Conservatives to stand up for residents on crime and antisocial behaviour; the urban fringe and local democracy

Next Thursday 22 October is a Full Council meeting at Brighton & Hove City Council and a chance for Councillors to raise matters that are important to residents in the City.

Our Conservative Councillors have been listening and will focus on 3 important issues on behalf of residents:  tackling crime and antisocial behaviour; protecting our urban fringe and standing up for local democracy.

We will provide the Council with an opportunity to take action to address these issues by proposing practical solutions.

Conservative Councillor for Hangleton & Knoll Nick Lewry will be putting forward a notice of motion to help address one of the biggest issues raised by residents in the City on a day to day basis:  Crime and anti-social behaviour.

Cllr Lewry’s motion highlights the current underutilisation of one of the Council’s most important resources for combatting anti-social behaviour - Field Officers - and provides a practical solution to make sure that this resource is fully utilised for the benefit of residents in future.

The Council employs a team of field officers with the job description including enforcement and inspection across different council services – including addressing antisocial behaviour and targeting hotspots.  They cover issues related to noise nuisance environmental health, Housing, planning enforcement, community safety, seafront services and parks.

Residents pay for this service through Council tax and the Housing Revenue Account budget.  They expect to receive a good service in return.  There is meant to be a team of 8 field officers working across the City, including 7 officers and 1 manager.

However, in response to a question from Cllr Lewry at the Council meeting in August it was confirmed that one third of the field officer positions were sitting vacant, with 2.5 of the 7 FTE positions left unfilled.

While Cllr Lewry was assured at this meeting that these positions would be filled as soon as possible, the Council advised late last month that the situation has worsened with there being 3.0 FTE Field Officer position unfilled into October.

With crime and antisocial behaviour such a big issue in the city that impacts people’s lives – as recently reported by this newspaper - it is unforgivable that valuable resources have been left underutilised over an entire summer.

Cllr Lewry’s motion will be calling on the Policy & Resources Committee to request an urgent report that includes a strategy to ensure that the council is effectively using all the tools at its disposal to tackle anti-social behaviour and is not leaving precious resources unused.  A fully staffed, properly organised and fully coordinated Field Officer team could be contributing to coordinating the response against antisocial behaviour in the City.

After all, if the council has prioritised the recruitment of stewards policing the entrance and exit points to Madeira Drive, why can’t it prioritise the recruitment of a full complement of field officers?

Conservative Councillor Nemeth will be raising another issue of great importance to residents – the need to protect the City’s urban fringe from development.

Over 6,000 residents have signed petitions to save much-loved green spaces and take them out of the City’s 10-year development plan, which is currently subject to consultation.  Residents want to make sure spots such as Benfield Valley; Coldean green space; Whitehawk Hill and Horsdean Recreation Ground are protected and not built on.

Cllr Nemeth’s motion will provide an opportunity for councillors to put in place in place a policy to ensure that the urban fringe of our city is protected from development.

The Conservative motion will enable councillors to express their preference that the land on the urban fringe of Brighton & Hove which is presently owned by Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC), or subsequently acquired by BHCC, would not be used or disposed of (including through joint ventures) for housing development and that Policy & Resources Committee be requested to call for a report in order to establish such a policy to protect the urban fringe for the benefit of the City’s residents.

There are plenty of brownfield sites in the City that can meet the City’s minimum housing targets without building on the urban fringe.

Conservative questions to the administration at the Council Meeting will focus on the state of democracy in the city.

As Conservatives we believe that government should be closer to the people, not further away.

We want to see more local democracy, instead of more centralisation - whether to Brussels or Whitehall.  Communities should have more say over their own futures.

We are disappointed that 3 community petitions focused that met the number of signatures required have not been selected for a debate at this meeting.  These include petitions to save Benfield Valley, Whitehawk Hill and Horsdean Recreation Ground from development.

We consider this decision undemocratic after these petitions reached the threshold required for a debate.

It is a matter of the utmost seriousness for Conservatives and we will be making this point loud and clear at the meeting on Thursday night.