New road signs announcing that people are entering Hove could be put up to help keep the town’s identity distinct from Brighton.
Hove MP Mike Weatherley told the Hove People website that he has had his first meeting with Brighton and Hove City Council to discuss his idea.
He first raised the idea with the council six months ago.
He said that he was particularly keen on a welcome sign in Western Road, adding: “If you look closely there is in fact a marker stone in the pavement at the foot of Boundary Passage but we need something a little more prominent.
“The idea has been immensely popular with many of my constituents.”
Problem is, the boundary commission have messed with the historic boundary here. Embassy court and the west side of Norfolk square are now in Brunswick and Adelaide ward, and therefore in Hove. So where would the sign go?
There might be more important things to spend council money on in any case …
Brighton and Hove does not have an identity as a city except through the council logo. Nobody ever says “I live in Brighton and Hove”. Split the council and then you might be doing something sensible to give all us back the identity we had before the council got delusions of grandeur.
True enough that no-one says ‘I live in Brighton and Hove’, but I bet lots of people on the Hove side of the boundary say ‘I live in Brighton’ especially when abroad. I know I do!
Fair enough too about delusions of grandeur, though not at all sure what splitting the authorities would do to reduce this.
The towns have far more in common that what divides them. Hove used to be called West Brighton, and what cultural differences there are have shrunken enormously in the last twenty years, and will most likely continue to do so.