Minutes of West Hove Forum meeting
Wednesday 25th January 2023 via Zoom
Attending: Edward Clay (WHF Chair and Wish Park Surgery PPG), Jane Galvin (WHF Secretary & KAWHRA), Martin Lawrence (WHF Treasurer & Lawrence Art Supplies), Ann Forster (Friends of Wish Park), Richard Hearnden (Friends of Stoneham Park), Cllr Carmen Appich & Cllr Chris Henry (Westbourne ward), Cllr Bella Sankey (Wish ward), Peter Reeves (KAWHRA & HBHA), Jane Eleini (Secret Garden Group), Cathy Biggs (Hove Beach Hut Association & WHSAG), Angie Starnes (Friends of Hove Lagoon & HBHA), Anna Smith (Friends of Davis Park), Helmut Lusser (Hove Civic Society), Cathy Ferguson (Hove Beach Croquet Club), Sylvia New (Healthwatch), Tim Ball (San Remo Apartments), Rose Hetherton (King Alfred Lawn Tennis Club & WHSAG), Rich Wheeler (Community Engagement Team), Ellie Sugg (Hove Station Neighbourhood Forum), Mark Healy & Sophie Sargeant (Brighton & Hove City Council), Leslie Pumm (Labour candidate for Westbourne, observing)
Apologies: Amy Allison (TDC), Mike Gibson (Hove Station Neighbourhood Forum & WHSAG), Francis Leroux (Friends of Wish Park), PCSO Aidan Goodwin, Nigel Sarjudeen (Off The Fence Antifreeze project), Phil Withers (Hove Beach Croquet Club)
- Minutes of last meeting and matters arising
The minutes of the meeting on 24.11.22 were accepted.
- Chair’s Report – Edward Clay
Edward reported that he had had an opportunity to meet new Wish ward councillor Bella Sankey and take a walk along the seafront with her.
- Community safety issues
No new issues were reported.
Chris said he had met with the local PCSOs the day before and things are good at the moment. He updated the PCSOs on the progress of the Kingsway to the Sea scheme and concerns that the area will become busier. He thinks it is time for the PCSOs to come to one of these meetings to talk about how they are going to police Kingsway to the Sea.
Edward agreed that this issue should be starred for the next meeting. Chris will set this up and liaise with Jane.
- King Alfred Leisure Centre redevelopment –
Mark Healy, City Regeneration Programme Manager, BHCC
Sophie Sargeant, Sports Facilities Programme Manager, BHCC
Sophie gave a presentation (attached) on plans to replace the King Alfred Leisure Centre.
Under the Sports Facilities Investment Plan agreed in 2021, there will be three sports hubs in the city. One will be the West Hub to replace the King Alfred. The site is still to be identified.
The swimming pools at King Alfred are currently closed due to an issue with the boiler, a sign of the condition of the building. There will be ongoing challenges and other work to do over the next 12 months.
Mark said the council were very conscious of the history of previous projects. One of the things that made delivery difficult in the past was the complexity of the model. The new leisure centre will be the flagship leisure centre in the city. It needs to be as efficient as possible and serve the city for decades to come.
There are three options for the location:
- The existing site – they would want to work on the new facility while keeping the existing one open, so there would be an overlap. They would still need to look at disposing of some of the site, as the current facility is not space-efficient.
- An alternative site owned by the council.
- They could acquire a private site, which might be more expensive.
They have already started looking at some potential sites and have just launched an “expression of interest” process to find any potential locations.
An outline programme timetable will be developed. It will be at least two years before any work can start on site. They will be able to start engaging on the shortlist of sites in the autumn. After that, they could market the site to developers – either late this year or early in 2024.
Questions and comments
Is the “expression of interest” process for all three hubs?
They are currently just focusing on the West Hub. The North Hub is already in place at Withdean and they will work on the East Hub at a later date.
What locations have been shortlisted?
None yet; the council are currently longlisting. Under due diligence they have to look at every site they own, including parks, even if they know they are not viable. Most of the private sites tend to be clustered around the Old Shoreham Road.
Are there any restrictions on building in the parks?
Some open spaces are very valued assets, so it might be technically feasible to build there but they would be reluctant to do so. The parks do have protection under City Plan Part Two. It would be difficult to get planning permission and the Parks department would oppose it.
We are at the beginning of a recession. Is this the right moment to do this or should the council be waiting until we’re in a more optimistic situation?
A perfect storm of events is having an impact on the construction sector and costs are going up, so the council are alive to all those issues. The council’s view is that they don’t know how long they would have to wait. There is a very significant cost to waiting, with maintenance costs for the current site, and we might end up with no facility. It will cost £6 million over the next two years just to keep the King Alfred open.
Chris commented that we shouldn’t delay and we really need a decent sports centre. He liked the idea of doing something away from the seafront.
If you are selling the sites you’ve got, will you have to borrow money to make up the difference?
Borrowing would be one option, as the council could still borrow at a competitive rate. It would be a bigger, better facility which would generate more income. There are government grant schemes too. Given the lessons learned, the council would be nervous about entering into a complicated relationship with a developer and wants to retain control this time.
Edward asked whether anyone felt strongly about retaining the existing site.
Richard would prefer it to stay on the existing site, as there would be fewer things to go wrong.
Helmut said it would make sense for it to stay there as it’s next to the Kingsway to the Sea scheme.
Tim agreed it would be good to keep it where it is. Rockwater has a huge turnover and it’s an obvious site for a café etc where people can look at the sea.
Bella thought that in an ideal world it would be kept where it is, but the absolute priority is to get it moving very quickly.
Chris said that if it remained on the seafront it would become full of tourists. He wants something more accessible to residents in places such as Hangleton and Portslade.
Mark pointed out that a site on the seafront has a smaller catchment area.
Rose said that Portslade Sports Centre already serves the local community. She wasn’t sure whether another development of seafront flats would serve housing needs.
Edward said we would welcome an update from the council officers in the future and Mark said they would be happy to do that.
- Mini-Holland feasibility study update
Jane Galvin reported that a stakeholder workshop had been held on 12th January at the King Alfred at which representatives of local groups were invited to make suggestions on ways to improve the West Hove area for walking and cycling.
Consultants are working with council officers on the bid. The feasibility study will be presented to the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee on 14th March and it needs to be submitted to Active Travel England by 31st March. Only a handful of areas (out of 19 areas doing feasibility studies) will be selected to receive funding.
Carmen said that, the day after the stakeholder workshop, councillors had taken part in a two-hour walkabout of the area to see what might be possible.
Edward wondered what would be done with all the work if we don’t win the funding.
Carmen replied that that was something for all the councillors to think about – perhaps we could get hold of some of the drawings and still carry out some of the ideas.
Helmut commented that, moving towards a CIL regime, we could make a brilliant impact using this and other schemes. There will be good ideas which can be fed into the planning process.
- Portland Road issues
Richard said he had raised the issue of litter on Portland Road last summer. The street is litter-strewn and there aren’t enough bins, so the bins that are there are overflowing. He would like to get someone from the council to a meeting to tell us what they’re going to do about it.
Martin said there are two problems with Portland Road:
- Cityclean don’t collect the waste when they should.
- Commercial waste is getting collected by probably a dozen different operators – this needs to be co-ordinated.
Carmen said that Robert had already asked about extending the Blatchington Road T-Zone to Portland Road. The council have promised to do it so she will write to them again and ask when they are doing it.
Edward thought that we should come back to this issue once we know the outcome of the Mini-Holland study.
- Healthy Neighbourhood Fund update
Edward reported that there had been an application from the Friends of Davis Park for a grant towards the cost of a new bench. The committee thought it was a good application, similar to the Friends of Hove Lagoon application approved last year.
Angie commented that the Friends of Hove Lagoon were delighted with their rainbow bench.
Anna said the Friends of Davis Park had asked the council about a dedicated bench – that’s all on hold but they need to have the money ready.
The meeting agreed that a grant of £500 should be given to the Friends of Davis Park.
- Round Robin
Peter reported that KAWHRA are still waiting for the Aldrington Wharf development to come to the Planning Committee.
Tim Ball of San Remo Apartments raised the issue of a TRO in Zone R for a plan to turn permit-holder bays into shared bays (permit and pay & display parking), along Kingsway between King Alfred and Carlisle Road. He is concerned that there won’t be enough parking spaces for residents and believes all current pay & display parking spaces should also be open to permit-holding residents.
Edward said there was an issue as to whether there had been a proper consultation process.
Carmen said that the council should have written to people about the TRO. If anyone hasn’t had a letter, let her or Bella (for Wish ward) know. If there’s an objection, she could bring it to committee.
Rose is a Carlisle Road resident. She said she hadn’t received a letter. Parking Zone R is huge, so people from north of Portland Road come down and park on the seafront when they are going to the beach. She will email Carmen.
Next meeting:
The next West Hove Forum meeting and AGM will be at 2pm on Wednesday 22nd March at Hove Methodist Church Hall.
West Hove Forum 