• Conservatives take rare step over serious concerns democracy is not being served on Council’s Active Travel policy.
• Current Council arrangements would see far-reaching Active Travel policy decided by just 3 Councillors under ‘Reduced Committee arrangements’.
• Extraordinary Meeting of Council would ask Full Council to reserve its powers on Active Travel so decision can be made by Full Council.

 

The Conservative Group of Councillors has today taken the rare step of invoking Council Procedure 4.4 to request an Extraordinary Meeting of Council.

 

The purpose of the meeting will be to ask the Full Council to reserve its powers to make a decision on Active Travel proposals, which are currently set to be decided by a Special Committee Meeting of just 3 councillors on 21 July 2021.

 

The Conservative Group strongly feels that such a far-reaching policy decision should not be decided under the present ‘Reduced Committee’ arrangements.

 

Such arrangements were put in place by the Council for a three month period between May -July as an intermediary measure to readjust to the easing of lockdown conditions and the end of virtual meetings.

 

The Group believes that in holding a Special Meeting of just 3 councillors to decide this controversial topic - just days before the reduced committee arrangements are set to expire - that the Administration has stepped well outside the scope and intention of reduced committee arrangements

 

 

The Conservative Group Leader Steve Bell said that in taking this rare step his Group had underlined how strongly they felt that democracy was not being served by the current arrangements.

 

“Invoking Council procedure 4.4 is a rare step for our Group - in the history of Brighton and Hove City Council we can recall only one other occasion when the Conservative Group has called for an Extraordinary Meeting of Council” Cllr Bell said.

 

“Our request today underlines the strength of feeling in our Group that democracy is not being served by the Council’s current arrangements, whereby a whole of city transport plan is to determined by just three of the City’s 54 councillors.

 

“The reduced committee arrangements were put in place as a measure to see the City through a three-month transition period from May-July as Covid restrictions eased in order to keep Council business ticking over.

“They were not put in place for the benefit of Special Meetings on far-reaching policy measures, such as the one the Admnistration has arranged on Active Travel for 21st July. 

 

“What the Council are proposing goes well beyond the scope of the reduced committee arrangements and is anti-democratic.

 

“The Conservative Group is therefore putting forward this intervention to ensure the Council reserves this matter and decides it with a far greater number of Councillors than just three” Cllr Bell said.

 

 

Conservative Group Transport Spokesperson Robert Nemeth said that the Council’s Active Travel policy was one of the most controversial issues of the past year and required more scrutiny than that of just three Councillors.

 

“Active Travel has clearly been the most controversial issue in the City over the past year; having been the subject of many petitions from residents and local issues groups and the source of much public commentary and debate in newspapers” Cllr Nemeth said.

 

“The Administration’s Active Travel report contains a multitude of measures which will determine traffic arrangements in the city for many years to come and touches on almost all of the controversial issues that have been raised by residents of this City in the past year.

 

“Residents would expect that these matters receive scrutiny.

 

“There are currently at least 15 draft recommendations to be proposed by the administration covering every corner of the city.

 

“These matters should not be decided by just three councillors working under a set of emergency measures, set to expire a few days later.

 

“We therefore have strong concerns about the democratic standing in the public eye of any decisions made under the reduced capacity provisions of a Special meeting with only 3 councillors present.  We feel the circumstances and timing of the meeting would deserve the consideration the Secretary of State and potentially the Local Government Ombudsman.

 

“As such we are calling for Full Council to reserve its powers on Active Travel, so that more Councillors can be a part of this decision” Cllr Nemeth said.

 

The Request has gone to the Chief Executive Officer and Mayor, who have 7 Days in which to call a meeting.

 

ENDS.