Regency candidates explain why they want to be a councillor. They also answer questions sent in by the public via social media.
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Seven candidates are standing for the two Brighton and Hove City Council seats in the Brighton ward of Regency.
Why do you want to be a councillor?
Poppy Burt is standing for Labour:
I am standing to be a Labour councillor in Regency ward because life has become increasingly tough for many in the city. I will work hard to improve the quality of life and living standards for all.
Tom Druitt is chief executive of the Big Lemon and general manager of Brighton and Hove Community Transport. He is standing for re-election for the Greens:
I have thoroughly enjoyed the last four years on the council and feel like I have made a contribution to people’s lives and also helped to create a better future for our city. The work is very rewarding and I would like to continue it.
Lawrence Eke is managing director at ISE Hove Language School and a tech investor. He is standing for the Liberal Democrats:
I feel that I have some pragmatic and cost-effective ideas that would assist in delivery of better council services to Regency ward and the city as a whole. I have experience of small business growth, education and mass transit technology in particular. I am particularly moved to work for the council by the increasing homelessness issue that I witness every day. If I am elected as councillor, I will not claim any allowance or expenses. As I run my own business, it doesn’t feel right to take from the council.
Alexandra Phillips is a campaigner for a national health charity. She is standing for re-election for the Greens:
I have served our communities as a local councillor for a decade and I find making a difference to people’s quality of life hugely rewarding. I am keen to continue work which I have started on trying to eradicate graffiti and tagging, sorting the recycling and refuse problem out so that people can choose to do the right thing that so many want to do but are not able to do and to help end street homelessness.
Dan Simmonds works in higher education and is standing for Labour:
As a life-long resident of Brighton and Hove I have seen the city drastically change for better and sometimes for worse. I am standing because I want to be active in making the city a great place to live. The increase in rough sleeping and homelessness represents one of the saddest changes to the city. I am proud to stand on a manifesto committed to ending both as well as addressing the causes of homelessness. Our positive vision for the city was put together by hundreds of members and I am confident that the Labour Party can change our city for the better.
What are you views on the design and impact on traffic of the Valley Gardens phase 3 project in Old Steine which includes making Madeira Drive one-way by the Palace Pier?
Poppy Burt and Dan Simmonds: The designs are currently being drawn up to a detailed design stage. All comments and issues raised are being addressed and we hope to see a detailed scheme which meets the needs of all residents and businesses/visitors expected.
Those detailed designs will have to ensure that the city keeps moving while addressing the impacts of the climate change emergency and supporting a modern city where sustainable transport routes are protected and enhanced.
Tom Druitt and Alex Phillips: This is a very difficult situation as there are a number of competing priorities. What is clear is that it is not currently a nice space for people to spend time in and it has a huge amount of unrealised potential.
It is vital that we create a long-term strategy for traffic management in the city as ever-greater volumes of traffic simply create gridlock, pollution and frustration as we see on a regular basis in Valley Gardens and along the seafront.
The Valley Gardens scheme gives us a fantastic opportunity to develop a beautiful space that’s nice to spend time in as well as safe and easy to get around, whether it’s on foot, by bike, on public transport or in a car.
However, by clumsily botching the consultation process Labour has failed to take this opportunity. The four final designs were never consulted on by the public. This should never have been the case and the public should have been able to have their say on them. Instead of being a green lung in the middle of the city, the proposals are confusing and incoherent traffic management.
Our vision is one where there would not be traffic lights at the Sealife centre roundabout. There would be a proper north-south cycle lane which would link up the cycle lane on the seafront with the cycle lanes going northwards to Lewes Road and to London Road. There would be more proper shared space and greenery.
The reduced amount of traffic lanes on the Old Steine would be used as an opportunity to limit the number of private car journeys into the city centre and instead focus on public transport such as buses.
Lawrence Eke: Although I welcome plans to make improvements to the traffic flow in and out of Brighton, I feel that the Valley Gardens scheme is ill-thought out, poorly designed and will restrict traffic flow and increase air pollution. I was concerned at the lack of consultation, lack of expert input and secretive decision-making process.
I feel that as a city we need to keep our road systems as flexible as possible to allow large volume entry and exit traffic while allowing residents and emergency access to move across Brighton and Hove.
There is a huge problem with dog owners leaving waste behind, either in bags or just out in the open in parks and street. What will you do to tackle dog owners not picking up poo?
Poppy Burt and Dan Simmonds: Our new enforcement officers who have been brought in-house are out and about in neighbourhoods and targeting those whose anti-social behaviours are affecting all our lives. We need to both educate and enforce our way out of this problem and we want that message to get through to all who choose to leave dog mess across our city.
Tom Druitt and Alex Phillips: As parents who often use a buggy, we often do not notice dog mess before it gets on to the wheels of the buggy. It is even worse for those people using wheelchairs as they literally get it on their hands and in their house, if it gets on to their wheels.
More signage would be helpful in some cases and our field officers should be tasked with enforcing compliance and issuing fines where there is blatant disregard. However, they will never be able to be everywhere all the time so most of all people need to challenge those who allow their dogs to foul public spaces.
Lawrence Eke: As a dog owner I too despair that a few inconsiderate owners make streets and parks dirty for all users. I would reverse the current trend of removing rubbish bins from parks and increase bin provision.
I would arrange for the provision of free bags to be distributed at hot spot points in parks so it’s easy to dispose of poo as well as encouraging owners to pick up an extra poo near their dog while clearing up after them.
The council is planning more electric vehicle charging points. To what extent do you support this and will you commit to electric vehicle only parking spaces?
Poppy Burt and Dan Simmonds: We fully support the installation of electric vehicle charging points (EVCPs) and in fact it is the Labour council that successfully bid for £300,000 funding from the government to allow the installation of 200 EVCPs. Test sites are already in operation.
It was noted at committee last June that the scheme might need to allow for mandatory parking bays for electric vehicle charging in the event, for example, it becomes clear that electric vehicle owners are having problems accessing advisory bays or to adapting over time to increased demand.
Tom Druitt and Alex Phillips: Electric vehicles have an important role in improving air quality in the city so we are very supportive of efforts to improve the infrastructure. The spaces next to charging points must be electric vehicle only parking spaces by law.
Lawrence Eke: I fully support the installation of more EV charging points. I believe that there should be much more provision for fully electric and hybrid vehicles in the city. I personally think the council should also assist residents in pooling together to purchase and install charge points in residential and sub-urban areas.
The council should also explore mixed use EV bays (for example EV-only between the hours of 11am and 4pm on weekdays / weekends only) to gauge the demand. My own experience in Regency is that there are many, many hybrid and EV residents and visitors that cannot use the existing bay provision.
If you design with children in mind, you also make it good for older people and create a healthier and more inclusive place that everyone can enjoy. How are you going to make the city safe and attractive for children to move around independently?
Poppy Burt and Dan Simmonds: We need a range of measures to be delivered across the whole city. Better protected cycling and walking routes are key to this as well as a safe reliable public transport system. We are also committed to setting up a fund to support improved community safety and neighbourhood policing measures to give people confidence in the safety and responsiveness of their local communities.
Tom Druitt and Alex Phillips: We need more “play streets” in the city. Shaftesbury Road does this one Friday per month, I believe, and is very successful. It would be great if this was more frequent as well as happening more often across the city.
Shared spaces such as New Road and George Street (for some of the time) are good examples of how a good shared space scheme can work. This needs to be rolled out in other areas though, both city centre and residential.
Lawrence Eke: I feel that Brighton is a fairly safe city already but often perceptions of safety are more important than actual crime statistics. I would like to see more visibility of PCSO and police officers, particularly in my ward along Queen’s Road, around Churchill Square and on the seafront. I think the council ambassadors are really helpful and I would support any proposal that puts more visible feet on the ground as seeing official representation makes everyone feel a bit safer.
What do you think needs to happen to help rough sleepers off the streets to help both the people and clean up “tent city” areas to make public spaces safer and cleaner for everyone?
Poppy Burt and Dan Simmonds: We are providing many services to support rough sleepers and this is now being effective in reducing the need to sleep rough in the city. We follow an approach of services engaging with rough sleepers and aiming to build solutions for individuals that will help move them away from and keep them off the streets. Where tents have been put up, there is an agreed tent protocol to be followed
Tom Druitt and Alex Phillips: Since the Labour administration has been in, street homelessness has worsened and they have failed to get anywhere near their target of eliminating the need for people to sleep on the streets. It is a complex situation but the Housing First money that Greens introduced of £1 million a year needs to increase threefold, which we have committed to.
We also injected £7 million into housing in this year’s budget as well as reversing Labours cuts to substance abuse support. We commit to building 1,500 new homes across the city over four years including 600 council houses.
Labour have not delivered the number of council houses they committed to at the beginning of their term in office and have used only a fraction of the resources available through the housing borrowing cap. In the midst of a housing crisis as acute as the one we are currently in the middle of, this is nothing short of an outrage.
Lawrence Eke: As I live in the centre of Regency ward, rough sleeping is heart-breaking to witness and stubbornly pervasive. Each evening I see rough sleepers in the Rest Garden, St Nicholas graveyard and along the doorways of Western Road.
When I meet people in trouble, I try to help or put them in touch with the appropriate services. However, I feel the council should do much more to provide for rough sleepers and get them off the streets. For short-term support they should find a site for a permanent night shelter and provide support for charities offering essentials like showers and storage.
Seagulls and foxes attack bins and rubbish is strewn across city streets. Sometimes people need to step up. How will you encourage people to get involved in keeping their community tidy?
Poppy Burt and Dan Simmonds: We have established the tidy up team who work with local community groups to provide the training, resources and support to enable community tidy up events and programmes to become an essential part of our community-based approach to these issues.
Tom Druitt and Alex Phillips: The tidy up team works well but it could work even more locally, on a street-level, engaging our community leaders and bringing together people that way.
Training and equipment would be given to volunteers and people could either do it together in groups so that it’s a sociable activity or they could do it alone if they prefer. The same system needs to be put together for tackling graffiti and tagging, which is a huge problem across the city, but especially the city centre.
Lawrence Eke: Most people are conscientious about their rubbish and recycling but seagulls and foxes quickly make a real mess. The root cause is bags left on top of or adjacent to full bins. I feel that there should be clear signage on rubbish bins that tell people where the nearest alternative bins are and warning people not to leave full bin bags on the streets.
Local residents already often clean up when bin bags are emptied by wild-life. Where this does not happen I see it as the role of the local councillor to assist and clean up.
The other candidates standing in Regency ward are Tim Catt and John Kapp for the Conservative.
