Agenda item - Brighton & Hove Events Strategy pre-decision scrutiny

43 Brighton & Hove Events Strategy pre-decision scrutiny

43.1 Cllr Miller, cabinet member for Culture, Heritage and Tourism, presented the report to the committee. Key points included the priority areas to develop such as improving community ownership of events, being more inclusive, protecting the natural environment and generating over £1m in revenue. The report explained how they plan to engage with the community through in person forums and using the Your Voice digital platform and it detailed the forward plan with a timeline.

43.2 Mark Strong of the Community Voluntary Sector asked questions about benchmarking with other cities, engaging with community groups to see how they are affected, particularly access issues, citing fences in Madeira Drive during the marathon and hoarding walls that were erected around St Peter’s Church. Mark Strong asked whether the 28 days included setting up and breaking down before and after the event itself. Ian Baird, Outdoor Events Development Manager, said that the 28 days allows for use of the space for that commercial purpose and does not include full build and break. He said that mitigations will be put in place to help with access issues and will be informed by equality impact assessments. 

43.4 Mary Davies, Chair of the Older Peoples’ Council, raised issues regarding physical access, public seating, buses, public toilets and ensuring events viewing areas are not standing only. There are accessibility issues during the marathon where residents cannot get to the seafront. Cllr Miller said that negative impacts cannot be completely removed for all events but they can be reduced, such as access issues only being in place for as short a time as possible. There are positive impacts that are not always obvious such as revenue being used to fund public toilets and subsidising smaller events.

43.5 Members asked questions about revenue generation, consultation with residents, the charges for event organisers and whether they could be increased, ground repair following events in green spaces, to consider tree roots when planning events so they are not damaged, to communicate the planned improvements out to residents, whether events can be mapped to their particular areas, the banning of sky litter and what happens if this is breached, and accessibility when large scale citywide events are taking place that can cut off parts of the city and make some areas inaccessible. With current fines for contract breaches at only £100, a suggestion was put forward to raise this.

43.6 Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee resolved to note the report