Moulsecoomb and Bevendean candidate spotlight

Moulsecoomb and Bevendean 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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Nine candidates are standing for the three Brighton and Hove City Council seats in the Brighton ward of Moulsecoomb and Bevendean.

Why do you want to be a councillor?

Mitchie Alexander is a bric-a-brac dealer at Snoopers and the North Laine Bazaar. She is standing for the Greens:

I enjoy taking action to bring about improvements within my local community. I love bringing about improvements to both our local environment and the lives of people who live here. I see an area that is in need of change and I take on the challenge of ensuring that the needed actions are undertaken. I enjoy being a community volunteer and am able to introduce creativity and energy into my community commitments.

I have been heavily involved in the installation of the new playground in Bevendean. I am part of the CHOMP Moulsecoomb team. I am in the core committee for the annual BevFest. I co-led the campaign to stop our local GP surgery from closing. I have organised litter clean ups, community Christmas parties, picnics and pop up park events.

I have helped residents with issues from missing dog poo bins and missed recycling collections to serious damp and mould problems within a local council home. I believe that I am well positioned to be a voice for the community here and I will work hard in making the improvements that the community deserve.

Libby Darling is a foundation stage teacher and NHS paediatric therapist standing for the Greens:

Originally invited to become a councillor by Pete West (former mayor), I am now proud to have been selected to stand for the Green Party in Moulsecoomb and Bevendean.

With a background in teaching and working for the NHS in paediatric therapies, combined with my work as a sustainable living campaigner and volunteer beach clean leader, I believe I can bring unique insight to help improve outcomes for all members of the community.

I hope to support all of the work my fellow Green Party candidates and councillors do from removing pesticide use to improving sustainable travel across our great city.

Amanda Jane Grimshaw is standing for Labour

Kate Knight is standing for Labour:

I feel privileged to be standing in Moulsecoomb and Bevendean and can’t wait to be part of a socialist, majority council – serving the people of Brighton and Hove and standing up for the vulnerable.

Amelia Mills is standing for the Greens:

I have lived in Brighton for more than 30 years, currently in the Moulsecoomb and Bevendean ward. I am a grass-roots campaigner and community activist.

Daniel Yates is a physiotherapist standing for Labour:

I have worked in the NHS as a physiotherapist for more than 25 years. As a councillor I am currently leader of the Labour group and have led the city council since May 2018.

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?

Mitchie Alexander, Libby Darling and Amelia Mills: This area of the city has been an eyesore for many years. We support the Valley Gardens scheme as a new “green lung” for the city – a place where the city’s residents and visitors will be able to walk and cycle more freely. We plan to be a carbon-neutral city by 2030 and must put into place the infrastructure required beforehand to make this possible.

Amanda Grimshaw, Kate Knight and Daniel Yates: 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?

Mitchie Alexander, Libby Darling and Amelia Mills: On the spot fines of £75 to persons who do not clear up after their dog has fouled and a £75 fine for littering to persons who leave their dog poo in a bag and then leave the bag in the street/park, etc.

To help make “clearing up” easier we would like to see the placement of more dog poo bins around the city, especially by parks and green spaces (ie, by commonly used exits off of the South Downs). In areas where there is a dog fouling problem, a series of signs encouraging “clean ups” should be placed.

Amanda Grimshaw, Kate Knight and Daniel Yates: 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?

Mitchie Alexander, Libby Darling and Amelia Mills: We support the roll-out of on-the-road electric vehicle charging points while ensuring that valuable pavement space is not obstructed. We support the idea of electric vehicle only spaces to encourage the use of electric over petrol/diesel engines. We also would encourage private companies such as supermarkets and car parks to install electric charging points. We will discount pay-by-phone parking charges for electric vehicles.

Amanda Grimshaw, Kate Knight and Daniel Yates: 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?

Mitchie Alexander, Libby Darling and Amelia Mills: We have been heavily involved in the community fundraising and installation of the new playground in Lower Bevendean. We will make sure that other playgrounds in the ward get the renovations that the local children deserve too.

We will encourage other community groups attached to playgrounds/parks across the city to do the same, by offering advice and support in how this can be achieved by gaining funding from outside the cash-strapped council.

We will look at issues and problems such as lack of lighting in playgrounds/parks and will work towards addressing these issues by installing solar lighting where needed.

We are involved locally in the new Bevendean/Moulsecoomb nature trail that is being launched this summer that will encourage locals to make good healthy use of our areas lovely green spaces.

We currently run pop-up school holiday fun events in the local parks to encourage outdoor play and social interactions. We support the idea of new children’s Moulsecoomb and Bevendean football teams.

We will work towards the introduction of free bus passes and free annual subscriptions to Brighton Bike Share for teenagers. We will continue locally to work with Compass Buses to ensure that the 37 bus to and from Meadowview runs regularly and promptly.

Amanda Grimshaw, Kate Knight and Daniel Yates: 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.

There is a lack of council housing and many people who cannot afford market rents. How will you help people get access to a council house or flat?

Mitchie Alexander, Libby Darling and Amelia Mills: We will build more affordable homes. We will develop 1,500 new homes over the next four years on brownfield sites. We will spend unused borrowing resources to build 600 new council homes.

We will also set up a council-run not-for-profit lettings agency to help those looking for affordable rental properties and we will press for rent controls. We will continue our work in placing tougher restrictions on new HMOs (houses in multiple occupation) within our ward. We understand how the saturation of HMOs within our area is having a negative effect.

This is most apparent in the high rents charged by HMO landlords for what was once a family home and the decline in the numbers of children attending the local primary primary schools.

Amanda Grimshaw, Kate Knight and Daniel Yates: We are committed to building an additional 800 council-owned homes for the lowest possible rents within the next four years. This comes on top of our living wage housing scheme with Hyde Housing, and our innovative “right to buy back” scheme where we are buying back council homes that were lost under Mrs Thatcher’s “right to buy” scheme.

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?

Mitchie Alexander, Libby Darling and Amelia Mills: We will continue to fight against cuts to the city’s youth services as we have done in the past. Locally, we will make sure that a dedicated youth space (67 Club) continues to be provided as we see the importance of a separate space.

We will encourage community groups to include activities for the youth locally and we will oversee grants applications/charity funding for an extension of current youth work activities.

We support the installation of a new dedicated skate park in Moulsecoomb. We will work with local schools to encourage use of their sports facilities during the school holidays.

We will work towards the introduction of free bus passes and free annual subscriptions to Brighton Bike Share for teenagers. We will also encourage a locally based hub for the repair and maintenance of bicycles for children/teenagers.

Amanda Grimshaw, Kate Knight and Daniel Yates: We have committed to review, support and to 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.

The other candidates in Moulsecoomb and Bevendean ward are Martin Kenig, Anne Meadows and Robyn Simson who are standing for the Conservatives.