Comment : Cllr Ellen McLeay & Cllr Sue Shanks
As the two ward councillors for West Hill and North Laine , we are delighted to be invited to write a regular column for The Whistler .
We are representing residents in this area as Green Party opposition councillors , now Labour is the administration running the council . Sue is the opposition spokesperson for Children and Families , as well as a committee member for Planning . Ellen is the opposition spokesperson for Housing , and a co-Chair for the Central Area Housing Panel . We are both are committee members for the People Overview and Scrutiny committee , however our main role is to represent the community of West Hill and North Laine . You can contact us via the council website , just search for Brighton and Hove Contact Your Councillor .
Elected in May 2023 , we have been supporting the community with a wide range of local issues , ranging from putting forward a request for a crossing on Buckingham Place , to more bike hangers on Compton Avenue , and steering better communication between Govia Thameslink Railway and CityClean for the clean up of the private land around Brighton Station .
The roads around and nearby Brighton Station have seen a lot of improvement works over the past year . In September , we saw the introduction of a new school streets initiative on St Nicolas Road for St Paul ’ s School to help children travel to school more safely and reduce traffic issues . As we ’ ve not received reports since the launch week , we hope that means it is now working for all those who shared initial concerns .
Two junctions along Trafalgar Street were redesigned to improve safety for pedestrians . The closing of the Trafalgar Street / Blackman Street junction was decided following a number of collisions over a three-year period , many involving cyclists . However , we are receiving equally troubling reports about the new junction where Whitecross Street meets Trafalgar Street . We ’ re engaging with transport officers , and they ’ re reviewing the situation .
Housing issues make up a lot of our case work , and we ’ re supporting council tenants and leaseholders in high-rise blocks across the ward to address their need for housing repairs or regarding reports of anti-social behaviour ( ASB ) in their blocks . Fire safety is another major concern for these residents and others in the New England Quarter . Following the Grenfell Tower fire , it ’ s more important than ever for residents have greater transparency on the fire safety of their building .
Many residents contact us about antisocial behaviour and drugs in our ward – which is a huge challenge for the city . It has been reported that over the past year , the Combatting Drugs Partnership has closed down 38 county lines , which led to 99 arrests and over 8,000 drug seizures and added 80 young people to prevention programmes . These are impressive numbers , but residents still say that drug related ASB is more prevalent than ever . Ellen has been supporting residents badly impacted by this on Zion Gardens . There have been council organised community meetings focused on these issues in other wards . We are asking for one to be hosted in our ward .
An important part of being a councillor is seeing all sides of a situation . Following reports from the community concerning residents occupying supported accommodation at William Collier House and St Mungo ’ s , we paid both housing providers a visit . During our time speaking with the housing managers and their residents , we were struck by the incredible work they do . We met some of their success stories – people who have experienced trauma you couldn ’ t imagine , are now on a journey of recovery , have benefited from training opportunities , and are working to move on into private rental accommodation . Or another resident whose needs were so complex it took the housing team two years to earn his trust . If anything , the visit reinforced the importance of these services for a fair society that gives everyone the opportunity to change , grow and live .
Many businesses have contacted us about the challenges on New Road relating to antisocial behaviour . Sue represents the council on the Pavilion Trust who have been successful in a bid to improve the gardens which will put new fencing on New Road and the council are looking at a change for the benches .
We were so sorry to see the loss of a very mature tree on Buckingham Road due to Elms disease – an extremely difficult decision made by the arboriculture team who work hard to conserve the city ’ s trees . Every summer , the team battle to protect Brighton ’ s historic collection of beautiful elm trees , and there are two key ways you can support them . Avoid bringing diseased elm wood into the city ( that includes logs or timber you might burn ). Keep an eye out for elm trees with leaves wilting or turning yellow or brown ahead of autumn ( you can report it by emailing elmdisease @ brighton-hove . gov . uk with a photo and the tree ’ s ‘ what3words ’ location ).
The council ’ s net zero strategy is hugely important for the city . We hope they will support these efforts with an additional commitment to protecting biodiversity . Protecting the natural world is an important component in achieving net zero . That ’ s why the reintroduction of glyphosate to the
city and a recent decision to increase wild verge mowing to six cuts over the summer is concerning . We are campaigning for an “ optout ” option for neighbourhoods who want to avoid glyphosate being sprayed on their streets . We can support with arranging weed clearing action days for your street . If this would be of interest to you , please reach out .
We are keen to work with the current Labour administration during this challenging economic time . Under the previous administration there was plenty of cross-party collaboration , and it would be great to see that continue in some capacity . We › d like to take this opportunity to respond to misinformation in the previous edition of The Whistler regarding our previous administration , 2020 to 2023 . To represent what happened with toilets more accurately , we wanted to share the following timeline – where only one toilet was permanently closed :
• Early 2020 saw many toilets close in response to the Covid-19 pandemic ; these were gradually reopened in the latter part of 2020 / early 2021 .
• Norton Road toilets closed permanently in April 2022 due to significant repair issues .
• 11 sites were closed in October 2022 due to financial pressures . These have subsequently reopened , apart from The Level .
• Four sites were closed in autumn 2022 pending refurbishment . These have subsequently reopened .
We regularly attend community meetings with the London Road Action Team and the North Laine Community Association and would be pleased to meet with residents in the West Hill area as a group and to support the community association .
We wish you a restful and restorative and a happy 2025 .