Agenda item - Written questions from members of the public.

A list of public questions received by the due date of 12noon on the 13^th Ocotber 2016 will be circulated separately as part of an addendum at the meeting.

28.1      The Mayor reported that one written question had been received from a member of the public and invited Mr. Hawtree to come forward and address the council.

28.2      Mr. Hawtree asked the following question; “Would Councillor Morgan please tell us when the maintenance and repair work will begin at Hove’s esteemed, nationally-renowned Carnegie Library, and how long this will take?”

28.3      Councillor Morgan replied; “Maintenance and repair work on Hove Library has taken place every year, and continues as part of the Planned Maintenance Budget expenditure.  This year (2016/17) there is a sum of £15,000 allocated to Hove Library within the Planned Maintenance Budget. This relates primarily to investigating cracking within the building and the boundary wall.

28.4      As well as this work, it is intended to undertake a CCTV drainage survey, commence party wall negotiations for repairs to the boundary wall if applicable, instructing specialist stonemasons to survey the building’s facade and prepare estimates for repair. Specialist roofing contractors have surveyed the roofs and are preparing a report with budget estimates on a minimum and maximum specification that should be available by the end of October. In addition to the ongoing repairs and maintenance work, this year an investigation into whether the basement void could be developed into usable space was undertaken. The verdict was that it was not suitable.

28.5      Budgets and programmes of work have yet to be set for 2017-18. The 2014 Hove Library condition survey data is being reviewed to provide minimum and maximum options for suggested repairs that, in the absence of budget restrictions, might ideally be undertaken over a 5-year period. In practice, the repairs needed to all council buildings will be prioritised within the limited available budgets with a focus on making the building envelope wind and water tight, rectifying structural and health and safety concerns.”

28.6      Mr. Hawtree asked the following supplementary question; “Thank you for that response Cllr Morgan which makes my supplementary all the more pertinent and it’s one that all the more residents are asking in this volatile constituency as they continue to watch he webcast of the June 9 meeting. You concluded at the end of item 7 in such a way that residents remain fearful for the survival of our Carnegie library so now with this in mind could I ask you to amplify what you meant by those remarks at the end of your speech to item 7 on June 7 because as a result residents are still weary that the preposterous report is extant rather than extinct.”

28.7      Councillor Morgan replied; “I’ll go back and look at the webcast and see what I said and get back to you.”

28.8      The Mayor thanked Mr. Hawtree for his questions and noted that concluded the item.