Candidate profiles – Eight stand for two seats in West Hill and North Laine

Eight candidates are standing for two seats in West Hill and North Laine on Brighton and Hove City Council in the local elections next month. They answered questions sent in by the public via social media

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Why do you want to be a councillor?

Green Party candidate Ellen McLeay, 38, is a senior conference producer. She said: “Living in this ward for the past 13 years, I have volunteered in local community projects as well as for the Green Party.

“I want to take on a more impactful role for the ward. As I raise a young family of my own, I want to see continued improvements to local services, particularly for those most impacted by the ‘cost of living crisis’.

“I am passionate about nurturing green spaces across our city for all to enjoy while protecting urban wildlife and biodiversity.

“I support ideas that work to improve air quality and make streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

“I have absolutely loved living in this ward for the past 13 years and during that time I have seen significant change, particularly in the London Road and New England Quarter.

“While it’s fantastic to have much-needed housing developed in the area, we also need to ensure that the needs and concerns of residents and business owners are addressed, especially as we consider the growing strain on council services. I look forward to representing the community in this regard.”

Green candidate Sue Shanks, 67, is retired and standing for re-election to the council. She is on Twitter @shankssue.

She said: “I have enjoyed being a councillor and feel I have valuable experience to offer in how the council works and how to support residents.

“I regularly attend local community forums, liaise with police and the NHS about issues locally and speak to many residents individually.

“I am always keen to hear feedback and ideas about how to improve our ward. This is a busy inner-city ward with lots of issues and diverse groups.

“I have been a councillor here for the last four years so have come to know it well. It is the beating heart of the city.

“I feel the Green Party has many answers on how to co-exist and minimise our damage to the environment. My current role as chair of Health and Wellbeing has shown me how everything we do as a council impacts people’s health.”

Ellen McLeay and Sue Shanks said that the key issues in the ward were traffic congestion, the survival of small retail and hospitality businesses, increased food poverty and demand for food banks, housing (affordable housing, the rental of properties in need of repair, short-term holiday lets/Airbnb, social housing, student housing, HMOs), new residential developments adding extra pressure on local infrastructure, uncollected communal bins, fly-tipping/dumping, graffiti/tagging, drug dealing, anti-social behaviour, funding and development needed for The Level.

Labour candidate Tom Chatfield, 20, is a student. He is on Twitter @tomchatfield18. He said: “As a young person who is part of the LGBTQ+ community, I believe there are not enough young or queer people on our council and I look to provide that representation.

“Having lived in Brighton for a couple of years I feel as though I have found a brilliant community which has accepted me for who I am.

“Therefore, I feel the need to give back as I know as much as anyone how the city’s services have deteriorated and I believe that as a part of Labour’s team of brilliant candidates I can fix them.

“I want to stand for this ward as it is the place I call home and I want it to be the nicest place to live that it can possibly be for all residents.

“It is the first place that people step into after getting off the train in Brighton and therefore I want to provide a warm welcome to whoever is visiting.

“Through amazing small businesses and co-operatives, this ward contributes so much to the economy and culture of Brighton and therefore I believe it is paramount to the success of our entire city.

“Unfortunately, our ward has been hit by a lot of anti-social behaviour recently, with drug dealing, graffiti and mugging becoming more and more commonplace with Brighton’s crime rate rising over the past year.

“Labour would crack down on anti-social behaviour by improving night safety with a Night Time Safety Charter as well as encouraging more policing.

“Another huge problem within the ward is businesses struggling in the ‘cost of living crisis’ which Labour would help tackle with fairer procurement and community wealth building as well as protection of the special nature of LGBTQ+ businesses.”

Labour candidate John Cooper, 57, is a psychotherapist. He said: “I’ve always believed in playing a part in the local community and feel that it is time to stand in order to play a part in improving the lives of the citizens of Brighton and Hove.

“I’m standing as a Labour candidate because I feel that the city can be run more efficiently by a Labour council.

“The previous Labour administration delivered some great initiatives, including working towards eliminating the need for rough sleeping. I believe a successful Labour administration will build on these achievements.

“West Hill and North Laine is a new ward, created by a recent Boundary Commission review. It is a ward at the heart of the city and contains key infrastructure and commercial facilities which are key to the successful functioning of the city.

“It also is an area of inequality and presents many challenges. I believe that the people who live in this ward would be best represented by a Labour councillor.

“I also believe that winning this seat would contribute to a majority Labour administration which will be best for everyone in Brighton and Hove.

“As the ward is in the centre of the city and at the heart of the entertainment and cultural quarter, there are significant challenges from anti-social behaviour, poor management of waste collection services and accessibility challenges for disabled people.

“There is also a need for improved safety on the streets and closer links between residents and service providers, such as the police.

“As in other areas of the city, there are environmental challenges relating to air quality and a need for improved transport services to reduce reliance on cars.”

Liberal Democrat candidate Anthony Seymour is a languages teacher. He said: “I was lucky enough to be raised in a superb council house and Brighton and Hove City Council should be building and sponsoring a large extension of social housing for the benefit of local people.

“I live in North Laine and enjoy the great aspects of life here but I can also see what should be better.”

He said that the key issues in the ward were

• clean and safe streets
• efficient and well-informed recycling
• building social housing for Brighton residents

Liberal Democrat candidate Robert Heale is semi-retired after working for the NHS and a housing association.

He said: “This area has become neglected in recent years and many people feel that the council have been failing to provide the essential services that local people deserve.

“Expensive schemes such as the loss-making i360 are imposed on local residents without consultation and many office developments are given planning permission though many people would prefer to see affordable homes and work-live units.

“I feel that I have the skills, knowledge and experience to help improve our area for the benefit of local people, our small businesses and the community organisations that are based here.

“I live in this ward and have lived in central Brighton for most of my life. I believe that I have a good understanding of the issues that we have in our area so can help achieve improvements by working with local residents and community groups.

“I want to enable local people to achieve their potential wherever possible and help people gain a good understanding of how the council can work to achieve different goals. This should be done in partnership and consultation with local people.

“This is a central area with many flats and small businesses. Provision of affordable homes is important, along with the availability of leisure and community spaces where people can relax, exercise and interact with others.

“Everyday issues such as reliable rubbish and recycling collections, good street lighting, effective drainage and adequate parking are important.

“Protection of heritage and enhancement of our environment in these conservation areas is vital.

“The council should enable good-quality services to be provided, help to improve our communities and ensure that issues can be resolved in a practical way. Local citizens should come first.”

The Conservatives are fielding two candidates – Kathy Janio and Linda Murray.

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What will you do to help the North Laine community get a bus stop outside the King and Queen?

Ellen McLeay and Sue Shanks said: “The first two phases of Valley Gardens, successfully completed in September 2020, saw significant improvements to open spaces and traffic flow between St Peter’s Church and Old Steine.

“Phase 3 is about to begin, bringing with it improved access for public transport, supporting more reliable journey times.

“When completed, the bus company intends to reorganise bus stops along Valley Gardens including a bus stop outside the King and Queen.

“Together, we will make sure this plan remains front of mind for the bus company. To ensure maximum uptake of public transport, it’s essential bus stops are placed in sensible places.”

Tom Chatfield and John Cooper said: “Labour wants to make travelling by public transport more affordable and accessible.

“We have said that we will investigate ways to simplify fares, save vital routes and bring prices down and that we will protect free bus passes for our older residents and disabled residents.

“Accessible bus stops are vital to this approach and, as new needs arise, it’s important to review where stops are positioned.

“We would be pleased to ask the council’s transport team to liaise with bus companies to urgently assess the viability of placing a bus stop outside the King and Queen.”

Robert Heale and John Seymour said: “We would lobby the council and the bus company to provide a bus stop here, reminding them of the aims of the Valley Gardens scheme, with the support of the local community association and bus users group.

“We would support a petition to encourage the provision of this facility for the benefit of local residents and businesses.”

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What do you plan to do about businesses illegally using communal bins?

Ellen McLeay and Sue Shanks said: “Firstly, it’s essential the system for business waste collection is working to protect businesses from incorrect fines.

“We will push for Cityclean to continue their work to educate businesses on managing their waste responsibly.

“For fly-tipping hotspots, we would push to put up cameras to capture number plates of those dumping trade waste and to enforce fines.

“Greens on the council have also put more resources behind the environmental enforcement team to tackle illegal waste dumping.

“They can search through dumped items for evidence to trace it back, such as items with a company logo, a name or address.”

Tom Chatfield and John Cooper said: “By law, businesses are supposed to safely and legally store, remove and dispose of any recycling and refuse they create.

“The council already provides online advice to this effect and a web-based reporting process. There is a range of fixed penalty notices that the council can issue to offenders.

“A Labour council will look at new ways to tackle fly-tipping, including reviewing the household bulky waste collection charge.

“(It) will also seek to step up enforcement with businesses who do illegally use communal bins for their waste as part of its commitment to improve basic services in our city.”

Robert Heale and John Seymour said: “Make businesses aware of their obligation to safely dispose of their waste and also to encourage recycling.

“We would give businesses the option of paying to use the council scheme or making arrangements privately. Reminders should be given annually to businesses with the necessary supportive information.”

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How will you help improve accessibility for disabled people in streets clogged with tables and chairs?

Ellen McLeay and Sue Shanks said: “To comply with a pavement licence, the licensed trader must not reduce the width of a footway to less than 1.5 metres except where a formal pedestrian zone has been established in a road and the whole of the carriageway is kept clear for pedestrian use.

“We have to ensure these guidelines are met and we will work with the highways enforcement team to make sure pedestrian right of way is not blocked.

“We, as an administration, have set up the city’s first Accessible City Strategy which aims to make the city more accessible to all people with disabilities.”

Tom Chatfield and John Cooper said: “Labour fully supports the principles of the 2010 Equality Act with regard to reasonable adjustments which take a contextual approach.

“It’s important that people with mobility and visual impairments can access shops and other facilities and to safely move on the highway.

“Therefore, when requests from businesses to the council to obtain a licence to use tables in the streets are considered, the council must ensure that accessibility issues are taken into account and must also put in place appropriate enforcement arrangements.”

Robert Heale and John Seymour said: “There should be reminders to businesses of their legal obligations to enable access and the reasons for this (eg, Equality Act).

“Ensure that businesses know about the required pedestrian space outside their premises.

“Monitoring of this legal access by the council, community support officers and disability groups. We believe there should be more monitoring of unlicensed A-boards and better enforcement of the regulations.”

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Polling day is Thursday 4 May. Photo ID is required for those voting in person.