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 to the full Council or at the meeting itself.

 

(b)          Written Questions: To receive any questions submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 12 March 2018.

 

(c)          Deputations: To receive any deputations submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 12 March 2018.

 

68a     Petitions

 

68.1    There were none.

 

68b     Written Questions

 

68.2    It was noted that two public questions had been received. The questions and responses given in respect of each are set out below:

 

            Hove Carnegie Library

 

68.3    A question had been received from Mr Christopher Hawtree who was invited to put his question.

 

            “Would Councillor Daniel please tell what stages have been reached in the proposals for a nursery and café at Hove’s Carnegie Library”.

 

         The following response was provided:

 

“I am pleased to tell you that we are finalising the agreements with the nursery and the café that are going into Hove Library, and that if all goes well, both facilities will be up and running in September. We will be announcing further details as soon as we can.

 

We are still waiting for Listed Building Consent for changes to Hove Library to accommodate the nursery and café. Once this is received, the works will take place, together with some building maintenance and improvements such as some new flooring and decoration in some parts of the library. The library will remain open during these works, although sections will need to be cordoned off while work takes place.”

 

            Mr Hawtree was invited to ask a supplementary question. He asked whether/when it was agreed that a nursery facility would be provided and whether members had been made aware that the existing radial shelving which dated from 1908 would need to be removed and the rationale for that decision. It was agreed that information would be provided following the meeting and would be set out in the minutes. This is set out below:

 

            “The ‘radial shelves’ to which Mr Hawtree refers can be found in the semi-circular part of the ground floor of Hove Library. In total there are 180 radial shelves and 109 wooden shelves around the windows, total 289 shelves in this area.  The current proposals for the ground floor will see 48 radial shelves and 33 wooden shelves around the windows removed. This will leave 132 radial and 76 wooden shelves around the windows left, i.e. 72% of the shelving in that area. All of the shelves taken out will be replaced in other parts of the ground floor as part of the changes.

 

The rationale for this proposal is that the removal of the staff facilities in the basement means alternative facilities are needed elsewhere in the library. The existing staff office on the upper floor is being widened to accommodate staff office facilities, but a small staff kitchenette and rest room is also needed. The potential locations for this facility are limited, and as utilities are being provided on the ground floor for café facilities, it made sense to locate the staff kitchenette next to the café so that the same water and waste pipes can service both.

 

            PSPO’s in Brighton and Hove

 

68.4    The following question had been received from Ms Angela Barnet. Ms Barnett was invited to put her question and also had the opportunity to ask one supplementary question should she so wish.

 

         “Before implementing PSPO’s in Brighton & Hove we were assured that the new prohibitions would not disproportionately affect gypsies, travellers or the homeless. In the light of the review report showing that 123 warning letters were issued only to “encampments” and additionally that PSPO’s were used as a method to encourage homeless people sheltering in tents to move, how are you going to ensure that future use of this legislation, will not result in further persecution of rough sleepers, gypsies and travellers, especially considering the new Government Guidance and the lack of available alternative provision in the city?”.

 

68.5    The Chair gave the following response:

 

            “A light touch approach had been applied to this issue in Brighton and Hove and PSPO’s had only been used to deal with a particular nuisance or problem in an area that was detrimental to the local community’s quality of life by imposing conditions on the use of that area which applied to everyone. Whilst a sensitive approach was applied the Council had to balance the needs of all in the city including those of neighbouring residents.”

 

68.6    Ms Barnett asked further what approach the Council was adopting to ensure that the travelling/homeless community were not unfairly effected by the potential draconian measures which were contained within PSPO’s.

 

68.7    The Chair responded stating that she understood Ms Barnett’s concerns, confirming that a blanket approach was not used when dealing with encampment and other traveller sites across the city. No one had been fined and the Council took its welfare role towards those who were vulnerable very seriously. In the case of individuals who were homeless or had identified issues they were signposted towards appropriate services. Where issues had been identified in relation to on-going issues at specific/identified sites albeit sensitively, those issues could not go unaddressed and the needs of all living in that community had to balanced very carefully. She further stated that she would be happy to facilitate further engagement on this matter outside of the committee process.

 

68c     Deputations

 

Why BSL is Important to me

 

68.9    Ayesha Denny from Hamilton Lodge School was invited to put her Deputation. She explained the importance of British Sign Language (BSL) to her and the importance of the work carried out to ensure that pledges contained in phase 1 of the project were carried forward. Signers on behalf of BSL were present throughout and in connection with the following item on the agenda, Item 70, “Progress Update on British Sign Language (BSL) Charter”.

 

68.10  Having listened to Ayesha’s submission it was welcomed and its contents noted by the Committee.

 

68.11  RESOLVED - Thatthe contents the deputation be received and noted.

 

Buzzfeed News Article - Gender Identity Pronouns Campaign

 

68.12  Dr Samuel Hall was invited to speak to his Deputation the contents of which are set out below:

 

68.13               “Beginning with the trans scrutiny 2013, followed by a needs assessment published in 2015, BHCC has a track record of listening to and advocating for trans rights. There is a history of political and municipal support ranging from public health funding to the facilitation of the now well established annual trans pride event.

 

            A sub group maintaining continuity of this early adoption of advocacy for trans and non-binary inclusion has established an annual conference in partnership with the university of Brighton and has initiated the imminent pronoun badge campaign. Individuals and organizations are encouraged to raise the profile of trans and non-binary identities by participating in this initiative designed to coincide with trans day of visibility on 31st March. This is an exemplary campaign highlighting the inclusion of a minority community and which has already enjoyed some very positive press coverage. In reality it is not only trans and non-binary people who benefit from the discourse around gender. We all do. The artificial barrier created by gender is both oppressive and toxic, anything that challenges and opposes enforced gender roles and expectations is progressive for modern society. Advocating for trans rights is a risky business with detractors and naysayers quick to criticize, but this council’s track record and reputation with the local trans and non-binary community and beyond is important. We stand on the right side of history and it is being noted both at home and abroad. Moving forward B&H has an opportunity to pioneer a ground-breaking reconfiguration of health and social care services for trans and non-binary people with NHS England now actively seeking pilot schemes. This is a chance to design and deliver an integrated health and social care model which gives parity of esteem to mental health services alongside physical health, to create future-proof interfaces between a deprived community and service providers, and to model partnership working between the public and voluntary sectors which maximizes community engagement in both design and delivery. We should not be missing this opportunity to build something enviable in terms of joined up care at a local level.”

 

68.14  The Chair welcomed Dr Hall’s submission, the contents of which were received and noted by the Committee.

 

68.15  RESOLVED – That the contents of the report be received and noted.

 

            Issues New Road, Brighton

 

68.16  Mr Lyndon Brooker was invited to speak in support of his Deputation the contents of which are set out below:

 

“My partner and I both reside and work on New Road, and have done so for the past three years. We regularly encounter issues that we feel require more attention from the council. These include regular acts of anti-social behaviour from people drinking alcohol on the street, large late night gatherings of revellers, with all that entails, and daily problems with amplified buskers and music at all hours. Aside from the personal distress and disruption this causes to our daily lives, and business, it also leads to visible incidents of violence, drug-taking, graffiti, littering, and poses a risk to traffic and pedestrians. We have logged well over 500 calls to the police over the past 36 months. Whilst the Police are working with us to tackle some of these issues, they have neither the resources nor the powers in some instances to effectively address them.

 

In an ideal world, and having had numerous conversations with the Police, residents and businesses of New Road, as well as staff and security at the Royal Pavilion and it's gardens, and the Theatre Royal Brighton, we plan to petition for the removal of the benches that seem to be the source of all of these issues. In the meantime we would like the council to consider:

 

Up-to-date signage for busking and street drinking and clearer road signs. There is currently no signage regarding busking laws. And signs regarding alcohol consumption are inadequate and out of date legally.

·         Action from Environmental Health to enforce council bylaws (busking), particularly at weekends and late at night.

·         Since the large majority of late night revellers seem to be mostly foreign (predominantly Spanish) visitors, we would ask the council contact local language schools, asking them to deter their students from congregating on New Road late at night.

·         Work with relevant agencies and the Police to engage with the individuals presenting persistent antisocial behaviour.”

 

68.17  The Chair gave the following response:

 

“The Council is currently agreeing wording for new Public Space Protection Order alcohol restriction signage. The signs will be ordered and updated in the near future. The Community Safety team will keep in touch with you to keep you up to date on the progress of this. Police do have the authority to remove alcohol under dispersal powers contained within the Anti -Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 without the need for signage. We currently have no signage relating to busking anywhere in the City but officers will consider whether it would be appropriate to introduce this taking into account the issues you are experiencing and whether budgets and resources would allow it. I understand that some of your neighbours have been supported by Council Officers to develop an A board which they display outside of their premises reminding buskers of the ‘one hour, no drums no amps’ rule and officers would be happy to support you to do something similar.

 

Environmental Health Officers will respond to complaints about buskers during office hours if they have resources to do so and if they occur at weekends the Council’s noise patrol service can respond on Fridays and Saturdays between 10pm and 3am. However officers will not approach where there is a risk to their personal safety for example where they are surrounded by groups of intoxicated people at night without Police owing to the risk of conflict.  Over the summer we will be recruiting to some new roles within the Council introducing field officers who will work seven days a week up until eight o’clock in the evening and we will ensure that they are aware of the issues you have outlined and move buskers on when they are witnessed in contravention of the bye laws. The Council will consider contacting language schools and ask them to remind their students to be mindful of their behaviour.

The Council is already working with partners across the City to deal with issues around persistent anti- social behaviour. There is a regular street community partnership meeting with partner agencies such as Sussex Police, Equinox and St. Mungo’s that identifies individuals and geographical areas where behaviour is causing the most harm to members of the public and puts in place multi-agency plans to address these, with consideration given to both support and enforcement interventions. The partnership tactical tasking and co-ordination group consisting of police, Council departments and third sector organisations, has adopted Street Community issues as a priority, and New Road has been among the geographical priority areas targeted on a multi-agency basis for the last several weeks. Issues of anti- social behaviour can be reported to the Council’s casework team on 01273 292735, and where individuals can be identified who are engaged in repeated anti-social behaviour, the Casework Team will work with partner agencies to address this behaviour. This has already happened in relation to a number of individuals identified on New Road.”

 

68.18  Whilst noting the response and action being taken Councillor West was of the view that some of the actions suggested by Mr Brooker were worthy of further investigation, and should form the subject of a further report to Committee. A number of other Members were in agreement and following a vote it was agreed that a report would be brought back to Committee as soon as it was practicable to do so, October 2018 was anticipated.

 

68.19  RESOLVED – That a report detailing measures which could be used to ameliorate existing nuisance in New Road be brought back to Committee as soon as it was practicable to do so.

 

            Needs of the Deaf Community

 

68.20  Ayesha Denny presented a further Deputation setting out the needs of the deaf community in Brighton and Hove particularly in terms of listening to them and providing opportunities for them to communicate their views.

 

68.21  The Chair and Members of the Committee stated that they had welcomed Ayesha’s input and thanked her for attending in order to represent the views of the deaf community. The Chair commended her contribution as an articulate young woman.

 

68.22  RESOLVED – That the contents of the Deputation be received and noted.