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Newsletter 225 - October 2007

In this issue:

• Where's your bin?
• But do we want them at all?
• A different view
• Memories of the Mews
• Enforcement...one day...maybe
• New committee member
• A visit from the police
• Support for cycle stands
• Do you remember the Great Omani?

Where's your bin?

Council leaders want communal bins throughout the central areas of the city. The plans put to the environment committee last month were not approved; committee members wanted more information and fuller consultation with residents.

That information is now starting to filter out. We have managed to obtain a map showing where the council officers want to locate bins in our area.

The red squares show the proposed locations for bins:

• Little Preston Street: 1 bin
• Preston Street: 2 bins
• Castle Street: 1 bin
• Stone Street: 1 bin
• Regency Square: 4 bins
• Kings Road: 1 bin
• Queensbury Mews: 1 bin
• Russell Square: 2 bins
• Clarence Square: 2 bins

We are planning to meet with one of the Council officers involved in this project to discuss these plans. If you have any views or queries about the proposed locations please let us know as soon as possible (contact Roger Hinton tel: 321794).

But do we want them at all?

The Society's view is that we don't want these bins in our area at all. The existing collection arrangements are working well for the most part.

The bins will be unsightly. They will attract rubbish dumping. They will require some people to carry rubbish quite a distance to dispose of it.

There is widespread objection to communal bins from amenity societies in most of the central conservation areas; they believe that the bins will damage some of the most valuable parts of the city's heritage. A campaign group has been formed which is trying to persuade the Council to allow individual areas to decide for themselves whether they want the bins.

A different view

Not everyone is against communal bins. One member who lives in Regency Square responded to last month's report by supporting the idea:

"I used to live in Powis Square. The residents were opposed to bins. Bins were introduced on an experimental basis. A few weeks later there was a residents' meeting. Thirty or forty people turned up and there was not one dissenting voice. The bins became part of the furniture.

"Collection is quicker and less noisy (no shouting dustmen). Rubbish being stored in basement areas is not a satisfactory solution. Rubbish is 'stored' in front of basement flats, which must be pretty unpleasant for the residents.

"As for traders dumping waste rather than paying for collection, the council are clearly happy this 'problem' is outweighed by the advantages of using bins. It wasn't a problem in Powis Square, where the bins were never full. Large items did NOT get left by the bins. I think we can be pretty relaxed about the odd rogue trader, who would probably fly tip their rubbish anyway.

"I think it's 'A Good Thing' if it saves the Council money. Why is it that when the Council spends money it's squandering taxpayers' money, but when it saves money, it's being mean and saving its own?

"Yes, seagulls are still a big problem with rubbish spewing out on the street. And no, having a bin outside my home would not bother me."

More opinions please!

Memories of the Mews

Question: who is our furthest flung member? Answer: Clive Seymour, who lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Clive was born in Brighton and went to school in Queensbury Mews in the mid 1950s. He and his wife Sharon spent a week here earlier this month and met up with some other members of the Society.

It was fascinating to walk up Queensbury Mews with Clive and hear some of his memories. He pointed out where the school had been, an area which is now part of the Metropole Exhibition Halls.

Perhaps his most fascinating memory was of the broken glass set into the top of a wall opposite the school. The wall is still topped with glass today. Clive is convinced that it could well be the same pieces that stopped him and his school mates exploring the back yards of some of the big houses in Regency Square five decades ago!

You can read more about Clive's schooldays on our looking back page.

Enforcement...one day...maybe

It is getting on for twelve months since Council officers agreed with us that the Esca bar in Preston Street should not be allowed to block the pavement with its refuse bins. They promised to take enforcement action.

Nothing has happened so far, in spite of our repeated reminders. Local councillor, Hermione Roy, has now taken up the issue. It is worth reading the exact wording of the reply she received:

"Thank you for your email. Please accept my apologies for the delayed response, caused by an administration error. I have passed your email directly to the enforcement Team, I have asked that an officer contact you and Mr Hinton directly regarding the refuse situation at the Esca Bar."

This reply is from the leader of the "customer support team". In earlier times it would have been a letter from the senior officer in the department, someone who had the authority to ask other officers to do things, and to hold them accountable if they did not do them.

We have had many holding replies like this in the past and nothing has happened. Let's hope this one is different!

New committee member

We have co-opted Tom Mackillop as a new committee member. Tom lives in Russell Square and has been involved in a number of local issues in recent months. We have not had a committee member from Russell Square for some time so we are pleased to welcome him.

A visit from the police

Brighton Police now has a Regency Team to provide community policing in our area. They have asked if they can have regular meetings with the Society, so we have invited a member of the team to meet the committee for a brief chat each month. The aim is for them to tell us what they are doing in the area, and for us to tell them of any problems we are having.

At our first meeting on 29 October we will raise the problems of youths congregating in Regency Square in the early hours, and of drivers ignoring the no entry sign at the junction of Regency Square and Queensbury Mews. Let us know if you have an issue you would like us to raise.

Support for cycle stands

Last month we asked what you thought of putting cycle stands in Russell and Regency Squares. There has been a lot of support for the idea. Local councillor, Sven Rufus, has offered to make the case for us with the Council.

One interesting idea put forward was that stands could be put in place of existing parking bays on the roadway. This would mean the loss of a few car parking spaces, but given the increase in the number of bikes being used there is perhaps a case for this. There might need to be built out kerbs with bollards at each end to reduce the risk of cars hitting the cycles.

We are hoping to finalise proposed locations shortly, so let us know what you think of this new idea.

Do you remember the Great Omani?

He was a stunt man and escapologist who used to perform on the seafront and the pier. His real name was Ron Cunningham and he died recently in his nineties.

The BBC is planning a documentary about him and are keen to find any amateur film or video footage of him performing. If you can help please contact Esther Ingrams on 0208 752 5189.

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