Agenda item - Public Involvement

To consider the following matters raised by members of the public:

(a)          Petitions: To receive any petitions presented by members of the public to the full Council or at the meeting itself.

(b)          Written Questions: To receive any questions submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 16 November 2018.

(c)          Deputations: To receive any deputations submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 16 November 2018.

(C)     DEPUTATIONS

(i)            Beach Hut Licence Consultation

41.1      The Committee considered a Deputation requesting the Council not to proceed with the changing the current Beach Hut Licence.

41.2      The Chair provided the following response:

“Thank you for your deputation and for coming to the committee meeting which follows my attendance at the meeting you recently held for beach hut owners and other interested parties.

It is apparent from the majority of responses that there is not a desire from beach hut owners to see a modernised licence and this will be reflected in the report that will be brought back to committee in January.

While the Hove Beach Hut Association has indicated that it wishes to operate in a way similar to the Brighton & Hove Allotment Federation there are some fundamental differences. A level of statutory provision of allotments is required and the Allotment Federation has adopted a role of assisting the council with voluntary financial support due to the pressure on resources. This is within a context in which allotment holders do not benefit from a capital receipt for a sale of their plot.

The income from Beach Huts forms part of the Council’s Seafront budget from which expenditure is made to provide services such as the Seafront Team (for 365 days a year) and the seasonal beach lifeguard service. The Beach Hut Association needs to be aware that these resources are limited and contribute to a service that covers the whole 11km of Seafront from Hove Lagoon to Saltdean”.

41.3      RESOLVED- That the Deputation be noted.