Job cuts could put key transport projects at risk, according to Steve Davis, the Green opposition leader on Brighton and Hove City Council.
More than 20 posts could be axed from the council’s transport team as part of a savings drive expected to cut spending by almost £1 million.
Budget papers propose “deleting” the full-time equivalent of 20.6 transport posts to save £978,000.
The proposals are part of sweeping job cuts across all parts of the council – some from unfilled vacancies as well as dozens of redundancies. The cuts are intended to save £23.7 million.
But with several projects in the pipeline or under way, Councillor Davis spelt out his concerns when the council’s Transport and Sustainability Committee met at Hove Town Hall on Tuesday (6 February).
He said: “I say this with no joy. It’s shocking that the budget proposals have got 20 officers from the transport team that could potentially be going.
“Genuinely, how does this administration feel it’s going to cover massive transport policies going ahead with the loss of so many officers?”
Projects in the Local Transport Plan capital programme include Valley Gardens phase 3, the A23 and A259 active travel schemes and the Western Road revamp where work is due to end in May.
The council also plans to create “red routes” along London Road, Preston Road and Lewes Road to tackle high levels of pollution.
Councillor Davis spoke out as the committee discussed strategic risks. According to an annual update, the transport capital programme was on track.
Labour councillor Trevor Muten, who chairs the council’s Transport and Sustainability Committee, said that the financial position was “very challenging”, adding: “We’re taking this very seriously. We will not go bankrupt.”
Councillor Muten said: “We have taken action early in the administration to navigate to the point where we can say we are balancing the books and, yes, it has meant some tough decisions. We’re putting those forward in the budget.”
The council’s assistant director for transport Mark Prior said that it was hoped that the job losses could be achieved through vacancies rather than redundancies.
Budget papers listed some of the vacant posts due to be “deleted”
- a transport and highways development manager, saving £70,000
- a transport monitoring and research officer, saving £47,000
- two vacant posts – a highways enforcement officer and highways inspector, saving £86,000
The council’s Strategy, Finance and City Regeneration Committee is due to discuss the budget proposals at Hove Town Hall on Thursday 8 February from 4pm.
And the annual “budget council” meeting is due to start at 4.30pm on Thursday 22 February.
Both meetings are scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.
I’m surprised Barry hasn’t commented on this one yet. He’s been very clear about his thoughts on cutting from this specific department!
Nice to be missed while I’m asleep Benjy boy. We’re not all creatures of the night you know.
You are a constant in a chaotic world, my friend!
I wonder who caused the high levels of pollution on Lewes and London rd?
A much needed cut- even if the financial situation wasn’t so challenging. The transport department appears to have been overrun by cycling fanatics- with no ability/willingness to consider wider impact on the city, population, or the environment they claimed to be protecting. Their latest gift to my community was to place a cycle rack obstructing the only semi protected crossing point near our local shops. Months later no bikes, but obstructed pedestrian crossing point. Great this department is no longer protected by the greens and the department is under review.
The Greens?…aren’t they the idiots that left us nursing a £30 million debt with the i360 white eliphant ?
Excellent news. The Transport department is overstaffed and believes it is unaccountable for its actions. It is populated with car hating ‘sustainable’ transport zealots .
Start at the top
Fantastic news that the council is to stop wasting our taxes on B-Ark jobs and Active Travel (aka anti-motorist pro-cycling) schemes that the Greens were, and patently still are, obsessed with.
It would appear that Mr David is one of the very few people in the city who views these proposals in a negative way.
A good start, but how many individiauls work in the travel and transport department and why only 20?
Why not all of them unless they are fixing potholes and keeping traffic free-flowing – the way to fewest emissions?
Not one of us has has asked for our council tax to be spent propping up Council vanity projects at the expense of the council’s statutory duties and looking after the city. Councillor Davis is in post to serve, not to impose.
More than 20 posts could be axed from the council’s transport team! Blimey how many sustrans/bri-cycles lobbyists are there in there?
The head of Transport is on a salary of £90K +
Hmmmmm…that would be a good saving
I was thinking about this the other day when I was down London Road.
As I walked down London Road, I couldn’t think of how the grest businesses down there were surviving, as this street has been neglected by various councils for decades!
Instead of spending millions and millions on this unnecessary and not wanted Road system, the Council could do something for London Road, which has been crying out for investment for so long !
Come on Brighton & Hove Council! It is Brighton’s main thoroughfare into the town centre! It’s embarrassing to look at, at it’s degeneration! Make it a place shoppers will want to visit!
I expected this stupidity from the Greens whose continupus plans for Brighton became an annoying running joke!
I’m not against cycle lanes when properly done, you can see in Denmark how good they are.
The problem with Brighton start when you notice they want to make a full cycle lane in a city where pedestrians have no space. Try to walk around London Rd, North St or queens Rd and if you don’t risk to get hit by a car because someone pushed you you risk to break you leg for the unstable pavement.
Repair the pavement. Repair the streets. After that, when the most common and used parts are good, think about the next step. I understand the political side, making new things is more visible than repairing old ones but at the end people will notice.
I don’t drive, so is not even a problem for me if they close all the streets and just make a cycling area in the city centre but:
1. I walk and is already hard, please stop removing space for pedestrians.
2. We are a community, we should be treated equally.
Lucky your not disabled – if you were, BHCC would discriminate against you more! This is an ‘active travel’ city : no-one else counts!
What is Cllr Davis solution? It’s a bit like the Greens policy on closing the two schools – keep them open but no idea of how to pay for them. So the Greens want to run at a bigger and bigger defecit? These cuts look necessary and if it means VG3 falters even better.
If the council stopped wasting money on crackpot road schemes like the Aquarium round about and cycle lanes, plus giving money to the ic360, it would not have money problems that it expects the public to pay for.
Harvey Jones
Ha! Sounds like it’s all cllr Davis’ mates in the dreaded ‘sustainable transport’ group! You know – the ‘advisers’ from Sustrans and Bricycles that only care about you if you’re a cyclist. Good riddance, I say.
Time the Transport Department did something useful and stop screwing up the traffic flow and punishing anyone who dares drive.