Agenda item - Report of the Heritage Task & Finish Group

8.1 The Chair presented the Heritage Task & Finish Group report to the committee setting out what they had achieved, how they confined themselves to protecting heritage assets and working with partners, and how interesting the witnesses were to talk to. She hoped that committee members would agree to pass the report on to Cabinet.

8.2 Cllr Fishleigh asked about the recommendation on a statue to First World War Indian soldiers at the Royal Pavilion, as it didn’t really fit with the others. The Chair said that it came from speaking to one of the witnesses who was a trustee of the Royal Pavilion and also the Chatri memorial. She said that the use of the Royal Pavilion as a hospital for Indian Soldiers in the First World War was an important part of the building’s history and comparing it with conversations they had on preserving the regency history in aspect or reflecting changes over time, saying that new and old could co-exist side-by-side.

8.3 Mark Strong said that it was a great experience to be part of the Task & Finish Group and said that the report recommendation was to send it to a ‘future’ cabinet and hoped it would not be forgotten about. He also asked if some of the recommendations that were considered ‘quick wins’ could be passed straight to departments rather than taking time going through cabinet. Giles Rossington, Scrutiny Manager, said that the term future cabinet just meant not the next cabinet as that might already be planned and there may not be time to go through the recommendations and prepare a report, but that cabinet took scrutiny very seriously and would not forget it. He said that the council could not have a system where departments were doing things at the behest of scrutiny members rather than cabinet. He said that once cabinet had approved or rejected each recommendation there would be regular updates to committee to track the progress of the approved recommendations until committee were satisfied.

8.4 Michael Creedy commented that within the next ten years they would be coming up to a celebration of the founding of the co-operative movement, not just in the north but in Brighton & Hove.

8.5 Cllr Cattell said that she had really enjoyed being a part of the group, had learnt a lot, and really enjoyed hearing some of the micro stories from places like the Pepper Pot. If reference to Cllr Fishleigh’s previous question on a statue to commemorate the First World War Indian soldiers at the Royal Pavilion, she said that any statue would require planning permission. The Chair commented that they also needed to raise their own funds for any such statue as the Task & Finish Group was not recommending that the council fund it.

8.6 Cllr Miller commented that having previously been cabinet member for heritage she has really enjoyed being a witness for the Task & Finish Group.

8.7 Cllr Wilkinson said that the report had 15 recommendations, which was a lot and asked if the group put any priority on them. The Chair said that it was an interesting point and that it would go to cabinet after relevant council officers had looked at it and determined which were easier, more difficult, or undeliverable.

8.8 Cllr Miller asked if committee would get to look at the report before cabinet. The Chair said that it would go to cabinet and then they would receive ongoing updates after this.

8.9 RESOLVED - Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee notes the Task & Finish Group report on Heritage attached as Appendix 1.

RESOLVED - Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee refers the findings of the Task & Finish Group on Heritage to Cabinet for consideration.