Patcham 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 Patcham.
Why do you want to be a councillor?
Rebecca Duffy is standing for the Greens.
Janaki Jayasuriya is standing for the Greens.
Geraldine Keenan is standing for the Greens.
Renato Marques is standing for Labour.
Alistair McNair is an academic manager and teacher standing for the Conservatives:
Everywhere I have lived I have been involved in the local community. From teaching orphans English in Ukraine to performing in charity pantomimes, I have enjoyed belonging to a group of people trying to make a difference. Being a councillor in Patcham and Hollingbury would allow me the opportunity to work closely with a range of dedicated people already working hard to keep the area a close-knit, friendly and safe community. I would relish the responsibility and would bring enthusiasm and dedication to the role.
Adam Scott is a teacher and is standing for Labour:
I love living here and want to help our talented neighbours and communities connect to make Patcham and Hollingbury better. As a teacher and trustee, I have learnt to achieve a lot with limited resources by working together sharing skills.
Local people know most about Patcham and Hollingbury’s issues and how we can solve them. I will support local decision-making, listen to ideas to create better lives for residents, and work with businesses on local corporate social responsibility.
I will champion community-led projects improving neighbourhoods, green spaces, crime reporting, safety and opportunities for all, and apply council frameworks to help community development thrive.
Janet Smith is standing for Labour.
Carol Theobald is also standing for re-election as a Conservative.
Lee Wares is a chartered surveyor seeking re-election as a Conservative:
Being a councillor would enable me, in partnership with others, to create a city that we can be proud of, that provides opportunity and positions our city well for the future. It would allow me in Patcham and Hollingbury to continue supporting residents, communities and businesses in making the ward a safe, pleasant and vibrant place to live and work. It also enables me to deal with issues and speak up for residents on matters that are important to them especially where their voice may not otherwise be heard or they feel they have no one else to turn to.
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?
Rebecca Duffy, Janaki Jayasuriya and Geraldine Keenan: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 blackspot”. It’s 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 are now on board.
Renato Marques, Adam Scott and Janet Smith: 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.
Alistair McNair: The Old Steine desperately needs regeneration and improved provision for both walkers and cyclists. However, it seems that the current scheme has not been implemented with a full comprehension of the potential impact the changes may have. Local businesses and residents need to be engaged in the discussion.
We must also be certain that changes to the Old Steine do not result in increased air pollution, longer traffic delays and do not affect the many events that are held on the seafront and that attract millions of visitors to the city every year.
Lee Wares: While supporting the regeneration of the Old Steine and significantly improving provision for walking and cycling I do not support the current design that includes all traffic on the east side and 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 we improve active and public transport while keeping traffic moving and not risking a negative impact on the environment and the economy.
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?
Rebecca Duffy, Janaki Jayasuriya and Geraldine Keenan: We need to ensure that the city’s enforcement officers (following the abandonment of Labour’s disastrous outsourcing experiment) make tackling owners who don’t pick up their dogs’ waste a priority, alongside fly-tipping. It is 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.
Renato Marques, Adam Scott and Janet Smith: 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 chose to leave dog mess across our city.
Alistair McNair: Dog fouling, and indeed all kinds of detritus, is a keenly felt problem across Brighton and Hove. Dog foul is of particular concern because we want our children to be able to play safely in our parks without risk of coming into contact with it.
I believe a difference can be made using a two-pronged approach. I would support council campaigns to raise awareness of the issue and would encourage responsible dog owners, who are the majority, and local groups, to work together to reduce the problem. I would also encourage the roll-out of DNA testing where necessary.
Lee Wares: 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.
A new dedicated contact line should be established for easier reporting and where trends are identified have the council target areas. Owners and dog walking businesses who fail to clean up after dogs in their charge should be subject to prosecution to the full extent possible.
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?
Rebecca Duffy, Janaki Jayasuriya and Geraldine Keenan: 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.
Renato Marques, Adam Scott and Janet Smith: 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.
Alistair McNair: I support the roll out of electric charging points. I believe that the electric vehicle revolution is inevitable and essential but that we should encourage its advent to come about as quickly as possible.
Lee Wares: I will wholeheartedly support the continuing roll-out of electric charging points especially in areas where residents have no off-road alternative, with spaces reserved for electric vehicles to charge up. In controlled parking zones we should reflect permit charges to incentivise and encourage switching to electric vehicles.
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?
Rebecca Duffy, Janaki Jayasuriya and Geraldine Keenan: 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 gives children, parents and older people more confidence that moving around the city independently is safe.
Renato Marques, Adam Scott and Janet Smith: 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.
Alistair McNair: It is essential that children can travel to and from school safely. I would continue and encourage the good work of the Conservative councillors and schools in Patcham and Hollingbury. They work hard to ensure that children can cross roads safely, that there are school crossing supervisors, that parking restrictions are enforced and extended, and that children and parents understand how to journey to and from school safely. I would want to encourage children, and their parents, to walk to school, as I once did.
Lee Wares: For children to move around more safely I would seek to introduce crossings to roads that connect routes to school and also to areas where children might wish to go such as parks. Enhancing access to public transport would also be key such as ensuring buses can reach kerbs and are free of other vehicles as well as the frequency of buses at times when children would most likely travel. Safe pavements to walk on are essential so more work will be needed on repairs.
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?
Rebecca Duffy, Janaki Jayasuriya and Geraldine Keenan: 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
Renato Marques, Adam Scott and Janet Smith: 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.
Alistair McNair: As someone who was a scout and had after-school music lessons, I understand the importance of youth services. Not only do they give young people friendships and new skills but they also provide young people with adult role models who can give them the advice and support that may be lacking at home.
I am a governor at Carden Primary School and will support events that the school and the PTA offer the children which give them a good start in life. I would also work with youth groups already set up at other schools in Patcham and Hollingbury.
Lee Wares: I am fully committed to youth work that is key to helping young people develop their independence and social skills, provide support to issues they may have and overcome inequality. I am also committed to projects that can be developed within communities and schools where young people are more actively involved, have a greater say, can take ownership and shape the areas in which they live.
Youth work should not be contained to problem-solving but encouraging and facilitating inclusion and involvement. These types of projects are already being initiated in Patcham and Hollingbury.
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?
Rebecca Duffy, Janaki Jayasuriya and Geraldine Keenan: At the last budget, in February this year, amendments from Greens created a new community clean up fund to support community groups who are helping to protect our city environment, eg, by paying for graffiti clean up materials. This also covers getting more eco-street cleaners that don’t use glyphosate spray and can use foam technology to remove grime and weeds.
Our councillors have been central to new initiatives to start “anti-tagging task force” community groups and helping paint out graffiti, dirt and grime. However, while community action is brilliant, the council’s own services need to step up too. Our top manifesto promise is to deliver a waste and recycling service that works.
Renato Marques, Adam Scott and Janet Smith: We have established the tidy up team, who work with local community groups to provide the training, resources and support to enable community tidy up events and programmes to become an essential part of our community-based approach to these issues.
Alistair McNair: One way of encouraging people to get involved in keeping their community tidy is by setting an example and taking part in organised tidy up events yourself. People are busy, but attending an occasional tidy up does make a difference. I have enjoyed working with the Patcham Local Action Team to keep parks tidy in Patcham and Hollingbury.
It is important to support local groups by attending their meetings and advertising the great work they do. We should have pride in our parks and streets and we Conservatives hear our residents’ cries for support and will clean up our public realm.
Lee Wares: Firstly, the council should provide reliable services that in the main will help mitigate these issues. Once the council is seen to take the lead it would provide greater encouragement for residents to be more actively involved.
As a councillor, organising and taking part in litter picking and tidy up days is a way to lead by example. And providing communities with support such as the tidy up team will help. Residents seeing the council and their councillors care are significantly motivating and would demonstrate that if everybody did a little bit, where we lived would be remarkably transformed.
