Agenda item - Deputations from members of the public.

A list of deputations received by the due date of 12noon on the 16 October 2020 will be circulated separately as part of an addendum at the meeting.

(1)   GASWORKS SITE EAST BRIGHTON

42.1      The Mayor reported that one deputation had been received from members of the public and that he would invite the spokesperson to introduce their deputation and for the relevant Chair to respond. He noted that 15minutes were set aside for the consideration of deputations. 

42.2      The Mayor welcomed Marie Sandford to the meeting and invited her to address the Council.

42.3      Ms. Sansford thanked the Mayor and referred to the deputation and outlined the group’s concerns over the possibility of the gas works site being redeveloped. She hoped that the council would give consideration to the request to having an independent assessment of the site and to ensure only limited redevelopment was permitted that would not result in any contamination being released or environmental and health risks for local residents and the local area.

42.4      Councillor Mac Cafferty thanked Ms Sanford for the deputation and stated that all planning applications must be determined in line with both local and national planning policy and guidance and relevant planning legislation. This included Environmental Impact Assessments and the impact of a development on human health. He was certain that the city council would scrutinise the information as part of the planning application process and any approval would be subject to stringent planning conditions to address land contamination. He noted that remediation was highly technical, regulated and was licensed and overseen by the Health and Safety Executive. He was sure that if these standards could not be met, then works on the site could not proceed.

42.5      The Mayor thanked Ms. Sansford for joining the meeting and noted that the deputation would be referred to the Policy & Resources Committee for consideration. The persons forming the deputation would be invited to attend the meeting and would be informed subsequently of any action to be taken or proposed in relation to the matter set out in the deputation.