Parks will be made good more quickly and those who use them will have more chance to have their say about events held in them, councillors were told.
The pledge was made as councillors spoke about Brighton and Hove City Council’s outdoor events plan.
Labour councillor Birgit Miller, the council’s cabinet member for culture, heritage and tourism, took questions on the events programme for more than an hour yesterday (Tuesday 25 March).
She was joined by the council’s outdoor events manager Ian Baird at Hove Town Hall for a meeting of the council’s Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Councillor Miller said that events brought £120 million into the Greater Brighton city region, with hotels booked up well in advance of events such as Pride and the Brighton Marathon.
According to a report published before the meeting, outdoor events generate £650,000 a year in fees – and the council aims to increase this sum to more than £1 million.
Councillors were told that a new approach was being taken to repairing damage to grass areas. Previously, the City Parks team responded after events, once they were aware of damage.
From this year, the council has brought in a contractor to assess sites before events. They advise operators to use hardstanding if the ground is soft.
Once the event is over, the contractor will come in and make any repairs without the council waiting for a Cityparks team to become available.
Green councillor Ollie Sykes, who represents Brunswick and Adelaide, said that some people in his ward were concerned that the number of events on Hove Laws had effectively privatised a public space.
Councillor Sykes said: “There is essential green spaces here in our city which are the only green spaces for people who don’t have gardens.
“So we need to make sure we get the balance right between the use in this way of public spaces and letting people enjoy the green space in the city.
He asked for more consultation with residents at the stage when the council gives landlord’s consent rather than presenting them with a “fait accompli”.
Councillor Miller said that there were regular engagement events where councillors, residents and nearby businesses could discuss relevant issues.
The council is also starting a consultation on its website, with a list of annual events.
Outside the meeting, Councillor Miller said that she wanted residents to respond and to say what they wanted to see happening in their area as well as in the wider area.
Just take a look at the Area in front of St Peters Church.The grassed area has been destroyed and the seating has disappeared over the last couple of years of constant use.When Events are put on that have live music in the evening it can become unbearable.Why can’t the organisers restore the grassed areas .The Ice Rink comes every year and they do a fantastic job of restoring the grassed area.
Let’s have Events but consider the Residents of these areas and return the grassed areas to how they were meant to be.
You are spot on. I’m glad we have live events but the council doesn’t enforce the organisers in cleaning up. They are slow and toothless. The Level park is another example. The circus was on there last year. They left huge mud bowls which are still there.
six months on and there is no repair, where has that money gone, £4k, paid by the event organisers to reinstate the grass areas as they were before ?
Meanwhile we have Black Rock event space which remains empty
Councillor Miller states “…there is no market square..” Just look outside Brighton Town Hall!
No financial benefit or compensation for the local residents who get disturbed and businesses that loose out , in the areas where the events are held . A £1 levy on ticket sales would help resolve this
Cllrs are late finding out about the new process to reinstate green open spaces. It was in place before the Christmas Market 2024 at St Peter’s. Was the green open space made good….no it wasn’t. And if there is a 28 day limit for events on green open spaces, why is Spiegelgardens going on for 31 days?
The problem with promising “consultation with residents” is that it’s never easy to make it representative. The organisers of Pride simply have a cozy chat with the self-appointed Friends of Preston Park and bung them a bit of money to plant some trees, then kid themselves that the thousands of people who regularly use the park are happy to endure a fortnight of exile and disruption.
There’s also the aspect of people conflating the idea of consultation, believing that what they say will happen because they said it in a consultation. There are a lot of people who think consultation is pointless because of this misnomer.