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;

 

(b)           Written Questions: To receive any questions submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 10 March 2021;

 

(1)       Air Quality

 

(2)       Pavement Tarmac

 

(3)       Coastal Erosion

 

(c)           Deputations: To receive any deputations submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 10 March 2021.

 

(B)     PUBLIC QUESTIONS

 

(1)           Air Quality

 

78.1      Imogen Casebourne put the following question:

 

“Following the Ella Kissi Debrah case, the potential consequences of air pollution arising from heavy traffic have become even clearer. I know that Brighton & Hove City Council has taken steps to monitor air quality in some sites across the city. Has any air quality monitoring been undertaken at the junction of Roedean Road, Wilson Avenue and the Marina slip road?”

 

78.2      The Chair provided the following reply:

 

“Thank you for your question, and for mentioning Ella Kissi Debrah. Her death and subsequent inquest has shocked many people, and I hope that her legacy will be local authorities and the Government taking much stronger action to improve air quality and prevent further deaths. We have to remember that more than 50 people die in our city because of air pollution.

Brighton & Hove assesses airborne pollution levels throughout the city with a computer-based model, taking account of transport, commercial and domestic emissions, we also sample air quality and monitor a number of specific locations across the City. 

Air quality has been monitored close to Marina Way slip road, Wilson Avenue and Roedean Road.  The traffic signals have been upgraded and are now able to adapt to traffic flows that will reduce delays and congestion.  This will reduce emissions at the junction. Nitrogen dioxide was found to be low enough to easily meet air quality standards at this location. Prevailing air quality in this part of East Brighton is cleaner and healthier than most urban areas.

We need to do more as a city to tackle this life-threatening issue though. We have proposed a city wide ultra-low emission zone and wider active travel networks that we hope to continue to get support with advancing, and I’ve also recently asked officers to look into strengthening our smoke control areas”.

Again, thank you for the question and for reminding the committee of the life and death issue of toxic air pollution”.

 

78.3      Imogen Casebourne asked the following supplementary question:

 

“I’m concerned with more homes at the Marina plus potentially 700 hundred units at the Gasworks site, I’ve heard there could be an estimate 4000 people living in the area and even if 60% of those new people drive, that could be 2400 new cars on the road at peak times. I was wondering what steps the council intend to take to prevent the air quality in this area dropping as a result of those changes?”

 

78.4      The Chair provided the following reply:

“Things relating to planning and development should be referred to TECC Committee so you might want to ask the question there if you haven’t already. From a transport perspective, we’re really keen to continue or work with promoting public transport and active travel in all areas of the city so hopefully that will continue to progress and impact that part of the city too”.

 

(2)           Pavement Tarmac

 

78.5      David Wilson put the following question:

 

“I understand that the council’s policy is to replace grooved pavement slabs with tarmac when works by a utility company necessitate the pavement being dug up. This has happened on Falmer Avenue in Saltdean which is a very steep road. The tarmac is slippery when we have frosty / icy weather and is a health and safety issue for residents. One resident has already fallen and been injured.

Will the council come and inspect in frosty / icy weather and commission the appropriate modifications to bring the pavement back into full use?”

 

78.6      The Chair provided the following reply:

 

“A utility is required to re-use the existing unbroken slabs when reinstating excavations following their works. However, where there is pre-existing damage to the slabs, the council is required to pay for the replacements.

In the case of Falmer Avenue, Saltdean, a large number of slabs were already broken due to vehicle overrun on the footway, and an area of slabs had already been replaced with tarmac during previous maintenance works.

Where slabs are damaged by vehicle overrun it is common practice to replace those slabs with tarmac when maintenance is required. This is because tarmac is more resilient and therefore future maintenance work is minimised, reducing the maintenance bill. Due to the pre-existing damage on Falmer Avenue, it was agreed that the reinstatement could be carried out in tarmac, to match the previous works. This also saved the council vital funds as we did not have to provide a large number of new slabs which it appeared likely would soon be damaged by the continuing vehicle overrun. Both surfaces can become slippery in frosty conditions, but I’m happy to ask someone to come an inspect the area on a frosty day to see if anything else can be done”.

 

78.7      David Wilson asked the following supplementary question:

 

“Since then, we’ve seen in Saltdean some new slabs being replaced for old slabs. In the future, can we ask the council to look at a more environmentally friendly option?”

 

78.8      The Chair provided the following reply:

 

“I was recently hearing about some environmentally friendly road surfacing. We are really open to looking at alternatives”.

 

(3)           Coastal Erosion

 

78.9      Stephen Grant put the following question:

 

“In some places the A259 between Saltdean and the Marina is only about ten yards from the cliff edge. The undercliff walk was closed recently following some small rock falls. What steps (short and long term) are being taken to prevent further erosion of the cliffs to ensure that the coast road remains viable in the future?”

 

78.10   The Chair provided the following reply:

 

“The geology of the chalk cliffs adjacent to the A259 between Brighton Marina and Saltdean changes from the finer silt like material of a raised beach in the west, to the larger, solid chalk cliff faces in the east.

The primary form of erosion protection along this section of coastline is the undercliff walk seawall, which protects the bottom of the cliffs from coastal erosion.

In additional to the seawall, work to protect the cliffs from further erosion has included trimming and cutting back of the cliff edge to a shallower angle to reduce the risk of rock falls, rock anchoring and steel mesh installed in areas that were considered the most vulnerable.

The council undertakes regular visual inspection of the cliffs and maintenance to the existing coastal protection assets.

The management of the City’s coast is in line with the adopted policies included with the Beachy Head to Selsey Bill Shoreline Management Plan.

For sections of coastline within the City’s boundaries, the adopted policies for the next 100 years is Hold the line until year 50 and then Monitor, Manage and Review from year 50 to 100”.

 

78.11   Stephen Grant asked the following supplementary question:

 

“Because the Undercliff was closed, I never had chance to take a look at how serious the rockfall was. My understanding is that it was actually caused by a combination of very wet weather and frost and because the chalk is naturally friable, that is why there was a fall. I’m not sure that answer deals with the separate issue of frost and wet weather?”

 

78.12   The Chair stated that a written reply would be provided after the meeting.

 

(4)           East Brighton Park

 

78.13   Amelie Byford-Winter put the following question:

 

“I’ve been going to East Brighton park all my life it is a really good park. I just think it needs more things in it like an outdoors gym and some more play equipment and a skate park because it is quite boring for kids and it would help more people come to East Brighton park and the beach down this end. It would also be great after covid! Could you please use the money you have for the park for more things for kids? I don’t mind going door to door to see what people want if that would help?”

 

78.14   The Chair provided the following reply:

 

“Firstly, it’s really great that you have taken the time to come to this evening’s meeting to ask about the future of East Brighton Park.

We feel that it’s really important that we listen to all park users whenever we’re considering how to spend money on a park.  This should include listening to young people using the park now, like you!

Over the last 12 months £50,000 was invested at East Brighton Park making the entrance more accessible for people walking, people cycling, and vehicles. We also recently extended the cycle hire scheme to the park which you might have noticed.  

You may know that Cityparks, the council team who manage our parks, have put aside a lot of money to invest in the 45 playgrounds across the city, which includes £45,000 for East Brighton Park.

Our Playground Officer would really like to engage with you and the local community to guide how this money is spent. It is likely to include providing playground equipment for children between the 2-14 years of age, also with a focus on young adults and Special Educational Needs/Disabilities.

I’d be really happy to set up a meeting for you to get involved.

I hope this demonstrates our commitment to the East Brighton Park community and we thank you again for your questions”.