Green councillors took aim at Labour as the membership of a new Seafront Development Board was announced in a meeting at Hove Town Hall.
They said that the ruling party had packed the board with Labour politicians, questioned the process for choosing the chair and asking whether anyone else was considered for the role.
They accused Labour of damaging public trust by giving out “jobs for the boys” in a way that would undermine the integrity and independence of the board’s leadership and advice.
But the Labour deputy leader of the council, Jacob Taylor, hit back, saying that the board had an advisory role so the need for political balance did not arise.
And he defended the decision to appoint Labour peer Steve Bassam, who sits in the House of Lords as Lord Bassam of Brighton, to chair the board.
Councillor Taylor, the vice-chair of the seafront board, said that Lord Bassam, a former leader of the council, had chaired a Lords select committee on regenerating seaside towns, producing a widely respected landmark report in 2019.
While some were disappointed not to have been selected, Councillor Tayor added: ““There was a fantastic response. More than 90 people applied to be part of the board, leading to a rigorous and competitive selection process.”
The board is intended to encourage investment and development along Brighton and Hove’s seafront, from Saltdean to Portslade, and starting with the stretch between the Marina and the Palace Pier.
At a meeting of Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet on Thursday (17 July), Green councillor Raphael Hill asked: “Through what process was Lord Steve Bassam chosen for the position as chair?
“Were other people given the chance to put themselves forward for the role? And on what criteria was Lord Bassam chosen?”
But Councillor Hill was frustrated when Councillor Taylor did not answer the key thrust of his questions.
The Labour deputy leader said that Lord Bassam, formerly a long-serving government minister, had a particularly relevant background and set of skills was well suited to the job.
Councillor Taylor said: “He is acknowledged as being one of the leading voices in arguing for more funding, support and regeneration of our seaside towns. I think he’s going to be a superb chair.”
The Labour leader of the council, Bella Sankey, said: “We are very lucky to have Lord Steve Bassam to chair this board.”
Councillor Hill said: “Sorry, you have not answered the question to do with the process. Could I get an answer to the question? I do think I should get a response.”
Councillor Sankey said: “You’ve had the answer to your question. If you want to put another question in writing to a future meeting, you can. But you’ve had the answer to your question today.”
Brighton and Hove Independent councillor Bridget Fishleigh said: “Bad luck, Councillor Hill.”
Councillor Fishleigh asked: “Do you agree that including a current community activist who lives locally such as the lovely Derek Wright on the Seafront Development Board would be a good idea?”
Councillor Taylor said: “Derek Wright is not just a great community activist, he’s an asset to the whole city … and has a great love for the city. We work closely with Derek on many, many things and we (will) continue to do so.
“In terms of the process of applications, we had an open and rigorous process to join the board. We received over 90 applications for effectively nine places.
“The people we propose to appoint have great breadth and depth of experience and will bring huge insight to the future of our seafront.
“We’re always looking at ways to ensure we can engage residents, including those who were not successful, in the process on the work of both the board and the council.”
Green councillor Pete West said: “The proposed Seafront Development Board will have considerable power of influence and will make recommendations to the cabinet.
“While board membership is proposed to include several members of the Labour administration, members of the official opposition are excluded.
“With no diversity of elected political representation, how will it be possible to ensure it meets the stated expectation that the ‘board is broadly representative of the wider community’?”
Councillor Taylor said that the board did not have “sub-committee status” so the rules about political balance did not apply – and it was an advisory board not a decision-making body.
The Green councillor also asked about the appointment of Lord Bassam, who was ennobled by the former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Councillor West said that Lord Bassam was a “guru” to Councillor Sankey and added: “This is a political appointment which risks undermining the integrity and independence of the board’s leadership and advice.
“Is it not, in fact, a prime example of the sort of ‘jobs for the boys’ nepotism that has so damaged public trust in government in recent years?”
Councillor Taylor said “no” and added that the question was cynical and could undermine public trust because the nine people appointed were just trying to improve people’s lives in the city.
The council later said that no external consultants had been involved in the recruitment process which attracted more than 90 candidates.
The council added: “Interviews were not held. Officers reviewed the candidates with the chair and deputy chair. All positions on the board are voluntary (unpaid).”
As well as Lord Bassam, 72, and Councillor Taylor, the board includes two other Labour councillors, whose appointment had been announced previously.
They were Birgit Miller, 62, the council’s cabinet member for culture, heritage and tourism, and Julie Cattell, 69, former chair of the council’s Planning Committee and currently the council’s lead member for major projects.
The other eight members were approved by the council’s cabinet at its meeting on Thursday. They were
- Rob Sloper, 44, is a senior development director at Landsec U+I, a specialist mixed-use regeneration developer, and owner of Brighton Marina. He has previously been involved in a number of major projects in Brighton and Hove.
- Simon Lambor, 35, is a director of Matsim, the Brighton family business that owns the Kingswest building, which houses the Odeon cinema and Pryzm night club on the seafront. His family firm is also renovating the Hippodrome.
- Alma Howell is an inspector of historic buildings and areas for Historic England, one of the council’s key heritage partners. She is a town planner by background and has previously worked for the South Downs National Park Authority and Mid Sussex District Council.
- Georgia Collard-Watson, 36, is principal associate architect at Grimshaw Global, with extensive experience in infrastructure and transport projects. She was named a “RIBA Journal Rising Star”.
- Pete Tyler, 64, is a retired travel executive. He was the founder of Neilson Holidays, a leading outdoor tourism business which was long based at Brighton Marina, and a long-term Kemp Town resident.
- Juliet Sargeant, 59, is an award-winning garden designer and author and the first black female gardener to exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show, winning an RHS Gold Medal. She lives in Rottingdean, runs the Sussex Garden School and is a regular presenter on BBC Gardeners World.
- Carolyn Jikiemi-Roberts, 64, is a successful small-business owner, having established the Hot South Yoga Studio in Portslade in 2008.
- Alastair Hignell, 69, is a former England rugby international, BBC presenter and charity patron, who lives in Kemp Town and now runs a group called Walk the Talk which does weekly wheelchair tours and visits to the seafront.
Jacob Taylor not answering a question, well there’s a surprise.
His defence about the board being just an advisory one so political balance was not needed doesn’t extend to why on earth Labour excluded community voices and campaigners from the Board – what about residents’ groups and those campaigning on seafront regeneration for years! Can he not see that a group of Labour yes people. selected by Labour politicians, advising elected Labour politicians (who may make decisions to use public money) is not a good look and just feels wrong.
I can see why a community voice wouldn’t make a good developer. Different skill set.
I recall Lord Steve Bassam was also acknowledged in national media as being caught up in the expenses scandal. According to reports online the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards found that “his mistake was compounded by a degree of negligence in not reading the guidance provided to him.” So I guess he might be considered well qualified by this administration to Chair the Board.
Another shameful example of Labour’s lust for power and control.
The party is a shadow of what it once was, now full of careerists and yes men/women who will do anything to climb the ladder.
Reminder that Labour didn’t even reach 50% of the vote locally or nationally but cut out scrutiny and opposition voices at every turn! Shameful
At what point, when a local government party fills ‘advisory roles’ with their cronies do we just call it corruption? We see this in stuffed ‘scrutiny committees’ where they only give air time or reasonable answers to people that they know agree with them. No doubt these advisory role opinions will be pointed to as independent when they want to push through an agenda in cabinet later on. We’ve seen it before with these people.
Maybe this labour council, or maybe just Jacob Taylor and Bella Sankey, believe that being shady is justified for their version of the greater good, but this particular council appears to have no appetite for building trust in our local politics or out city. Maybe they think they are cleverly working the system. They might as well stuff the ballot box. Personally, I can imagine what it would be like if we could trust that our council to be accountable, admit mistakes, and proactively make boards representative. It would make the whole city better off.
Every time they don’t answer a direct question to them, and just bat down the opposition, trust in them goes down further and our faith in the system erodes a little bit more. Then our collective anxiety goes up. I really dislike this leadership duo, purely based on this dirtiness. We could have been an example for transparency, but they keep going the other way. And with so many cuts to senior roles in the council, there appears to be nobody left to stop them.
Can someone please explain why this council is planning to demolish Sussex’s biggest wet and dry leisure centre also housing a historic Boxing Club and Hove’s only ballroom – currently used for multiple activities from roller discos to weddings?
As for swimming, how are residents supposed to access the new Withdean swimming pool if they live on the West side of the city and have no car?
There is also a public expectation, particularly in a seaside resort, that the beach is reserved for leisure and holiday activities, and not for view-ruining ‘development’.
What legal powers will this new Board have outside of the Council?
Hove is very much the poor relation of Brighton when you compare public leisure and community facilities.
It is deeply concerning that political and vested interests seem to have been prioritised over community voices in the forming of this board.
Elaine, the information you’re asking for is already available and has been for some time. It’s important you read carefully the redevelopment plans, the accessibility strategy for Withdean, and the role of the new Board that have all been outlined in public reports, consultations, and committee papers. It is also important we distinguish between nostalgia and facts. It’s an omission to forget the years of consultation, structural concerns, or redevelopment proposals that include new leisure facilities.
No one disputes that the King Alfred has served generations, but it’s ageing, inefficient, and long past its design life. The goal of redevelopment is to replace like for better, not strip the area of community value. The beach is for leisure, but that includes infrastructure to support leisure. Speaking on cars, that’s a false dichotomy.
Benjamin, you seem to be confirming that the real plan is to move King Alfred Swimming Pool to Withdean. The general secrecy and lack of plans and artist’s impressions for the new King Alfred leisure centre has certainly been raising eyebrows that it’s not going to happen on the current “site”.
I seem to be confirming that you don’t actually know how to read beyond the superficial, before going off an performative conspiracy. It’s important you read carefully before saying things that make you sound silly, Elaine.
Perhaps the way to address any question of ‘performative conspiracy’ and public rumours is complete openness and transparency, rather than insults, Benjamin. Which is what the council are legally obliged to provide us as public servants. But they don’t. They are also obliged to explain themselves to all residents, regardless of educational level, and in a respectful manner.
The seafront board is a case in point. A complete mismatch between what was advertised and what was decided.
You continue to prove my point here, Elaine. Urging you to read carefully is not an insult.
So why won’t Jacob Taylor give us details of the “rigorous process to join the board” and explain what it was and how they made their decision to select the people they did.
How can he say with a straight face it was an open process when asked by Cllr Fishleigh why the excellent Derek Wright, and other great community campaigners weren’t selected, after he point blank refused to answer the question from Cllr Hill asking him to be open and share details about what the selection process actually was.
As for Bella Sankey suggesting Cllr Hill submits the same question again to ask the same question her party refused to answer at a future meeting, she’s shameless. They already cut off questions from opposition councillors so the administration can’t answer them, and she expects to get away with this charade and deliberate attempts to silence community and opposition voices.
Because Derek Wright, as much as I approve of his methods, is not a developer. I hope that the board does call on him to provide input, though, alongside the other voices in the area, to help inform decisions.
Personally, I don’t remember asking for ‘developers’ on the seafront!
Most of us just want the seafront properly looked after and maintained. It would be nice if it could be restored to its former glory, but that is not ‘development’
A simple question. When are the falling apart railings, shelters and benches going to be restored on Hove Seafront.
After a reform council is elected.
Whether or not he’s a developer has absolutely nothing to do with why the Deputy Leader of the Council did not answer a question at a formal council meeting which asked him to explain the PROCESS. The question asked was:
“Through what process was Lord Steve Bassam chosen for the position as chair? Were other people given the chance to put themselves forward for the role? And on what criteria was Lord Bassam chosen?”
There is no justifiable reason why Jacob Taylor refused to answer those questions, unless there was NO process or a very poor one at best. It was ridiculous for Bella Sankey to then time waste by backing Jacob up and suggesting that the exact same question be asked at a future meeting. The whole thing is farcical and no way to run a council in an open and transparent way – the Cabinet’s actions are the exact opposite.
The council’s initial press release asking for ‘volunteers’ in hindsight looks like it was just for show. It did not say the Board would be developers (not sure if you saw that Benjamin?) – the call out said it was looking for “volunteer board members who can represent local residents or businesses, or with industry experience in business, tourism or culture.” Local campaigners and representatives of residents’ groups meet that brief, but they have been excluded and not selected. If Bassam just wanted a load of developers to apply, he could have saved people time by saying that at the outset, rather than this pretence of the Board somehow being representative of residents – which it isn’t.