Subject:

Preparations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations

Date of Meeting:

25 November 2021

Report of:

Executive Director, Economy, Environment & Culture

Contact Officer:

Name:

Chloe Sands

Tel:

01273 29

 

Email:

Chloe.sands@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Ward(s) affected:

All

 

 

FOR GENERAL RELEASE

 

 

1.         PURPOSE OF REPORT AND POLICY CONTEXT

 

 

1.1      A Conservative Notice of Motion (NOM) was presented to Council on 15th July 2021 regarding the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee from 2nd to 5th June 2022. The Notice of Motion was approved by Council and referred to the TECC committee for further action.

 

1.2      This paper looks at  events taking place in the city and plans for supporting celebrations.  This will include  street closures for street parties and tree planting as part of ‘The Queen’s Green Canopy’ initiative.  Proposals are also at an advanced stage to creatively light the Hove Beacon in time for the celebrations.

 

2.         RECOMMENDATIONS:    

 

That Members agree:

 

2.1      to note the national plans for The Queen’s Jubilee celebrations and note the work that the council has done so far in preparing for lighting the Hove Beacon;

 

2.2       that an update paper be brought back to TECC in early 2022, as currently events are still in the early stages of planning; and

 

2.3       that officers should explore opportunities to support other elements of Jubilee celebrations, such as tree-planting and support for street parties/community events and report back with suggestions for a Jubilee programme as part of the update paper.

 

 

 

3.            CONTEXT/ BACKGROUND INFORMATION

 

3.1         The 6th February 2022 will mark the day that Her Majesty The Queen becomes the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee; seventy years of service. There will be year-long celebrations throughout the United Kingdom and Commonwealth celebrating The Queen’s historic reign. 

 

3.2         The programme of events include Her Majesty and members of the Royal Family undertaking a variety of engagements around the country; an extended bank holiday, from 2nd to 5th June, to allow people to come together to celebrate; Trooping the Colour for the Queen’s Birthday; lighting of beacons; and other events throughout June. 

 

3.3         The Outdoor Events team are still compiling the 2022/23 programme of events so cannot confirm what local events will be taking place over the June 2022 bank holiday weekend at this time. The Mayoral office has not yet made any decisions of what they will be doing for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations as this will be discussed with the incoming Mayor, likely in December. 

 

3.4         Beacon Lighting

 

3.4.1    The Hove Beacon Lighting project is an exciting initiative for the City and its residents.  The project will see the creation of an aesthetically-pleasing lighting scheme for the Hove Beacon that will help to provide a welcoming atmosphere for evening strollers, improve views towards Hove from afar, and enhance the night-time image of Hove and the seafront. 

 

3.4.2    A brief, inviting lighting designers to submit an application, was circulated in September via the Culture in our City website and other arts listings; and a lighting designer will be recruited in November to complete and install a workable lighting scheme so that the beacon can be relit for the Queen’s Jubilee in June 2022. 

 

3.4.3   The original Hove Beacon formed part of a national network of beacons used to alert the public against potential invasion by a Spanish Armada in 1588, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. These historic signal beacons are visible across the Sussex coastline, but the towering beacon in Hove is a distinctive landmark. A replica of the original now stands on the esplanade, with a distinctive fire basket at the top. It was symbolically lit, along with the other beacons in the chain, in 1988 for the 400th anniversary of the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Plans are in place for it to be permanently relit and for it to be celebrated as part of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations in June 2022. 

 

3.5       Street Parties 

 

3.5.1   The application process for Platinum Jubilee street parties is detailed on the council’s web site.  This process allows the public to request closures.  A team in City Transport assess the implications of a closure and ensure that the process has been followed. Each closure is considered in terms of congestion and transport implications alongside ensuring that necessary insurances etc. are in place.

 

3.5.2   There may be implications if there are a significant volume of requests received for The Queen’s Jubilee bank holiday weekend as there is finite resource available to deal with them. The notice period may have to be extended to accommodate the number of requests, but this will be managed in due course.

 

3.5.3   Council officers will explore the potential for identifying a small pot of funding to help support street parties, community events and other Jubilee celebrations. There may, for example, be a small amount of funding available from MAG. This will form part of the update report in early 2022.

 

3.6       Tree Planting 

 

3.6.1   The Queen’s Green Canopy is an initiative created to mark the Platinum Jubilee which encourages people across the United Kingdom to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee”. 

3.6.2   For Brighton and Hove, a Queen’s Green Canopy planting event is currently being planned, to take place at The Bristol Estate, in conjunction with Plant Your Postcode and Trees For Cities.

 3.6.3  Council officers in the City Parks projects team have already started to think of further ideas of how we could be involved in this initiative. One idea is looking to mobilise the Green Spaces Forum members to work in unison with the Woodland Trust to deliver a planting project similar to the Queen Victoria Jubilee planting at Westmeston. Currently a suitable hillside site, with a prominent view, has yet to be identified that isn’t Downland species rich grassland, but this can be explored further with the help of Savills if a suitable site cannot be identified. The Forum has its first meeting to discuss this in mid-November.

3.7       What else is being planned 

 

3.7.1   Some other local authorities are also beginning to think about what they will do locally to celebrate this historic occasion. Buckinghamshire has shown their focus is around supporting projects enabling the community to celebrate and supporting The Queen’s Green Canopy. Elmbridge Borough are encouraging people to share their events so they can be promoted via the Council website. Warwickshire’s Lord Lieutenant is promoting the lighting of the beacons and encouraging the community to get involved in the celebrations. Sefton is promoting the celebrations and publicising how to apply for a street party road closure to celebrate the occasion. 

 

3.7.2   It is currently unclear how East and West Sussex County Councils and our neighbouring District & Borough Councils are planning to commemorate the Jubilee. Officers will ensure that there is appropriate liaison with neighbouring authorities.

 

4.            ANALYSIS & CONSIDERATION OF ANY ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

 

4.1         It is evident from the Full Council approval of the 15 July 2021 NoM that Members do want the Jubilee to be appropriately celebrated.   Doing nothing to commemorate the Jubilee is not an option.

 

4.2         Members could choose not to pursue one or more of the ways of celebrating the Jubilee outlined above (i.e. the Hove Beacon; encouraging/facilitating community street parties; tree-planting). However, it should be noted that Full Council explicitly agreed to pursue the option of featuring the Hove Beacon in celebrations.

 

4.3         Members could also request that officers explore means of celebrating the Jubilee that are additional to those outlined above.

 

5.            COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & CONSULTATION

 

5.1         None to date. As planning for the Jubilee celebrations progresses, it is anticipated that there will be extensive engagement with communities and with community sector groups across the city.

 

6.         CONCLUSION

 

6.1         Members are asked to note the information included in the report.

 

6.2         Members are also asked to agree that officers should plan how to support Jubilee celebrations, including looking at the potential of identifying a small pot of money to support community events.

 

6.3         As planning for the Jubilee celebrations is still at an early stage, it is recommended that an update report be presented to TECC committee in early 2022, to include more details of planning regarding the Hove Beacon, street parties, tree-planting and potential financial support for celebratory activities.

 

7.         FINANCIAL & OTHER IMPLICATIONS:

 

Financial Implications:

 

7.1         The cost of any events or activities planned would need to be identified and funding would need to be identified and approved. This could either be through one-off funding in year or it could be considered as part of the 2022/23 budget setting process. If any of the projects lead to ongoing maintenance costs funding for these would need to be identified too.

 

            Finance Officer Consulted:     Name Jeff Coates                        Date: 22/10/2021

 

Legal Implications:

 

7.2         The closure of roads for street parties will require orders to be made under s21 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847. It is not considered that there are any other legal implications directly arising from the report.

                                                                   

            Lawyer Consulted:                   Name Hilary Woodward              Date: 21/10/21

 

Equalities Implications:

 

7.3         Plans for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations are still at an early stage. However, as planning develops a key element will be to ensure that celebrations are inclusive and are accessible to every community in the city. This will require early and thorough consideration of the equalities implications of all celebration plans, and more details of this process will be included in the next update report to TECC.

 

            Sustainability Implications:

 

7.4         Planning for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations is still at an early stage. Plans will be developed with environmental sustainability and carbon reduction at their core: e.g. to achieve minimal carbon usage in celebratory lighting, to minimise the carbon emissions of events, and to explore the potential for carbon positive commemorative actions such as tree-planting. More details on sustainability will be included in the next update report to TECC.

 

Brexit Implications:

 

7.5         None identified

 

Any Other Significant Implications:

 

 

            Crime & Disorder Implications:

 

7.6       The potential for crime & disorder associated with public celebrations will be considered and mitigated as part of detailed planning for Jubilee events.

 

            Risk and Opportunity Management Implications:

 

7.7       Risk and opportunity planning will form a key part of the detailed planning for Jubilee events.

 

            Public Health Implications:

 

7.8       Officers planning Jubilee events will work closely with colleagues in Public Health to identify opportunities to reinforce positive behaviours and to mitigate negative behaviours (e.g. excessive drinking that can be associated with celebrations).

 

            Corporate / Citywide Implications:

 

7.9       The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations offer an opportunity to showcase the city to visitors and to develop better community cohesion within the city. They also present an opportunity to work positively with city partners.

 

 

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

 

Appendices:

None