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Newsletter 239 - February 2009

In this issue:

• Meet your local councillor
• Subs please!
• How's it Bin?
• Snow all around
• Car crime comes and goes
• Faded Splendour
• Clarence Gardens is now on the map
• Benches Old and New
• Situation Vacant
• "A Few Good Men"
• Wanted by the Police

Meet your local councillor

Councillor Jason Kitkat will be our guest speaker at the Society's thirtieth annual general meeting, which will be held at 7:30 pm on Wednesday 25th March 2009 in the Osborne Suite at the Hilton Metropole Hotel.

Councillor Kitkat is one of the two Green Party members who represent the Regency ward. The other is Sven Rufus who we have also invited to the AGM. He has to be in London that day but will try to join us if he is back in time.

We have asked Jason to say a little bit about his work as a councillor and what he sees as the important issues for our area. However, there will be plenty of opportunity for us to ask him questions and let him hear our views.

Full details of the AGM will be in the next issue, but please make a note in your diary now!

Subs please!

AGM time means it's also time to pay subscriptions for the year. If there is a renewal form in the envelope with your newsletter, it means that your subscription is now due. Those who receive email newsletters will get an envelope this month, with the renewal form in it. A few members, such as those who have joined recently, may have already paid for 09/10.
The code on your address label will tell you the year for which you have last paid. If you have any queries please contact Roger Hinton. Please help the Society by renewing promptly.

How's it Bin?

After what seems like years of consultation and controversy, communal bins have finally appeared on our streets. Here's some news and views of the
story so far:

Our bins are not quite the same as those used in the pilot scheme; they have a much smaller lid, which tends to bang noisily, often gets left open and can be quite awkward for people of a certain size.

The two bins planned for Russell Square have not yet been put in place. Apparently there are problems finding somewhere in the square from which the truck can pick them up for emptying.

Meanwhile the two bins in Clarence Square were originally located on the south side of the square, but have now been moved to the motor cycle parking bay on the north. Originally they were intended to be located in two different parts of the square.

Some people have welcomed the bins. Residents with flats in one house in Regency Square used to have problems dealing with rubbish and are pleased that now they have been solved.
Meanwhile others are still putting their rubbish on the pavement, like they always used to (see photo), which means of course that it will not be collected. (Latest news: we have been pressing the Council to take action regarding the bins shown in this photo. As we go to press they have just been removed from the street.)

Residents of Abbots on the south east corner of Regency Square were not consulted about the new bins. So they were not pleased to learn that the collections from their own on-site bins are being discontinued. The communal bin that was planned for the pavement immediately outside their building has not yet appeared.

Let us know your communal bin stories and views!

Snow all around

On snowy Monday 2nd February a team from the Threesixty Group were down on the seafront taking a 360 degree photograph of Regency Square and the pier. You can see it at http://threesixtygroup.co.uk/ just click on "Digital Media". There is also a view of the Pavilion Gardens.

Car crime comes and goes

We reported recently that car crime in our area - mainly thefts from cars - had decreased following a successful conviction. Since then it has been on the rise again.
As a result the police carried out a plain clothes operation in the Regency Square car park. They stopped and searched several people "known" to them. No evidence was found during the operation, but since then, only one vehicle has been broken into.

Faded Splendour

This building in St Margaret's Place was originally built in about 1833 as the Royal Newburgh Assembly Rooms.

King William IV is said to have attended the opening and the rooms became one of the most fashionable places to be seen in Brighton.

Later the building was used as a church and then a block of flats. Now only the facade of the original building remains. The space behind is part of the Metropole Exhibition Halls.

If you walk along St Margaret's Place you will see that this splendid facade, originally designed by A H Wilds, is now in a sorry state. We recently approached the Metropole Hotel to ask if they could re-decorate it.

In his reply the hotel's Administration Manager, Chris Hewlitt explained that they had recently completed a refurbishment of the hotel's front facade, costing over £2 million. So there were no funds available for other works at present.

He also explained that what limited money does become available has to be concentrated where it will "give the maximum impact to the experience of our guests." Obviously St Margaret's Place is not in that category.

We then asked if there could at least be some "housekeeping" works, such as cleaning the paintwork and the steps. Mr Hewlitt has promised to review the position in the spring and obtain some quotes to see if housekeeping of the sort we have suggested is possible.

Clarence Gardens is now on the map

The Council's road sweepers have maps to show them where they need to clean. Clarence Gardens, next to the pub in Clarence Square, has apparently never been on the cleaning map for this area. So any cleaning that was done was unofficial.

We are pleased to announce that the map has now been amended and Clarence Gardens will in future be cleaned officially.

Benches Old and New

The Society is planning to purchase another new bench for Regency Square. It will be supplied and installed by the Council and will have a plate on it displaying the society's name. The cost will be met from the Regency Square Improvement Fund.

We have also asked the Council if they could repair the rather sorry looking movable bench which, when last seen, was at the south end of the square.

Their reply was that they do not repair or replace old benches. They are simply left until they become dangerous and are then removed. Any replacement must be sponsored by a donor.

Council officers are keen to point out that the amount required to sponsor a bench (a little over £500) does not cover the full cost of buying and installing it. The Council meets the other costs.

They have also told us that people offer to sponsor benches from time to time and leave the Council to suggest the location. Regency Square is one of the locations they will be suggesting.

Situation Vacant

The Society is looking for a new secretary. Rhidian Hughes has done the job for some time and is now standing down.

The job involves preparing and distributing minutes and agendas for meetings. If you want to know more, please contact us

"A Few Good Men"

Perhaps you saw Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in the film of this name. Brighton Little Theatre will be presenting the stage version at the beginning of April. We are planning a group to see it on Wednesday April 1st (7:45 pm).

It is a courtroom drama about a court martial arising from the murder of a US marine at Guantanamo Bay. The author is Aaron Sorkin, perhaps better known as the writer of the TV series "The West Wing".

If you would like to come, please send your name, telephone number and £7.50 for the ticket to Ros Boulden, 8 Abbotts, 129 Kings Road, Brighton BN1 2FA, by 15 March at the latest.

Wanted by the Police

A new lock has been fitted to the gate in Clarence Square. Unfortunately the Police have lost touch with the residents in the square who held keys for the previous lock. If you know who they were, please contact PCSO Siobhan Salihi (Siobhan.Salihi@sussex.pnn.police.uk or 0845 60 70 999 Ext. 50227).

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