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Newsletter 231 - April 2008

In this issue:

• Smartening up the Square
• Meanwhile...
• The Broken Bollard
• Castle Street Plans are Too Big
• A Successful AGM
• Your New Committee
• A "Crime Free" Area
• Peregrine Update
• i360 Update
• Sprouting Satellite Dishes
• Spending It
• Let's Welcome Summer
• Welcome to our New Members

Smartening up the Square

The war memorial in Regency Square is getting a clean up. The Council has commissioned Tilleys, the stonemasons, to do the work, which will include tidying up the various bronze and stone plaques and the figure.

The lettering will be taken down and re-fixed and the missing letters replaced. Letters have disappeared from time to time.

Hopefully the repairs will discourage any one from taking any more.

The Council's Environment Property Manager, Pete Wickson says that the cost will be in the region of £5,500, and the work will take several weeks, provided there are no unforeseen problems.

Meanwhile...

...in another part of the Square someone has been busy making things a bit less pleasant.

There is a real need for zero tolerance of this sort of antisocial behaviour.

Zero tolerance means cleaning up graffiti quickly and trying hard to prosecute those responsible.

The Broken Bollard

One of the bollards in the twitten between Russell and Regency Squares was damaged during the excavations for the new water mains. The Council are planning to repair it by welding it back onto its base. This can only be done when the air temperature is above 15 degrees. So the work will be delayed for a couple of months.

The bollard was also moved during the excavations, creating a bigger gap. This makes it easier for cyclists to ride through the twitten at speed. We asked the Council if they could narrow the gap again, providing enough space was left for wheelchairs etc.

Council officers have decided that the gap should remain as it is. They believe that since it is already less than 1 metre wide, any further narrowing could impede disabled access.

Castle Street Plans are Too Big

The Society has joined residents of Castle Street in objecting to plans to develop the site of the old Sussex Glass Bevelling shop, on the south side of the street. The new building would be significantly higher than the present one and neighbours think it will be too big.

A Successful AGM

There were about 35 members at the society's AGM in the Metropole on 2nd April. Many thanks to Andy Seggie of Waitrose who told us all about the John Lewis Partnership and answered some challenging questions from the floor on issues such as excessive packaging of fruit and veg.

Thanks also to PC Chris Thompson and PCSO Cat Thick who answered questions about community safety. Finally thanks to the Hilton Metropole Hotel for the use of the room and to everyone who gave prizes for the raffle.

Your New Committee

At the Society's AGM the following people were elected to the committee:

Chairman: Roger Hinton - Regency Square
Secretary: Rhidian Hughes - Regency Square
Treasurer: Sue Paskins - Marlborough Street

Committee members:

Ron Bakere - Sussex Heights
Ros Boulden - Abbotts
Margaret Brisley - Sussex Heights
Diana Dunn - Clarence Gardens
Tom Mackillop - Russell Square
Paul Michaelson - Sussex Heights
Brian Smith - Regency Square
Warden Swinfen - Abbotts
Lucho Zuidema - Regency Square

A "Crime Free" Area

According to Cat Thick of Brighton Police, our area is fairly crime free. However, following discussion at the AGM, the local police team will be making extra patrols of the car park in Regency Square to deal with any problems caused by youths and rough sleepers.

Cat has also provided the following information about the police's Regency Team:

What can we help you with?

We deal with a vast array of things to try and improve the quality of life for the residents of the Regency Ward.

We are a team of dedicated police officers and police community support officers who adopt a long-term approach to problem solving and policing.

We work closely with other agencies, so if we can't help you, we may be able to put you in contact with people who can.

You can email the team at regency.team@sussex.pnn.police.uk

Or call 0845 60 70 999 ext. 50614 / 50591 In emergency always call 999

Peregrine Update

The falcons that live at the top of Sussex Heights have produced four eggs this year. They should start hatching round about the 24th of April.

We have a live web cam in the nest box that updates every 60 seconds, plus some fascinating video recordings showing how the parents care for the eggs.

i360 Update

Work on the i360 column was expected to start last June. The latest news from Rachel Clark of the West Pier Trust is that "the i360 is progressing really well and we're expecting work to start on site this season."

This rather vague forecast shows that the Trust has learnt a lesson from last year when they announced several firm dates, only to be disappointed each tune. Rachel hopes to have about a month's notice before the work starts and has promised to keep us informed.

Sprouting Satellite Dishes

More and more satellite dishes are appearing in our area. We asked Council Conservation Officer, Roger Dowry, if he can do anything about them.

His reply was that "The council does enforce against satellite dishes erected without consent, and which are judged to harm the building's character or the wider area's appearance, and which contravene the advice in the council's existing supplementary planning guidance."

So why is nothing being done? Mr Dowty's explanation is that "the planning team does of course give priority to those unauthorised works that cause most harm and are recent alterations. A good deal of my team's time is spent on securing repairs to neglected buildings, and the removal of unauthorised signage, including hotel banners. We are also about to consult on a proposal to extend planning control over estate agent boards."

Spending It

We still have almost £5,000 in the Regency Square Improvement Fund. We are planning to use £500 on a new bench for the top section of Regency Square.

We also want to help the Regency Society's project to publish the entire James Gray photographic collection on the Internet. The collection consists of 9,000 historic pictures of Brighton and Hove. Each volume costs £1,000 to scan and publish online. The Society is planning to sponsor the volume that covers this area. Although this will not improve Regency Square directly, it will make these valuable historical records of our area permanently available for everyone to see.

Members supported both these proposals at the AGM.

Let's Welcome Summer

The late spring holiday is on Monday 26th May and we are planning a community breakfast. It will be in the Regency Restaurant and will start at 10am.

If you've been to previous society breakfasts you'll know that they are very informal. The long table near the door is reserved for us. Everyone orders whatever they want and pays for their own meal.

Members and guests are welcome, so please join us if you can.

Welcome to our New Members

In March you may have seen committee members walking round the area putting leaflets through letterboxes. It was our annual membership drive. We distributed about 1,000 leaflets. Already we have had more than ten new members as a result.

So a warm welcome to our new members. If you have any suggestions about what the Society could or should be doing, please get in touch ... and do come to the breakfast on the 26th May.

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