Agenda item - Oral questions from Councillors

A list of Councillors who have indicated their desire to ask an oral question at the meeting along with the subject matters has been listed in the agenda papers.

36.1         The Mayor noted that notification of 7 oral questions from Members had been received and that 30 minutes was set aside for the duration of the item.  She also noted that Councillor Bennett had withdrawn her question listed at 36(g) on the agenda and then invited Councillor G. Theobald to his question to Councillor Bowden.

 

(a)         Hippodrome – Councillor G. Theobald

 

36.2         “The Grade 2 Star Listed Brighton Hippodrome has recently been put on top of the Theatre Trusts’ National Theatre Buildings at Risk Register for 2013. The Trust describes the Hippodrome as now possible the finest surviving example of it’s type in Britain. Could you please tell me what you are doing on behalf of the Council to facilitate bringing this much loved building back in to use as a live performance venue?”

 

Reply from Councillor Bowden, Chair of the Economic Development & Culture Committee

 

36.3         “As members will probably know, there was an exhibition this weekend and a ‘meet the architect’ session also in town. There is a proposal to bring this building back into use which is at pre-planning stage; I shall be circumspect about what I think about the plans but let me say they are interesting.  I think if it comes to Planning then Members will decide.”

 

36.4         Councillor G. Theobald asked the following supplementary question, “What I was hoping to hear was what this Council is actually doing to try and preserve this building? Yes we’ve read in the local media about proposals to turn part of this building in to a cinema. We already have a cinema in the next street and what we want to see, as I’ve said in my question, is this wonderful, flexible, round space and I think this is one of the finest building in our country.

 

We lost the Essoldo in North Street, I fought very hard to save that and I lost that. Now please don’t let us lose this building as well. Yes a cinema’s better than nothing I agree, I’m not a member of the Planning Committee so I can say these things but I was really hoping, Councillor Bowden, that you’d come forward and tell us what the Council is trying to do rather than to sit back and wait for developers to come forward with their ideas.

 

So could I please put the question again to you?"

 

36.5         Councillor Bowden replied, “I wasn’t aware that the Council actually owned the building so that’s one problem. I can say that I have had meetings with a number of interested parties. Two years ago I had a meeting with an outfit called Synergy along with a representative of the Theatre’s Trust. I agree it is a remarkable building and it’s really sad that it has remained closed since 2006 which I believe might have been when the Tory Administration were in power. So I might put the question back, “what did you do in your time?” But that would be very unfair.

 

It is a remarkable building and it is very upsetting to all of us that it’s remained closed for so long and when you walk past it, it is a very sad sight. So any developer coming forward who appears to have got the money together; we need to take very seriously. It is a money issue because this administration does not have funds to step in, so all we can do is facilitate. I have had several meetings with a lot of interested parties as you will know Livenation purchased the building with the idea of putting on live music in a residential area. So that wasn’t a goer as the cumulative impact zone with loud pop music to the small hours was probably not the best idea.

 

We have another proposition coming in the wings so we shall wait and see. But the Council will facilitate people coming forward who have a viable option and who have a plan that preserves some of the unique architectural features in that building.”

 

(b)        Delivery of a Large Scale Home Energy Efficiency Programme – Councillor Mitchell

 

36.6         “With high energy bills being top of the current agenda and a key concern for households the need for a local large scale delivery of home energy efficiency measures has never been more pressing.  Several other Councils have collaborated to such programs and the recent announcement by West Sussex County Council that it has now identified a preferred bidder for delivering such a program is welcome news. So would the Leader of the Council like to take this opportunity to reassure members that this Council remains committed to the Green Deal approach that was first put forward and remains involved in this scheme that has the stated potential to benefit 15000 city households and can he confirm that the memorandum of understanding with West Sussex County Council was indeed signed.”

 

Reply from Councillor J. Kitcat, Leader of the Council

 

36.7         “As you’ll recall when you voted for the report at Policy and Resources Committee in January we did agree in principle to move forward with West Sussex and we delegated power to sign an agreement. As your colleague Councillor Warren Morgan will know when we had the meeting before the last ‘P&R’ we had a draft report ready to go but we didn’t have sufficient information from West Sussex to actually agree it then.

 

So with the agreement of both of the other group leaders we agreed to differ this to the next meeting so we would ensure to have the maximum information from West Sussex so that members could take an informed decision but our intention is to make the most of the Green Deal, weak as it is, and clearly it is not everything that we would have hoped for but something is better than nothing.

 

As you will know the domestic sector in Brighton and Hove is the biggest source of Co2 emissions in the City so it’s vital that we’ve done something. So it’s worth noting Madame Mayor that we did put £1.500,000 of investment in to improving the private rented sector, we won a £750,000 warm homes bid, we’ve set aside £1,500,000 from the HRA to help Council tenants and in fact last year Council tenants in homes that were refurbished for the first time ever had low energy bills because of the work we’ve done and we’ve also got the Deck Pioneer Places money, £221,000.

 

We are doing what we can but the comprehensive spending review in 2010 totally cut the private sector funding for improving homes so we’ve had to find the money from our own diminishing resources so we’ll do what we can with West Sussex.”

 

36.8         Councillor Mitchell asked the following supplementary question, “Can I therefore ask the Leader of the Council that he will commit to bringing forward a report to the next Policy and Resources Committee that will clearly identify the capital funding necessary from this Council to fully partake in the scheme?”

 

36.9         Councillor Kitcat replied, “As Councillor Mitchell’s colleague will know; the proposal is not to put capital funding in to the scheme, the very nature of the West Sussex Scheme is that we don’t need to put capital in because we are leveraging private sector partners to do that for us and given our declining resources and all sorts of bids whether it’s Hippodrome restorations or new conference centres or new swimming pools and so on; Members are very keen to come up with pricey things but they don’t show the capital to go behind it.

 

So we’re keen to work in partnership across West Sussex so we don’t need to put the capital in but homeowners still get the benefit and I think energy efficiency for peoples’ homes is a real way of helping people rather than gimmicks like freezes on bills, or we’ve got the John Major proposal.

 

Ultimately the only way we’re going to solve the energy crisis is by greater efficiency, permanently improving peoples’ homes and getting off our addiction to carbon fuels.”

 

(c)         Lewis Road Traffic Changes – Councillor Simson

 

36.10    “Everyday traffic trying to avoid the chaos on Lewes Road are now diverting through Woodingdean with jams between the Downs Hotel crossroads and Falmer often causing tailbacks right on to the A27 in both directions north and south also traffic coming into the village towards the Downs Hotel crossroads stretching along the main road, up round the racecourse often past Wilson Avenue, Bear Road and beyond.

 

Will Councillor Davey admit that instead of solving a problem the administration has now created two greater problems and will he agree with me that a statement made at the recent Environment and Transport Committee by Councillor West that this is promoting safe and active traffic movement is a farce?”

 

Reply from Councillor Davey, Lead Member for Transport

 

36.11    “The Lewes Road Scheme was subject to one of the biggest Transport Consultations that this city has ever held and that received strong public support and has also been supported by all political parties throughout the process including the previous Conservative Administration that made the initial funding bid to the Coalition Government.  The benefits arising from the scheme will be significant but will take time to be fully realised. We know this from the experience of the previous Labour Administration who introduced the A23 bus lanes and the previous Conservative Administration that introduced the A259 bus lanes both of which were controversial at the time but have contributed so positively to bus travel in to and within the city.

 

The Lewes Road is already the busiest bus route in the City with peek time services of 37 buses in each direction. Last year there were nearly 15.5 million bus journeys along this route a phenomenal number that many cities will be proud to have for their whole areas.  The bus company has predicted a further 7% growth this year with close to 16.5 million passengers, there will likely be further growth the year after. This is phenomenal growth which will be the envy of cities around the country.

 

With regard to the Woodingdean, Rottingdean and Saltdean one of the benefits of the new dedicated bus infrastructure is that it can sometimes make a new bus route viable. So the Lewes Road changes have made the big lemon try out a brand new service, the number 44 which runs from the Old Steine via Brighton University and out to Woodingdean, Rottingdean and Saltdean. This means that combined with the extended number 52 running into the City Centre and the station, the public transport options for residents in ‘the Deans’ continue to improve.

 

I hope that residents and Ward Councillors will continue to support both of the new routes.”

 

36.12    Councillor Simson asked the following supplementary question, “Will Councillor Davey join me one day to witness the chaos in Woodingdean and the unsafe environment that all this has caused before somebody is hurt? Or, better still, will his administration consider removing the bus lanes as Liverpool have done following a belief that they may well be causing more congestion and pollution?”

 

36.13    Councillor Davey replied, “It has been cited by former Government Minister, Norman Baker that the removal of bus lanes in Liverpool is a real retrograde step and will be a real step backwards for public transport and sustainable transport in that city.

 

Sustainable transport and bus use in the City is a massive success story, we’re breaking records every single year and more and more people are choosing that as an option.

 

So that is the way forward, we have real air quality and road safety issues in the city and the only way to address those issues and help prevent the really significant health dangers that that presents as cited by the Royal Health Organisation recently, we really need to get people on to public transport and walking and cycling. So let’s celebrate the fact that this city is leading the way with the best public transport system outside of London.”

                              

(d)        Lewis Road Traffic Management Scheme – Councillor Marsh

 

36.14    “The first question concerns what’s going on around the junction with the avenue where the chaos, the congestion Councillor Simson has described more adequately than I can? One of the extra concerns that my residents have is that bus travel itself is being slowed up and impeded here with greater journey times being added on the number 48.

 

Could we actually review the traffic management at the junction of the Lewes Road and the Avenue? Could there be some kind of traffic light, some kind of mini roundabout to allow traffic to go from the Lewes Road into the Avenue and much more importantly to come out of the Avenue on to the Lewes Road where anything that’s not a bus itself actually has to cross the bus lane in order to access the carriage way and can only see what traffic is coming by accessing the bus lane which it is not supposed to do.

 

Also could we have a review when things are bedded in; of maybe, if not abolishing the bus lanes, something like the London Red Route System where bus lanes are operative only in peak hours and times of high congestion and could that possible looked at in a review of the system please?”

 

Reply from Councillor Davey, Lead Member for Transport

 

36.15    “It is my understanding that ‘Red Routes’ are run 24 hours and absolute no stopping routes at al so I’m not sure if that’s what you’re looking for? In general, following the bus lanes coming in to operation on the 30^th September officers have been monitoring traffic levels and traffic flows both constantly on CCTV and naturally driving up and down the road and optimising the traffic signals to ensure that they are working as efficiently as they can.

 

Already that has brought benefits and monitoring this week found that peak periods car journey were starting to approach the pre scheme times of between 13-18minutes between the Old Steine and Falmer.

 

Officers are commencing the post implementation monitoring which will include bus and general traffic journey time surveys, analysis of the number of accidents occurring within the wider area and automatic traffic counts to determine the speed and number of vehicles using the routes and possible alternative routes.

 

These monitoring surveys will be repeated at regular intervals to enable the impact of the scheme to be fully quantified over time through this process. We will be able to identify where any particular delays are taking place and make further changes as necessary in order to improve movement for all users and minimise any adverse impacts so that work will be ongoing and a full report will be coming to Environment and Transport Sustainability Committee later next year.

 

The report from the Bus Company is very favourable; they’re exceedingly supportive of all of the changes and really recognise them as a step forward.”

 

36.16    Councillor Marsh asked the following supplementary question, “I listen to the bus passengers who are my residents. Their experience isn’t quite the same as your suggesting in terms on journey times and certainly when Mike Best who is head of operations at the Bus Company, came to the Moulsecoomb LAT I wouldn’t say he had a very easy time of it either.

 

You talk about traffic lights being adjusted; well there aren’t any traffic lights at the Avenue in Lewes Road. However there are traffic lights on Coombe Road and my residents and the buses that serve Meadowview which use Coombe Road are sitting there chugging away causing a lot of pollution in huge jams and I’ve tested this myself by being on a bus and in a car so I would like to ask on behalf of residents that they would like to see a more favourable phasing so that residents can get in and out of Coombe Road more easily, they could also cross more easily.

 

They find the island around the Lewes Road and Coombe Road very difficult; the islands are too small and can we have some change on that? Finally where residents’ traffic turns west from the Lewes Road in to Coombe Road; the actual little bit of bus lane that they can access to turn off is scarily short and they wonder if that could be extended slightly so that better preparation for that turn can be made? But please can we have those traffic lights re-phased?”

 

36.17    “The most effective way of getting a response would be to put them down in writing and present them to the project manager who will give you detailed responses.

 

You did highlight there one of the great difficulties in balancing different needs; the needs of pedestrians who want to walk across the road at these lights, we have traffic wishing to go straight through and we have traffic wishing to turn in and out of Coombe Road and balancing all of that is the dark art of traffic signals which only few people know the secrets to.

 

So put those questions in writing and I’m sure the officer will do his best to give you a proper response.”

 

(e)         Vehicle Access – Honey Croft – Councillor Barnett

 

36.18    “Having crafted a horse shoe shaped cul de sac in my ward which has cars parked all the way around it making access and turning for City Clean vehicles, ambulances, fire engines and delivery vehicles almost impossible. It’s not only the inconvenience but also potentially very dangerous. Residents in Honeycroft have asked me to whether some double yellow lines could be painted on the road in order to make the situation safer?

 

Councillor Davey would please agree to meet me at Honeycroft so that I can show you how bad the situation is and will you agree to my residents’ request?”

 

Reply from Councillor Davey, Lead Member for Transport

 

36.19    “I think the best approach is to contact the officers and put a proper request to get somebody to visit the site with you so a detailed professional assessment can be made.”

 

36.20    Councillor Barnett asked the following supplementary question, “I have approached the officers on Highways to be told there is no funding left in the budget for double yellow lines until next April. All I’m asking is with the £1.5 Million you implement to the 20 mile per hour sites across the city maybe you have a surplus you could pay for the double yellow lines to be put in for us.”

 

36.21    Councillor Davey replied, “That isn’t the cost of the 20 mile per hour and the total budget amount is spread over several years and I’m afraid there is not any budget surplus this year.”

                     

(f)           Parking in Wish Ward – Councillor Pissaridou

 

36.22    “Back in 2007, the Council introduced a light touch parking scheme to the west and including Wish Road in Hove it’s called ‘Scheme W’ and it works exceedingly well.

 

In recent years residents and neighbouring streets to the west of zone w have complained to me about their real problems their having with displacement parking. Residents in other part of the ward suffer similar problems. I am really pleased that all the residents in Wish Ward are now going to be consulted as to whether or not they want to be part of a scheme and this is starting very soon.

 

I would like ask that the residents are asked whether or not they would like to be in a light touch scheme, an expansion of zone w and / or a full scheme. Can Councillor Davey tell me exactly how much a light touch scheme costs from the setting up costs with the lamppost, posters and the income generated so we can see exactly how much it costs? Also you can look to the streets east of Wish Road for evidence as to how often the traffic wardens go.

 

So can the Council commit to launching a parking consultation to the residents of Wish Ward with options of all potential parking schemes available?”

 

Reply from Councillor Davey, Lead Member for Transport

 

36.23    “I’m afraid I don’t know how much a light touch scheme costs from putting up the lampposts and implementation I’m afraid I can’t answer that question. The nature of the scheme that was being consulted on was agreed as part of the parking review and was voted on at the Transport Sustainability Committee in January and April and the proposal to consult as is about to take place is what was preferred by the Transport Committee and that was what was voted on by your Labour Colleagues so that is what has already been decided by that Committee so any changes to that would need to go back to that Committee of which I am not chair; but those decisions are made by the Environment and Transport Sustainability Committee so that’s where that question really needs to go.”

 

36.24    Councillor Pissaridou asked the following supplementary question “I would really like to know the cost of the light touch scheme because I understand the decision to consult on a full scheme was made on the back of the costs of the light touch scheme not supporting the scheme itself. So if I could have those figures please Councillor Davey?

 

I have also noticed new pedestrian islands being installed around my ward, there’s one at the junction of Boundary Road and Seaford Road. I would just like to know why they were put there, what evidence is there for these islands being put in?

 

Were residents asked? Did residents request it? Also the cost of those as well please. Also there are white lines and yellow being repainted around my ward and the residents have said it’s not necessary so I would like to know the price of those as well.”

 

36.25    Councillor Davey replied, “There are several questions there so I think the most effective to get a proper answer is to put them in writing, send them to me and the head of Transport and I will pass them on to the appropriate officers for a proper answer.”

 

(g)        Hove Town Hall – Councillor Bennett

 

36.26    This question had been withdrawn.