Councillors have agreed to spend part of a cash windfall on weeding overgrown pavements, with complaints also proliferating since local politicians approved a herbicide ban.
Some of the extra money will fund a park and ride feasibility study, start up costs for a car co
-op pilot scheme for electric vehicles and a tidy up team to tackle litter and graffiti.
The “windfall” or end-of-year surplus arose because Brighton and Hove City Council budgeted cautiously during the coronavirus pandemic and received more government support than expected.
The council ended the financial year – at the end of March – with an underspend of almost £10 million. This was almost £5 million more than finance chiefs had previously forecast.
But about £5 million will still be spent in the way that it was originally budgeted for last year – except that the money will go out in the current 2021-22 financial year.
And because officials drew on the council’s reserves – or corporate savings – during the pandemic, they now plan to put about £2.4 million back in the pot.
There are other one-off costs that the spare cash is expected to fund, such as the £317,000 bill that the council faces when Moulsecoomb Primary School becomes an academy.
Labour and Conservative councillors pitched ideas to the Greens as the council’s Policy and Resources Committee discussed the modest underspend yesterday (Thursday 1 July).
Councillor Carmen Appich, the joint Labour opposition leader, wanted £259,000 allocated for
- a park and ride project feasibility study
- an electric vehicle car co-op pilot set up costs
- more staff to catch up with pavement weeds
- a tidy up team funding to lead with litter and graffiti
- support for a 20mph city
- a feasibility study into 20-minute neighbourhoods
- investment in parks
- a women’s safety survey
- a marriage notices fee waiver until next March
- one-to-one catch up tuition for children with low attainment
…
Councillor Appich said: “Park and Ride has been on and off the table for a number of years in the city. I know that as a resident.
“We’ve got a transport plan that’s being developed – and to enable us to have a proper transport plan, which includes all methods of transport we have in the city at the moment, I think we really do need to look at the feasibility of a park and ride scheme … one or more park and ride schemes.”
She also said that weeds were the “bane” of the city but backed the continuing ban on using the weedkiller glyphosate, also known as Roundup.
The ruling Greens gave their backing to Labour’s suggestions.
Conservative group leader Steve Bell said that the council should be looking towards the city’s recovery.
Councillor Bell said that the underspend was good news but the added that the council ought to repay £1.5 million to reserves rather than £2.5 million.
He called on the council to spend the other £1 million by allocating
- £100,000 for a professional fundraiser to support the Madeira Terraces
- £50,000 for a feasibility study for an ice skating rink
- £850,000 for Black Rock, the eastern seafront and the Madeira Terraces regeneration fund
…
Councillor Bell said that the money should be invested in “the future” – to boost the economy, especially tourism and hospitality, and to improve people’s wellbeing.
Green councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty, the leader of the council, said that he agreed with much of what Councillor Bell had said.
But he was also mindful of the words of former Conservative Chancellor – George Osborne – who said that the time to mend the roof was when the sun was shining.
Councillor Mac Cafferty said that he had spoken with council leaders across the country who agreed that there were financial storms ahead.
There were significant worries about the long-term financial fallout from the pandemic, with 2022-23 looking particularly “hairy” for local government.
Councillor Mac Cafferty said: “We have been clear for quite a prolonged period that we need to be financially prudent. We need to put the city council on the best possible footing for the next budget year.
“We’re still facing the impact of cuts, covid-19 and the prospect of a significant deficit next year.”
Some of the underspend looks likely to be allocated to new trees, more parking zones, the drive to become carbon-neutral and work needed on museums and heritage sites.
And some will be spent on tackling homelessness, reviving the seafront and environmental improvements.
A detailed set of proposals were approved and will go before a meeting of the full council at Hove Town Hall on Thursday 15 July.
We’re in a pandemic and the green leader thinks the sun is shining financially. Wow, just wow. Shows how out of touch they are with many of us who have lost so much financially in the pandemic
Yes, you need to be cautious spending money. But also collecting it. Why not reduce the above-inflation council tax rise and give residents just a little more money to spend? Yes, it is (just) £5m – but that is still around £40 for each council tax bill. And that money could really help many people. So why not give us a bit back?
And as for weedkilling. Yes – there are reasons for banning glyphosate which can be debated. But there are other choices. I have a glyphosate-free weedkiller and it works really well. Why can’t the council buy some of that or another of the modern alternatives?
It’s clear that the council really does have money to burn. So please burn a little less and help the people of Brighton and Hove by charging us less for your “services”
So the most useless council ever – who have done nothing positive for two years – now find they have money left over, from doing nothing, from neglecting basic services.
With no effective opposition, the Labour and Greens collude over the same lies and ridiculous spin .
And so now they tell us that they are doing what they neglected to do in the first place, albeit in a lesser way, whilst siphoning off a lot of the unspent budgets for their own vanity and ideological projects.
I find this obvious spin is not being reported on honestly.
1) The weeds need clearing if you don’t use weedkiller – other wise pavement slabs lift and people trip up, and uncollected leaves fill the uncleared drains. Inaction was never the option. Don’t tell us now that you’re finally getting around to a basic service that we all pay council tax for.
2) Assessing the feasibility of a park and ride is not the same as creating the obvious – namely the park and ride places that we have been crying out for. How many years do you want to dither over this? I truth, the Greens will never build a car park, so instead they waste our money in taking about it.
3) Councillor MacCafferty talks about the ‘impact of cuts’ – deflecting his ineptitude over issues like closed toilets and graffiti mess, and equally-shameful recycling figures. Maybe he should instead acknowledge the impact of the ‘cults’ and lobbyists whose influence has resulted in wasting our money with duplicated cycle lanes.
4) 20mph city? Does that include the bus routes? What about an integrated city wide transport policy that actually gets us to work efficiently, and which enables businesses to set up here which then allow us to have jobs? Stop finding new excuses to close roads at the expense of commuting residents, visitors, and commerce.
5 If anyone needs a party organising in a brewery, I suggest you look elsewhere.
6) Why is public transport not mentioned here?
7) Why did these people stand for election to run public services they cannot run the basic public services? You don’t buy a new handbag when you haven’t clothes to wear.
8) Can we have better reporting here, please.
How about expanding the collection of garden waste. A neighbour and I separately put our names down on the waiting list over a year ago. We both had an automated response but nothing since then and trying to follow up doesn’t seem to do any good.
Instead of paying for weed clearance, empower (educate/help with marketing etc) local resident groups to do it themselves. Save money, get the job done and enhance community cooperation. Win win win!
So they want “more staff to catch up with pavement weeds” after they stopped council workers using Glyphosate and without having decided on an effective alternative – thanks Councillors Tom Druitt and Anne Pissaridou!
Apparently civic minded Tidy-Up team volunteers have already been asked to start removing weeds manually (meaning multiple times per year as roots are not killed), so this is probably part of what is meant by “a tidy up team funding to lead with litter and graffiti”.
In my street we have to perform rubbish and weed removal anyway as we rarely see council road sweepers, let alone weed clearers. I imagine they will soon leave a pile of tarmac at the end of the road and ask us to repair pot holes and pavements as well.
I’ve started, after checking with the relevant neighbours, spraying the weeds on pavements and gutters with Glyphosate. I wait for dry, sunny, windless days, and then stay afterwards for the spray to dry to ensure pets and children do not come into contact, just in case.
Result – a couple of quick sprays per year keeps weeds in check and it’s use is still perfectly legal to use in the UK – just, as with all chemicals, make sure you follow the safety instructions.
The council should remind people it is their responsibility to keep the pavement in front of their properties free of weeds and snow. In some countries it is law. Teenagers make pocket money by doing it for people who can not and do not want to do it in some US states.
Is it the residents responsibility to keep them free of weeds and snow? I thought it was the council’s statuary duty. Especially if you remove snow outside your home and leave a slippery surface, you can get prosecuted, but if you leave it alone you can not.
Oh, fine! If the ‘people’ concerned can’t do it physically and don’t have a teenager on tap, what happens then? What is council tax for if not for basic services??