% decrease on 2014)

 

Tourism Supported: 15,683 FTE jobs and 21,374 Actual jobs which equates to around 17% of all employee jobs in Brighton & Hove

 

However, we can also take note of information available from other sources For 2016 that a recent survey conducted by Epos Now of 320 hospitality businesses across the UK showed that credit card transactions were up between 17 July and 17 August compared to the same period last year and Brighton & Hove came top of 10 seaside resorts with an overall increase of 12.8%.”

 

17.8    By way of a supplementary Councillor Peltzer Dunn highlighted that his question related to the criteria the Chair would to assess the success of this summer, and if this information could be broken down.

 

17.9    The Chair deferred to the Executive Director who agreed to take the matter away to see if the information could be interrogated by month and season.

 

   Green Space at Hove Museum

 

17.10  Councillor Nemeth asked: “Given the success of the campaign to save Hove Library, will the Chair confirm that the park behind Hove Museum is now safe from development proposals from Brighton & Hove City Council?”

 

17.11  The Chair provided the following written response: “The land behind Hove Museum is designated as Public Open Space under CP16, and at present the Council has no other plans to redevelop this land.”

 

17.12  By way of supplementary Councillor Nemeth asked if the Chair would support the Conservative Group is requesting that the land become a public green space.

 

17.13  The Chair highlighted that the Council currently had no plans to develop the land, and highlighted the statutory processes, that had previously been discussed, which enabled local green spaces to be designated.

 

            Meeting with Senior Tourism Figures

 

17.14  Councillor C. Theobald asked: “What meetings did the Chair hold in August with senior tourism figures in the city?”

 

17.15  The Chair provided the following written response: “The Chair has regular usually monthly meetings with the Executive Director for Economy, Environment & Culture, the Head of Royal Pavilion and Museums and the Head of Sport and Leisure. The Chair is also in regular contact with Head of Outdoor Events and the Seafront Manager.  The Chair is therefore kept fully aware of the views of senior tourism figures through these meetings and via the many city networks. For example the Head of Tourism & Venues attended the Brighton & Hove Hotels Association meeting on the 9th August and also The Tourism Alliance meeting on the 7th September. The question of business sentiment is always discussed at these meetings and in general the vast majority of businesses were very positive about this year’s summer season.”

 

17.16  By way of supplementary Councillor C. Theobald asked if the Chair had attended any specific meeting in August.

 

17.17  The Chair referred to his earlier response, and noted that August was a very busy month for senior tourism figures.

 

            Issues that Deter Tourism

 

17.18  Councillor Peltzer Dunn asked: “What representations has the Chair made to Administration colleagues about overflowing bins, overgrown pavements, aggressive street drinkers and other issues that deter tourists?”

 

17.19  The Chair provided the following written response: “On information already given, this has been a very good summer season, so there is no reason to suggest that tourists are being deterred from coming to the city. However, the Chair works as a team with all administration colleagues to ensure that the city works well for residents and for tourists, and we are focussing on street cleaning and refuse collection. In the last City Tracker survey there was a 33% increase in residents’ satisfaction with refuse collection, and Cityclean has just won a national APSE award for the Best Service Team for Street Cleansing and Streetscene services. The administration has also just rolled out Big Belly Bins across the city so that bins can take more rubbish and can be emptied as soon as they are full. Within available funds pavements are kept clear of vegetation. As part of the implementation of the Rough Sleeping Strategy 2016, the administration is engaging as fully as possible with the street community, including tackling issues where they arise when people are suffering from alcohol or addiction problems.”

 

17.20  By way of supplementary Councillor Peltzer Dunn noted he was of the view his question had not been answered.

 

17.21  The Chair replied that he had made no direct representations as he and colleagues in the administration worked closely as a team, where such matters were raised.

 

Improvements in the Planning Service

 

17.22  Councillor Nemeth asked: “Given the dreadful image of the Planning Department in the eyes of public and industry, and given that the Department’s problems have been amply described by Conservative Councillors since at least May 2015, how long does the Chairman think that it will be before industry and public alike recognise any improvements?”

 

17.23  The Chair provided the following written response: “There is an item on the agenda of today’s committee meeting on the steps that are being taken to modernise the planning service following the Planning Advisory Service review.  Officers will provide a presentation which will outline current and future service improvements. The Chair would also like to note that Planning Service is being turned around due to the priority it is being given under the Labour administration in contrast to the lack of priority under previous administrations. Its image is being restored and the Chair would like to put on record that this will be down to the hard work of the Officers.”

 

17.24  By way of supplementary Councillor Nemeth highlighted the length of time the administration had been in office, and his view that this was taking too long.

 

17.25  The Chair deferred to the Deputy Chair who highlighted that this work had begun as soon as the Administration had taken office.

 

            Hove Seafront Railings (Major Projects)

 

17.26  Councillor Nemeth asked: “Given the status of the Madeira Terraces as a major project following years of neglect, will the Chair write to the Chair of the ET&S Committee to express concerns about the condition of the seafront railings in Hove, before fixing them requires a scheme of major project proportions?”

 

17.27  The Chair provided the following written response: “It is not necessary for the Chair to write to the Chair of ET&S Committee, as the need for considerable investment in Seafront Infrastructure was considered by the cross party Seafront Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel. A key recommendation of that panel was the development of a Seafront Investment Plan to identify potential options to achieve a sustainable Seafront. This is to be considered by the Policy, Resources & Growth Committee in October. Maintenance of the railings takes place when possible within available resources and the prioritisation of other maintenance requirements. Within the last 7 years works have been undertaken at different points totally over £100,000.”

 

17.28  By way of supplementary Councillor Nemeth asked if the Chair recognised the concerns of residents of Hove and Portslade that the west of the city did not feature so heavily in the work of the Seafront Scrutiny Panel.

 

17.29  The Chair replied that there had been in excess of £100K investment in the last few years, and the railings were regularly painted.

 

d)        Notices of Motion

 

17.30  The Chair noted that one Notice of Motion had been referred from Council on 22 July 2016 in relation to Estate Agent’s Boards.

 

17.31  The Chair deferred to the Deputy Chair who read the following response:

 

“In response to the Notice of Motion it is proposed that Officers bring a report to ED&C Committee in November that will review the options available to deal with the problem of Estate Agents Boards within central areas of the city. This will consider extending the boundary of the Regulation 7 Direction as well as alternative options for controlling the display of boards.

 

In addition the report will look at options for managing the proliferation of Estate Agents boards in other areas of the city, for example areas with large concentrations of Houses in Multiple Occupation near to the Lewes Road. This has been identified as a priority in the Student Housing Strategy.

 

There has been good progress on this work and officers have recently had a meeting with Brighton & Hove Estate Agents Association to discuss some of the options. They are supportive better management of boards and will continue to work with officers.

 

The report will consider options and make recommendations for the best way forward.”

 

17.32  RESOLVED – That the Committee agree to bring a report to the November meeting.