Agenda item - To receive petitions and e-petitions.

To receive any petitions to be presented to the Mayor by members of the public and/or Members as notified by the due date of 9 July 2026 (10 working days).

16.1    The mayor stated that she had been notified of five ordinary petitions to be presented today. She advised that petitioners had up to three minutes to outline the petition and to confirm the number of signatories and that the petition would then be responded to by the relevant Cabinet Member.

16.2    The lead petitioners for the following petitions were not in attendance: Complimentary Visitor Parking Permits for Residents in Controlled Parking Zones; Madeira Drive Parking Charges; and Keep East Brighton Seafront Accessible for All. The Mayor therefore proceeded to the petitions where the lead petitioners were present.

16.3    Justin Newland on behalf of Katie Turner presented a petition concerning North Hollingdean Residents’ Parking Scheme.

16.4    Councillor Muten replied:

Thank you, Madam Mayor, and thank you, Justin, for your petition. North Hollingdean residents have been consulted on the introduction of a controlled parking zone, or CPZ, on two previous occasions. As part of these consultations, residents were advised that if a parking scheme was introduced in South Hollingdean without a corresponding scheme in North Hollingdean, there was a possibility that parking demand and vehicle displacement could increase in the surrounding streets. Despite this, the majority of respondents in the North Hollingdean on both occasions indicated that they did not wish to see any changes to the existing parking arrangements. This was very clear and the council respected that view.

However, following the implementation of the South Hollingdean CPZ, a significant number of residents in North Hollingdean have expressed renewed concerns about parking pressures in their area. We have received this petition supported by more than 300 plus residents requesting a further consultation on parking controls. Whilst it's not normally the council's practise to consult the same areas three times within a relatively short period, we recognise the strength of feeling demonstrated through this petition and changing circumstances experienced by residents since the introduction of neighbouring CPZ.

In light of this level of engagement, we believe it is appropriate to give residents another opportunity to have their views heard. I can therefore confirm that a further consultation for North Hollingdean will be undertaken later this summer. This consultation will enable all residents and businesses within the area to consider the current situation and provide their views on whether parking controls should be introduced.

As with previous consultations, any further decision will be informed by the results of the consultation, ensuring that the views of the local community remain at the heart of the process. This council remains committed to listening to residents and responding to where there is a clear evidence that circumstances have changed or there is significant community interest in revisiting a previous decision. I do not anticipate any further consultation concerning this matter beyond this, and the outcome from this third consultation will be final.

16.5    John Amos presented a petition concerning Green Ara Adjacent to Woodingdean Lawn Memorial.

16.6    Councillor Rowkins replied:

I know this location pretty well, and I agree it is certainly more than just a patch of grass. The views are amazing, and of course, as you say, the poignance of its location near the cemetery can't be ignored. I think where we perhaps don't quite agree is that the peaceful enjoyment of residents and the management of the site to support nature are mutually exclusive. And I do want to stress the word “management” of the site.

So, I think sometimes it's easy to think that a site that's being looked after for nature is just left to it and that's not what is being proposed here and I'll talk a bit more about that in a minute. So, the site is large enough to ensure that parts of it can be retained for the kinds of public enjoyment you describe. I do just want to pick up and acknowledge your points, though, on how such sites have been managed in the past and elsewhere and hopefully provide some reassurance.

First, the wild short grasslands of the South Downs are, in my view, at their best when they are grazed. When I say at their best, I mean both in terms of biodiversity and in aesthetic terms. So, when these grasslands are grazed, two things happen and the first is that growth is kept under control and the second is that only limited nutrients are put back into the soil, unlike when grass is mown and left to decompose, which is what happens in many locations at the moment. So, the combination of those two things means that no species becomes dominant enough to grow to a significant and height, obstructing views and creating the sort of impression that it's not managed, and also allowing a wide range of species to become established.

The good news is that we've recently secured funding for a trapped and mounted cut and collect mower, which will enable us to maintain these sites in a much better way. In effect, replicating the grazing that was seen on the wider landscape. Now, I note the public engagement conducted by ward councillors and the Woodingdean Wilderness Group in 2025 and the very strong support demonstrated to that project. Obviously, I take the point that that's one group of people responded to that and there's others who responded to other things.

I suppose just to say that the support demonstrated in that engagement, I think is no doubt underpinned by the grave concern that many of us have regarding the collapse of the natural world and the clear need to reverse this decline. And that's obviously something that the local nature recovery strategy across Sussex seeks to reverse. But also the desire, I think, to bring nature closer to our communities. You describe in your petition this as being a place for ongoing serenity and community gathering. I believe that this will not only still be the case, but possibly even more so with a greater and closer presence of the nature for which the Sussex landscape is so well known. Thank you.