Agenda item - Member Involvement

To consider the following matters raised by Members:

(a)          Petitions: To receive any petitions referred from Full Council or submitted directly to the Committee;

(b)          Written Questions: To consider any written questions;

i)             Planning Enforcement – Councillor Nemeth

ii)            The “Big Screen” – Councillor Mears

(c)          Letters: To consider any letters;

(d)          Notices of Motion: to consider any Notices of Motion referred from Full Council or submitted directly to the Committee.

i)             Use of plastics on and within buildings in Brighton & Hove – Councillor Nemeth

43.1    The Chair noted that two written questions had been received from Councillors Nemeth and Mears and that these were listed on the agenda.

Planning Enforcement

43.2    Councillor Nemeth asked: “Will the Chairman provide the latest figures for open and pending planning enforcement cases for (a) November and (b) December?”

43.3    The Chair provided the following written response:

“The table above sets out the number of open and pending planning enforcement cases for November and December. To provide some context to these figures - the number of open cases stood at 807 in April 2017 and has since gone down to 776.

The number of unallocated cases is at 388 which remains higher than the Team would have liked. You can be assured, however, that a number of measures are being introduced in the next 6 months to address this. 

In March the Enforcement Team will be reviewing and streamlining business processes which will improve the efficiency of the service.  The Team is also preparing new Enforcement Policy, which is expected to be presented to TDC Committee in June following consultation with councillors. This will identify priorities for the Service. The additional Planning Officer in the Enforcement Team, in the last year, has contributed to supporting enforcement work on HMOs and improving the number of cases closed over the year.”

43.4    By way of a supplementary Councillor Nemeth asked how many people had been convicted of unauthorised works to listed buildings in recent years.

43.5    The Chair agreed to send a full response to the Committee.

The “Big Screen”

43.6    Councillor Mears asked: “Will the Chairman confirm that the agreed amended actions concerning the “Big Screen” from the last meeting of this committee have been actioned, and what progress has been made to date?”

43.7    The Chair provided the following written response: “Following approval at the last committee the Licence Particulars for the operation of a Screen on the Beach were advertised with a closing date of 5pm on Tuesday 9th January 2018. The applications will now be evaluated and a briefing will be arranged with the lead councillors of each party on this committee upon the completion of the evaluation process.”

43.8    By way of a supplementary Councillor Mears noted concern that the recommendations in the previously approved report had been changed. The Executive Director of Economy Environment & Culture explained that there was a technical error in the report with “lease” and “tender”; however, the resolution remained correct. The previously agreed report was to seek permission to go to market with the opportunity and this had been completed by officers.

            Notice of Motion

43.9    The Chair noted that a Notice of Motion had been received from Councillor Nemeth and that this was listed on the agenda.

43.10  Councillor Nemeth introduced his Notice of Motion and noted that Brighton & Hove City Council should use renewable alternatives to plastic and stated “do it once, do it right”. He explained that the long term costs of non-plastics would be significantly lower and the maintenance would be easier. He stated that he majority of modern new build in other countries were predominately made in copper and were aesthetically pleasing and durable. The use of alternative materials would provide multiple opportunities for young people to learn new skills through college courses. He concluded by stating the use of alternatives would be economically and environmentally beneficial.

43.11  Councillor Mears formally seconded the Notice of Motion.

43.12  Councillor Druitt explained that he had campaigned against the use of plastics and would support the Notice of Motion.

43.13  Councillor Moonan explained that she supported the Notice of Motion and that the materials and quality of the new builds were carefully considered at the Housing & New Homes Committee. She noted that the costs of the alternative materials could impact on the rent; however, she agreed with building good quality council housing.

43.14  Councillor O’Quinn noted that she supported the Notice of Motion.

43.15  The Chair explained that he broadly supported the Notice of Motion; however, there was a demand of maintenance on traditional materials. He noted that if the Committee agreed to have an officer report then it would be helpful to have a table comparing different materials and their costs.

43.16  RESOLVED – That the Committee agreed to have an Officer report regarding the use of plastics on and within buildings in Brighton & Hove.