Hangleton and Knoll 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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Thirteen candidates are standing for the three Brighton and Hove City Council seats in the Hove ward of Hangleton and Knoll.
Why do you want to be a councillor?
Stuart Bower is retired and a former police officer and standing as an Independent:
This election I am giving the public the opportunity to go up to the polling booth and tell all the politicians – parliament and local – that they are sick of the lot of them. My ambition if I am made a councillor is to make the local council realise once and for all it is there to serve the public.
John Hewitt works for the NHS and is standing for Labour:
I have lived in Hangleton all my life and attended schools in the ward. I work locally for the NHS and will work to ensure our services remain accessible to the public.
Tony Janio is a chartered physicist standing for re-election as a Conservative:
I have been a councillor for 12 years now. As I travel around my ward of Hangleton and Knoll, and the wider city, I can see where I have made a difference. Continuing as a councillor would enable me to drive forward with even more initiatives and make Hangleton and Knoll the best place to live in the city.
Birgit Miller is a musician and music teacher standing for Labour:
I grew up in Canada, in a working class family whose passion was music. Being a member of the Labour Party seems to be the most genuinely effective way to oppose austerity. In my working life I have seen the harsh impact of austerity, and feel I need to be part of a movement fighting against the deprivation and misery it causes.
At the same time I have become more and more concerned about the negative impact people are having on the environment, and the urgency of the response needed to ensure a safe future for my children, their generation and future generations.
A diagnosis of breast cancer in 2015 made me rethink my priorities and future. I felt I needed to become directly involved in working for my community and its future – a future which I believe can only exist if we all work together to create sustainable communities and a sustainable economy.
Leah Mooney is a content writer standing for the Liberal Democrats:
We need more councillors who live in the real world and know how to get on with things. There are a lot of wrong priorities in local politics that make me angry – for instance, mental health services matter while graffiti barely gets talked about – and it should not take two years to find a permanent night shelter for homeless people. It’s so messed up that I’d probably find it hard to get through a council meeting without losing my temper.
Kevin Thomas is a former civil servant who chairs a not-for-profit childcare organisation. He is standing for Labour.
I first came to live in Hangleton and Knoll in the 1980s and have seen how the area has changed over the years. With such a diverse community, I see the importance of good services for all. I have been an active campaigner, believing in people before profit.
Benedict Allbrooke, Jacqui Cuff and Lily Worfolk are standing for the Greens.
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?
Stuart Bower: It is time the council realise that for the vast majority of people the car is not a luxury but a necessity. It is all very well telling people to use public transport but for many people in villages commuting into Brighton to work, there is no public transport. The car is the only means of getting too and from work. My battle, should I get in, would be to reverse the anti-commuter parking in Wish and Westbourne.
Tony Janio: I have been heavily involved with the Valley Garden regeneration scheme since its inception. While I support the regeneration of the Old Steine, including improving provision for walking and cycling, I do not support the creation of a T junction that results in Madeira Drive being one way.
I feel that traffic journeys will be longer, traffic will be displaced to side roads and air quality will reduce. The design requires an urgent rethink with wider stakeholder engagement ensuring that full consideration of the transport needs of the new Waterfront Conference Centre is considered.
Leah Mooney: It looks badly thought out and having so many lanes might make it difficult to cross safely. The council also consulted too few people about the design. It is not right to impose such a big change on the city without consulting widely.
Benedict Allbrooke, Jacqui Cuff and Lily Worfolk: The Valley Gardens project was envisaged as a desperately needed green lung for the city centre and to improve walking and cycling. Phase 3 covers the area that is the city’s “accident black-spot” – it is a critical opportunity to cut serious injuries, many to cyclists.
The last Green council administration won £8 million of external funding to pay for the project. Labour’s delays to the scheme threatened this hard-won cash and left the council scrambling to get the project to completion. In this late and rushed process, there was inadequate consultation with residents and local businesses.
Greens have pushed for better acknowledgement of the concerns raised. We have won assurances over new cycle lane provision and have heard that organisations such as Bricycles and Friends of the Earth now on board.
John Hewitt, Birgit Miller and Kevin Thomas: 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.
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?
Stuart Bower: First mystery for me is why do people use scooper bags if they are only going to throw them in the hedgerow for them to dangle. At least when its left on the ground it would deteriorate. Once in a polythene bag it is there indefinitely. There are far more serious and important problems at this moment in time.
Tony Janio: Dog fouling is an increasing problem being both unhealthy and anti-social. I would wish to increase council-sponsored campaigns to increase awareness and also empower local community groups to be more involved in monitoring. Ultimately a scientific approach will be needed to eradicate dog fouling. This will be based on DNA testing – a method that is establishing increasing credibility across Europe.
Leah Mooney: I would want to provide biodegradable bags for dog owners to make it easy for them to clean up after themselves. Then there would be no excuse for people being too lazy to use them properly.
Benedict Allbrooke, Jacqui Cuff and Lily Worfolk: We need to ensure that the city’s enforcement officers (following the abandonment of Labour’s disastrous outsourcing experiment) make tackling owners who do not pick up their dogs’ waste a priority, alongside fly-tipping. >It’s not just about “sticks”. We need more “carrots” too. More designated bins – especially in areas popular with dog walkers – will help dog walkers who intend to do the right thing.
John Hewitt, Birgit Miller and Kevin Thomas: 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.
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?
Stuart Bower: I fully approve the provision for cars to be recharged. If you’re going to have electrical charging points, you need to make sure the cars can park there. Electric cars are the future and people need to know they have a charging point.
Tony Janio: I will wholeheartedly support the continuing roll-out of electric charging points. We need to increase the provision in order that petrol and diesel is forced out by market forces.
Leah Mooney: I 100 per cent support this and am happy to make the spaces next to charging points EV-only.
Benedict Allbrooke, Jacqui Cuff and Lily Worfolk: We are fully committed to rolling out electric vehicle charging points, both on street and in car parks.The speed and scale of the roll-out needs to significantly increase.
Charging points need to be installed sensitively, so that they do not obstruct pavements or cycle routes and we need to look at innovative options for using eg existing street lamps to act as charging points. We support the policy of reserving spaces by charging points for electric vehicles.
We also need to put in place further incentives to help people switch to zero-emission transport, whether that it is by moving to an electric car or by making journeys by electric bus, cycling or walking.
John Hewitt, Birgit Miller and Kevin Thomas: 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.
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?
Stuart Bower: Speaking as a former police officer I will be campaigning if I am elected to get police officers back on the beat. Theresa May says beat patrol officers are not much good at detecting crime. The role of the beat patrol officer is not to detect crime but to prevent crime in the first place.
Tony Janio: Children need to feel safe while moving around the city. I would seek to introduce crossings to roads that connect routes to school and areas where children might wish to go such as parks. Public transport needs to be made safer. Technology, used for social media, and that can feel threatening, needs to be utilised to enable parents to monitor younger children.
Leah Mooney: The most important thing is to have good public transport and to design spaces with pedestrians in mind, including allowing enough space for buggies and wheelchairs.
Benedict Allbrooke, Jacqui Cuff and Lily Worfolk: Improving pedestrian routes, road crossings, cycle routes and bus services all make the city safer and easier for children, older people and others with mobility difficulties to navigate.
We would also like to see better enforcement of speed restrictions on our roads. Cars are the number one cause of death and serious injury for children and young people and we would like to see our streets made as safe as possible for everyone.
In addition, tackling anti-social behaviour and drug-related activity give children, parents and older people more confidence that moving around the city independently is safe.
John Hewitt, Birgit Miller and Kevin Thomas: 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.
What is your commitment to youth work, especially on the estates and city fringes where there are few other services and higher levels of need?
Stuart Bower: I have been informed that the youth services in Hangleton and Knoll have been closed down. If I am elected, I will find out what the situation is and if it has been closed down I will be battling to reverse it.
Tony Janio: The Conservatives are fully committed to youth service provision. Indeed, our initiatives have largely “saved” youth services across the city over the last few years. Young people need to be nurtured to develop their independence and social skills.
I am committed to projects that can be developed within communities and schools but also believe that the young should have a greater say and take ownership of the areas in which they live. My ward of Hangleton and Knoll is well served by the Hangleton and Knoll Project and I support their initiatives wholeheartedly.
Leah Mooney: These services are really important for young people – particularly on the city fringes. I want to protect youth centres and youth work schemes from any further cuts and if possible new centres opened and new schemes started.
Benedict Allbrooke, Jacqui Cuff and Lily Worfolk: Youth work is a vital service to young people. It provides space for young people, somewhere to go, a friendly adult to build a relationship with, someone to talk to.
Plus, it provides activities – something to do. Most of this will be accessible precisely to those who can’t take “something to do” for granted. They may not have the family income to access it.
Having fought, over the last four years, successive waves of proposed cuts, we will protect funding for youth services and support the delivery of a new Brighton Youth Centre and more playgrounds.
We will also
• create a long-term health plan for the youth of the city
• maintain provision for children with additional support needs and for those from marginalised groups, including refugees and LGBT+ young people
• support early intervention programmes in schools to address sex discrimination and sexual harassment
• work with schools to encourage access to sports facilities and kitchens during school holidays
John Hewitt, Birgit Miller and Kevin Thomas: We have committed to review, support and enhance our youth services across the whole city. Money spent on youth service provision is paid back in the long term through improved communities and more engaged young people, many of whom are a credit to the people who currently deliver youth services.
Children with special education needs and disabilities and/or mental health problems need a champion on the city council. How interested and passionate are you about supporting parents and young people who struggle to be heard?
Stuart Bower: I am very passionate about the needs of children but also passionate that children are not used as political pawns for people’s political motives. I’m thinking of LGBT that is now compulsory in schools. Children should be left to be children, taught just what they need to know about respect for all people in the community for everybody.
Leah Mooney: One of the worst effects of central government cuts has been how support for people with special educational needs has been cut so heavily. Prioritising SEN support is a huge priority for me. I used to be a teacher and I know how badly this support is needed.
Benedict Allbrooke, Jacqui Cuff and Lily Worfolk: This is an incredibly important issue for us. Greens reversed proposed budget cuts in this area this year and in previous years. This year we reduced the proposed cut in residential, respite and short breaks for children with SEN (special educational needs) by £700,000 and reversed the £500,000 proposed cut in directly provided day services for people with learning disabilities.
Cutting these services is not just a blow to vulnerable residents – it is a false economy. The Parent and Carers Council told us that 45 per cent of family carers in the city have not had a break in the past year and are at “breaking point”. If we do not support young people and their carers, we end up picking up the cost down the line.
John Hewitt, Birgit Miller and Kevin Thomas: We are committed to ensuring that the most disadvantaged and marginalised in our communities are given the support and services that enable them to play their fullest part in the life of the city and reach their maximum potential.
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?
Tony Janio: The Labour administration has let the city down. It has become “tatty”, tired and rundown. A Conservative administration would get service delivery sorted and bolster pride in the public realm.
The Brighton and Hove Lottery – a Conservative manifesto pledge – will help to invigorate our beloved public spaces. These initiatives must be resident-driven – the council can’t provide everything but it can help to change attitudes.
There are four other candidates standing in Hangleton and Knoll ward are Dawn Barnett, for the Conservatives, Henrietta Izso, who is standing as an Independent, Nick Lewry, for the Conservatives and Steven Richards, who is standing for the UK Independence Party.
