Agenda item - Written questions from members of the public

A list of public questions received by the due date of 10am on 1 October 2025 will be circulated separately as part of an addendum for the meeting.

36.1    The mayor reported that 9 written questions had been received from members of the public and invited them to come forward and address the council.

 

1.       Omaid Hiwaizi asked: 

 

Please could Brighton Council endorse the Plant Based Treaty, following over 46 towns and cities worldwide? Since I last raised the Treaty in February 2024, when 24 towns had endorsed it, the number has grown to over 46, showing momentum. The Treaty calls for a global commitment, alongside the Paris Agreement, to reduce food system emissions and encourage local action. After Edinburgh endorsed it in February 2023, they introduced carbon labelling in schools and universities, staff training, and public education. I ask that the Council show leadership by endorsing the Treaty and making plant-based food more accessible to residents.  

 

Councillor Rowkins, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Net Zero & Environmental Services, replied:  

 

Thank you, Omaid, for the question and for coming to the chamber, albeit online. You're quite right - food production is of course a major contributor to global greenhouse emissions, somewhere approaching 30%, with meat production making up well over half of that. That's due not only to the very large emissions in relation to producing feed for the livestock over their lifetimes, not to mention water use and so on, but also the role of methane, which of course is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. I think it's about 28 times more powerful in terms of its impact on global warming. Just as an aside, I do think that as a city we do have to really get to grips with the emissions associated with the goods and services that we consume. We spend so much time talking about energy and all of those things, which is quite right, but we have to start grappling with this wider issue.  

 

I'm plant-based myself, I don't mind sharing, and enjoy living in a city that embraces that and offers so much choice. I'm aware of the Treaty and its signatories and I'm looking into what information is available in order to assess the outcomes from those cities in terms of tangible emissions reduction. If we're convinced that signing up to the Treaty would lead to emissions reductions here in Brighton & Hove, then we will certainly consider signing up.  

 

In the meantime, I would certainly encourage everyone in this chamber, and indeed in the city, to eat less meat and dairy. Not just for environmental reasons, but of course in the interests of health as well. If you do eat meat and dairy, please consider buying some of the excellent local food produced here in Sussex. 
 

Omaid Hiwaizi asked a supplementary question: 

 

Is the council willing to meet with me and the Plant Based Treaty team to learn more about the initiative and see how we can work together? 

 

Councillor Rowkins replied: 

 

Very easy answer. Absolutely, yes. I think as I referenced in the initial response to the substantive question, what I'm really keen to do is to sort of get to grips a bit more with some of the tangible outputs of what's been achieved in those cities that have signed up in terms of, you know, tangible and measurable emissions reduction. So very very happy to learn more about it from you and I'll be in touch after the meeting to set that up. 

 

 2.       Adrian Hill asked: 

 

Residents have been told by the bus company and the council since 2018 that there is an Ultra Low Emission Zone on North Street and Western Road. The zone only applies to buses, is non charging, doesn't exclude non compliant vehicles, didn't actually become live until 2024 and is voluntary. Vehicles including buses violating the zone are still being driven on these roads. Do you understand the link between air pollution and health and can you charge vehicles that don't meet the zone's requirements?  

 

Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport and City Infrastructure, replied: 

 

Thank you, Adrian, for your question. It was good to meet you recently, ride alongside you at last month’s Kidical Mass family cycle ride and see you at last week’s Sussex Air Quality Conference. In short, and more so following the excellent presentation at last week’s conference, I'm very much aware of the compelling links between air quality and a range of health conditions.  

 

Now, in terms of your question, running between North Street and Western Road are ultra-low emission zones or ULEZ along this route that have been in place for the past decade and have been a success in driving demonstrable improvements to the standard of buses passing through our city centre.  

 
Earlier this year, Brighton & Hove buses, the majority of which pass through this route, confirmed that all of their fleet on this route are ULEZ compliant. That is they are Euro 5 or Euro 6 standard through upgrading and new buses with a funded commitment, in partnership with the council, to introduce fully EV zero emission buses on routes 7, 2, 6 and part of the 5 route next year. However, I recognize your concern and see from my recently strengthened and publicly accessible air quality monitoring data that air quality in North Street remains stubbornly poor. We have introduced an enforceable engine idling policy, and we will again ask that all vehicles waiting switch off their engines.  

 

Following 12 weeks of public consultation on our City Transport Plan 2035, we recognise the need to do more to tackle vehicle emissions and improve city centre air quality. With moving traffic offensive powers as applied for earlier this year, and an accelerated commitment to public EV charging, we will work with traders, taxis, bus operators and residents. We intent to tackle vehicle related emissions and improve air quality.   

 

Adrian Hill asked a supplementary question: 

 

You said it was in place for a decade, one of your officers said itshould be Euro 6 only and those are government clean air zone restrictions. So, if Euro 5 are running in the zone that’s probably the reason why there’s such high levels of pollution.  

 

Again, can I ask, can we see the certificates or have the online checker updated because some of those even say Euro 3, some are Euro 4 as well and there’s no way that we can find out otherwise if just somebody’s told somebody in the council without actually showing certificates. There’s been lots of lying and corruption in the industry as you’re probably going to see in the news today with the lawsuit.  

 

Councillor Muten replied: 

 

I have specifically asked Brighton & Hove Buses, who are the majority operator along this route and they have given me reassurances that they have converted all of their older buses to the ULEZ compliance standards, and also are in the process of purchasing new buses for this route which I highlighted in my earlier response.  

 

I’m happy to take that question out of here and go back to the bus company and discuss with them how they certificate the upgrades that they’ve made and I’m more than happy to discuss that further with you after I’ve raised this question directly with Brighton & Hove buses and other operators. I chair the Enhanced Bus Partnership, so we look at all the operators across the city, particularly along our bus ULEZ. 

 

3.       David Wilson asked: 

 

I walk my dogs in Saltdean’s Oval Park every morning and see the debris that has been dumped overnight outside the recycling bins. As West Saltdean residents all have roadside recycling or communal bins for their flats, this communal facility is not necessary and is regularly used by residents of East Saltdean, Telscombe and Peacehaven where they are no communal recycling points. I know this because I look at the labels on the cardboard boxes and envelopes that blow around. Please would you remove this recycling point and turn the area into much needed disabled parking bays. 

 

Councillor Rowkins, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Net Zero & Environmental Services, replied: 

 

Thank you for bringing that question. We certainly don't want to be clearing fly tipping coming from other local authorities, so thank you for bringing it. It's actually really useful intelligence - I'll make sure that that is fed back to the team. I can't promise that we will definitely remove them, but what we will certainly do is have a sort of reassessment of their use and the demand for them in that area. And as you say, it may well be that for the residents of West Saltdean, they're not required. So we'll certainly have a look at that. I'm happy to come back to you after this meeting once that's happened. 

 
With regards to the need for more disabled bays, I've already fed that back and officers are now looking at the possibility of additional bays in the area. As an aside, and obviously if this recycling point ends up being taken out, then that will only help in that regard. So thank you very much. 
 

David Wilson asked a supplementary question: 

 

In that area we also have CCTV. We used to have it. It was a deterrent. For some reason it's been back about a month. There is no deterrent at all.?We're not getting any feedback from the people who monitor this because it's quite clear that the fly tipping is getting worse and worse. So the cameras are not working and we would like to know why? 

 

Councillor Rowkins replied: 

 

The short answer is I don't know, but I can certainly have a have a look into that. Obviously CCTV, certainly if there's fly tipping offences going on, can be very useful in enforcing that, but also building up the bigger picture, which I think is necessary here in terms of assessing the use. I assume that is our CCTV, I don't know for definite, but I'll certainly ask with the team and find out what's going on with that, whether it's working and if it is, what it’s telling us. So thank you again. 

 

4.       Nigel Furness asked: 

 

Would you kindly furnish us, Councillor Muten, with a full breakdown of the funding sources for the city’s concessionary bus passes?  

 

Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport and City Infrastructure 9 Brighton & Hove City Council, replied: 

 

Statutory payments to reimburse bus operators for concessionary fares are funded from the council's parking surplus as outlined in the annual parking report. Thank you. 

 

Nigel Furness asked a supplementary question: 

 

As the funding for the bus passes comes totally out of motorists - we use four wheels, as do buses - I'm very disabled and I'm finding it almost impossible, like many other people, to use the buses anymore because of the shocking state of the major highways in this city. As it is the motorists who fund this, not the skateboarders, not the cyclists, could you commit to spending at least some of that income on preparing the roads properly so we can travel in a civilised manner? 

 

Councillor Muten replied: 

 

We have 42,000 pass holders in Brighton & Hove, 7,000 are issued for qualified disabled residents and we actually do more than the statutory minimum. So we do actually, for example, start at 9:00 in the morning rather than 9:30, some of those concessions go to 11 o’clock at night, we go to four in the morning for instance.  

 

However, you highlighted a very important point about the highways maintenance. Under the previous government, nationally there was a decline in our highways because of lack of grant funding from central government to the point that the pothole became an emblem of that previous government. With Labour coming in, they brought in £500,000,000 extra across the nation to address the road maintenance and that means we've got more money coming into this city to restore our highways and address the backlog.  

 

So I do accept some of our roads are not what they should be because they haven't had the proper maintenance because of lack of grant funding. But we are using our resource from grant funding and we're also working with the other sources of funds to enhance our roads and pathways because it is really important that our roads are maintained.?We're trying to make sure our buses and our pavements are accessible for all. And yes, absolutely with more money we are doing more to address exactly the problem that you've raised. 

 

5.       Ian White asked: 

 

On behalf of the 150 plus local children who use the outdated and worn out cricket nets on Nevill Sports Ground each week, please can you tell me when will the council release the circa £80,000 CIL monies allocated to the Westdene and Hove Park ward to Brighton and Hove Cricket Club Net so we can begin our net renovation project in time for the 2026 cricket season?'  

 

Councillor Robins, Cabinet member for Sports, Recreation and Libraries, replied: 

 

All councillors will be providing their agreed list of projects to be funded through the neighbourhood CIL to the deputy leader for the for the cabinet for approval in spring 2026 pending the community consultation and engagement exercise. No neighbourhood CIL has been awarded for any projects in the city, including the cricket nets proposal. The cricket nets project has already been earmarked as one of the priority schemes funded from the final payment of S106 monies from the Moda Homes development in Sackville Road. This has been delayed until the summer of 2026 due to the occupancy levels of the new apartments taking longer than was originally advised by the developer. 

 

Ian White asked a supplementary question: 

 

We’ve got a lot of support from local councillors for this project. We’ve been advised that the CIL money is likely to be awarded before the S106 money in the ward and given the urgency, we need to get this done for the next cricket season. Are you able to tell me are other projects competing for the CIL money awarded to the Hove Park and Westdene Ward? 

 

Councillor Robins replied: 

 

I’m not able to tell you that because it says here that all councillors will provide their agreed list of products to be funded through the neighbourhood CIL to the deputy leader for approval in spring 2026 pending the community consultation and engagement exercise. So until we get that list, I can’t provide you with a list, but it would be public knowledge at the time.  

 

6.       The mayor proceeded to the next question as the questioner was not in attendance.

 

7.       Diane Montgomery asked: 

 

Is Councillor Robins confident that this authority can continue to treat the King Alfred as two sites for proposed building?   

 

Councillor Robins, Cabinet member for Sports, Recreation and Libraries, replied: 

 

Yes, the council is confident in this approach of redeveloping the King Alfred Centre. The decision to construct the new centre as a separate project allows the existing centre to remain open for as long as possible during the build. This approach also ensures the project stays under the council’s direct control, supporting its successful delivery.  

 

Diane Montgomery asked a supplementary question: 

 

Councillor Robins, are you aware that in 2023 Ashchurch Parish Council won in the Court of Appeal when Tewkesbury Borough Council tried to give planning permission to one part of a substantial development while ignoring the lawful fact that the planning consideration should be made with regard to a whole site rather than attempt what is known as ‘salami-slicing’. This has become a resonant piece of case law.  

 

Will you therefore have a single environmental impact assessment undertaken for the whole King Alfred site? And also, could you clarify when the King Alfred land is actually being sold, as the 2025 cabinet paper states that the land has been valued and will be put on sale this autumn, yet Mark Healey stated in Friday’s Argus article that the land will be sold after the new leisure centre has been completed. Could you clarify on both those questions? 

 

Councillor Robins replied: 

 

Firstly, you’re asking me do I know about Tewkesbury Council? No I don’t. Secondly, it’s my understanding that as soon as we get planning permission and work starts on the new King Alfred, then we will put the site up for sale. How long that will take, who knows, and who will buy it, who knows. But that’s the position we’re in and that’s the position I think we’ve been consistent about and will remain consistent about. 

 

8.       Maxine Horn asked: 

 

In December 2024 the council appointed a third-party company New Timber, to work with city parks to undertake rapid reinstatement of damaged green spaces following use by outdoor events. Can the council therefore list the reinstatement fees and bonds each event has paid since the new policy was introduced in December 2024 and where those funds are being held. Can the council confirm when the reinstatement of the grassed areas will take place and give precise details of the nature of the work and a breakdown of the costs. Is the council liable for any shortfalls or will event organisers meet additional charges, Will any underspend be retained by City Parks or returned to the event organisers?  

 

Councillor Miller, Cabinet Member for Culture, Heritage and Tourism, replied: 

 

For the 2025 season, the responsibility for reinstatement of grassed areas has been contracted out to New Timber Limited. This includes a photographic inspection both pre- and post- any event in any grassed area in the city. Reinstatement costs are costed against a pre-approved price list on a per square metre basis. This year there has been a delay in works being carried out, particularly in central areas due to the exceptionally dry summer which we have experienced.  

 

Reinstatement works are now being started and will continue over the coming weeks. The level of reinstatement needed is advised by the contractor and agreed with City Parks operational teams ahead of the organiser being charged.?Event organisers are billed directly by New Timber, who are also paid directly by the organisers. No monies for reinstatement are collected by the council, which means that no, there are neither over- nor underspends.? 
 

We are keen to continue to engage with communities and residents about our events in the city and there is ongoing information available through the engagement event meetings through our Your Voice forum on events accessible via the Council's website.? 
 

Maxine Horn asked a supplementary question:  

 

If the arrangements are held between New Timber and the event organisers, but that work isn’t undertaken so there has been no reinstatement of the damaged land, who’s in control of enforcing it? 

 

Councillor Miller replied: 

 

As I explained before, there has been a delay this year because of the exceptional weather circumstances and the drought, and reinstatement is beginning, but it has not been possible to begin the reinstatement because it would actually not have been successful. We want the reinstatement to be durable rather than something which has to be redone in a few weeks. 

 

9.       David Plant asked: 

 

Beacon Court residents and neighbours recently had to rush to unblock highways drains on Greenways (Ovingdean) when flash flood water reached up to their doorways. Beacon Court lies in a valley: the constant building of new homes nearby means that water run-off that would have been absorbed by farmland/green areas is now coming into a drainage system that cannot cope. Please would BHCC representatives meet us on site to inspect the drains and discuss what action BHCC can take to protect properties from inadequate highway drainage.  

 

Councillor Muten, Cabinet Member for Transport and City Infrastructure 9 Brighton & Hove City Council, replied: 

 

I'm sorry to hear that it was necessary and wish to thank residents for acting to alleviate the problems that you described.? 

 
The flood risk management team and highways maintenance team will be happy to meet with you and representatives from Beacon Court and discuss the possible causes and options for the area in question to alleviate this happening in the future. 

 

David Plant asked a supplementary question: 

 

As such, torrential rains are now becoming the norm and had it gone on for much longer, there was a real risk that properties in at least Beacon Court, Upper Greenways, and our farmers’ fields with crops and livestock might have been flooded.  

 

Considering the recent planning applications for Oxford International College and Ovingdean Farm, does the council agree that no further development should take place in this area until satisfied that highways drainage is adequate to prevent flooding in the local community? 

 

Councillor Muten replied: 

 

As part of our planning process, there is engagement with our highways, drainage and teams from the council as well as a discussion with Southern Water in terms of sewer capacity. So any planning application will be assessed in terms of existing capacity and what upgrades are needed to drainage capacity to ensure that any introduction of new buildings can be drained sufficiently with the infrastructure of our city. So thank you and with that certainly something which I know the planning process will deal with.