Green councillor Martin Osborne said that renters needed greater protection from the effects of the continuing pandemic. Councillor Osborne said: “Although I appreciate the temporary eviction bans, that have been welcome from the government, it seems they are trying their best to get away with doing the minimum. “They keep extending the ban for short timescales with the hope that the number of cases of covid will fall so they can restart the evictions as soon as possible. “What renters need instead is some long-term security.” He said that a six-month breathing space would allow the vaccination programme to take effect and the economy to recover.
Madeira Drive in Brighton has been closed to motorists since April Conservative councillors were labelled “Trump-like” when they called for a focus on “value for money”. The comments came in response to six examples cited by the Tories as examples of how the Greens and Labour had wasted taxpayers’ millions. Councillor Samer Bagaeen said that money saved through the proposed value for money programme could be spent on things like ridding the city of graffiti. Brighton councillor Samer Bagaeen warns of element of risk as lockdown eases He said that value for money was the relationship between economy, efficiency and effectiveness which all residents had the right to expect.
Rockwater owner Luke Davis COUNCILLORS went against advice and granted planning permission for a seafront venue’s roof extension. Rockwater’s owner Luke Davis can now add a glazed first-floor extension, along with a lower-ground floor pergola and fire pit area to the Hove venue.
Brighton and Hove City Council planning officers recommended the application was refused as the building would be too prominent and would contrast starkly with neighbouring buildings in the Sackville Gardens Conservation area. Planning consultant Ian Coomber spoke on behalf of Walsingham Road Residents Association who were against the plans due to concerns about noise and people leaving the venue in the early hours of the morning, as it has a licence to open until 3am.
BRIGHTON and Hove city council debated nuclear weapons in an explosive meeting branded “disgraceful” by the standards chief after a row about racism. City councillors debated the feasibility and benefits of nuclear disarmament in a Full Council meeting which was abandoned after the live stream went down amid technical difficulties. The meeting became embroiled in a row about racism. Conservative councillor Mary Mears questioned the council’s anti-racist stance after councillor Nancy Platts had not answered Argus questions relating to her time in Jeremy Corbyn’s office when he was Labour leader. These questions were raised in October following the publication of a damning report by the human rights watchdog which found the Labour Party responsible for “unlawful” harassment and discrimination of its Jewish members.