On the final day of 2022, we reflect on the past year at Brighton & Hove City Council; a year where our Conservative Councillor team worked hard to raise many local issues and achieved some good results for forgotten residents.
As auld lang syne is sung at midnight to mark the end of the year, we will also have two of our long-standing Conservative councillors on our minds - Ann Norman and Garry Peltzer Dunn - who sadly passed away during the year.
The first meeting of the Full Council in 2022 came back at the beginning of February, when our Councillors brought forward an item highlighting the plight of city heritage; and a further motion drawing attention to the lack of consultation on an experimental traffic scheme impacting Westdene.
First, Cllr Mary Mears successfully called for an investigation and report into repairs needed for Victoria Fountain, paving the way for a £250,000 commitment in the city budget.
At the same meeting Cllr Samer Bagaeen put the spotlight on an experimental park and ride scheme which had been proposed without local residents having been consulted. Residents were concerned about the environmental impact of building a potential large new car park on South Downs land. Following this motion, the scheme was dropped by the Administration.
At the next Full Council meeting in March, Conservative Councillors brought attention to two issues impacting the city’s urban fringe - Litter and Farming.
Cllr Carol Theobald spoke about the poor state of the A27 where roadside litter was accumulating, which the council has responsibility for cleaning. Following the motion, the council undertook a clean-up of the A27 stretch between Portslade junction and Falmer, clearing a total of 18 tonnes of detritus including 2 tonnes of litter and 3 tonnes of fly-tip. The Conservatives will push for more regular clean-ups in the New Year.
Cllr Robert Nemeth then spoke up for the City’s forgotten farmers, who were marginalised in a council strategy document for the city’s downland estate. In designing its strategy, Brighton & Hove City Council had been consulting extreme activist groups from the inner city such as extinction rebellion, while ignoring the concerns of local farmers that had been working the land for generations
In July the Conservatives put a focus on customer service and public toilet provision, two big issues that have caused concern to residents this year.
Cllr Alistair McNair called for a reopening of face-to-face services that had been closed since the pandemic, pointing to the 55% increase in service complaints from the public. Congratulations must also go to Cllr Alistair McNair this year for being a finalist this year’s National Councillor of the Year awards for his work helping the Ukrainian community in the City.
Councillor Robert Nemeth raised the council’s new public toilet service, which was already showing signs of beginning to falter just two months after being launched by the Greens and Labour. These concerns were not heeded by the Council, which would go onto close 17 public toilets just a few months later as its new service collapsed, in one of the biggest council disasters of the year.
In October the Conservatives spoke up for council housing tenants and users of leisure centres.
The Conservative Housing team of Cllr Anne Meadows and Cllr Dawn Barnett called for policy change in the City’s housing department, after residents of Craven Vale estate had given evidence that the city council’s ‘soft touch’ policies (including refusing to evict problem tenants and not sharing its CCTV footage with the Police) had been allowing drug dealing to go unchallenged. Our Conservative housing team went onto to pursue these matters at the Housing Committee, prompting the Council to issue an eviction notice.
Cllr Samer Bagaeen then highlighted the lack of a plan from the city council to update its ageing fleet of leisure centres, after opening hours at many facilities had been cut to save energy costs. Brighton & Hove has been surpassed by rival local authorities with more modern and energy efficient facilities, which have stayed open throughout the winter.
In the final meeting of the year, the Conservatives raised cycle hangars and an overspend in the Housing Revenue Account.
The roll-out of cycle hangars has been controversial, occurring without consultation or proper process. Residents in basement flats have been badly impacted, with their natural light curtailed by these large structures. Cllr Nemeth successfully put through a motion calling for an urgent review. Meanwhile Cllr Anne Meadows drew attention to how the Green/Labour Coalition in Housing was wasting tenants rent contributions on a number of ill-advised schemes.
Our Conservative councillor team will continue to work hard to shine a light on City Council issues into the new year – which will be an election year for the Brighton and Hove City Council.
ENDS.
