Labour councillors say they will vote to divert money currently earmarked for the city’s first low traffic neighbourhood into refurbishing the city’s toilets.
The local party says it is planning an amendment to re-allocate £1.1million set aside for the LTN at Thursday’s full council meeting, where next year’s budget will be set.
If Conservative councillors vote with the amendment, then it would pass and the LTN’s future would be in doubt.
The low traffic neighbourhood would have seen traffic filters, pocket parks, bus gates and more one-way streets installed to make it more difficult for motorised traffic to use the areas as a rat-run.
Instead of this, Labour says council money should be spent on developing 20-minute neighbourhoods.
Labour’s co-leader of the opposition and finance lead, Cllr Carmen Appich said: “Decent public toilets are crucial for public health, equalities, local businesses and our visitor economy – they are a basic service that the council should be investing in, not cutting and giving up on.
“Labour won’t flush public money away on dogmatic vanity projects, Labour will meet the basic needs for all across the city and get our council services up to scratch.
“Our budget amendments are a step in that direction, so I would encourage other parties to support them and put the needs of residents above personal pet projects.”
Last month, council officers warned that thanks to proposed budget cuts coupled with spiralling costs, up to 18 public toilets, mainly in suburban parks, would be forced to permanently close.
Costs have risen partly because of soaring energy prices and partly because of a large rise in how much maintenance staff were paid when the toilet cleaning service was brought in-house.
Plans to help plug the gap by starting to charge for some toilets were voted down by Labour and Conservatives. Following an outcry, the Greens said they would no longer proceed with a proposed £300,000 cut to the service next year.
Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown, Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP said: “In the face of yet more devastating cuts from the Conservative Government, we need to do all we can to protect basic public services in our city.
“Closing public toilets and spending over £1million on a scheme to use cameras to fine car drivers really sums up the Greens. That is why Labour is putting down this amendment to save our public toilets.
“We have a fraught two years ahead of us until we can throw the Conservatives out of Government. We need an administration locally that will protect basic services.”
Blimey have Labour finally understood that backing the Greens is a vote loser and that the LTN is deeply unpopular in Hanover. Not sure backing for 20 minute neighbourhoods is a winner though.
It’ll never pass because it makes sense and this council never does anything that makes sense.
“Instead of this, Labour says council money should be spent on developing 20-minute neighbourhoods.”
WTF do Labour think an LTN is?
At least its clear for the electorate. Labour are unabashedly pro-private vehicles and all the negatives that come with it.
LTN is certainly not a 20 minute neighbourhood – in fact they are quite different ideas, (although share some common aims). An LTN is about reducing vehicle traffic through a designated area, through cameras, road restrictions, one way systems etc. A 20 minute neighbourhood is about nnever having to travel on further than 20 minutes to access all services within a designated area, shops, schools, doctors etc. You could be in favour of one and not the other, (in fact common sense shows us that Habover is completely the wrong area for an LTN).
Good. Anyone that is pro-private vehicles and freedom of movement will get my vote.
Me too!
It seems to me there are two issues here:
1) Is the LTN a good idea?
2) And is this the right time to be spending millions on an experimental traffic scheme when the public toilets are being closed for lack of funds?
As someone who lived in Hanover for 35 years I personally think the LTN is ridiculous in that it doesn’t have any true green benefits – and seems to make journey times longer for Hanover residents, effectively increasing traffic in the area. No new public transport is being provided in a hilly area, and the bus company are currently cutting what services we do have.
Closing Southover street to traffic is also dumb and not wanted by the businesses on that road. It’s those corner shops and small businesses that make Hanover a ’20 minute neighourhood’ already.
The second point, 2) is about budgeting, and it’s pretty obvious in our house that we’d keep our toilet open before we’d re-pave a perfectly good patio or buy ourselves a new bike.
Council spending priorities have to change in the face of government cuts and because of rising inflation, and so it’s obvious the vanity schemes have to go.
It’s also good to see that Labour are finally speaking out with some common sense policies.
I’m also hoping that if Labour come to power after the next council elections they can replace half the greenwashing propaganda team in the council with more street cleaners and toilet attendants.
Remember this is the party that handed over all its power to the loony green party. So is this 20 minute idea just a softer rebrand of the LTN.
Common sense at last. The proposed LTN will make getting in and out of Hanover more time and energy consuming, create even more pollution on Elm Grove and Queen’s Park. I dont believe it is a rat run, just a lot of people live in Hanover. And if there is a case that it is a rat run then that would be because of the new valley garden project slowing down traffic into town and to the seafront.
It’s councillor Hills I feel sorry for!
It would be interesting to knock up a spreadsheet to see just how much money the Greens have wasted in their disastrous tenure. It’s difficult to think of any of their schemes that could be deemed a success
Well maybe all the trees they have planted. Oh no wait a minute they can’t maintain the weeds on a pavements so better chop them down straight away.
Charlie Freak
Still be here this time next year just listing the things this council wasted money on.
And on the second, um.
Strange, isn’t it, that after going along with the crazy and disastrous Greens for much too long, Labour suddenly decided to challenge them and support residents’ wishes. Not strange at all. Just a cynical attempt by Labour, just before the elections, to position themselves as the answer to residents’ prayers. Which they are not, obviously.
Neither Labour not the Greens can be trusted. It is coming up to election time, so they are getting into a panic, and all their lies come pouring out like sewage. The Greens have turned B&H into the most expensive dump on the South Coast and Labour have done nothing to stop them.
Still better than the tories. Also tories vote on these decisions as well but I guess mentioning them doesn’t suit you agenda!
Charlie Freak- a Steely Dan reference?