Creating a region to be proud of

Speaking at the latest Greater Brighton Economic Board meeting, members said their first year had been a success and pledged that more achievements will come in the next 12 months.

The board was set up in March last year following the historic signing of the City Deal.

The agreement brought together political and business leaders in Brighton and Hove and surrounding districts to better plan and implement a long-term strategy for the region.

Their latest meeting came less than a week after The Argus launched the Seafront 2020 campaign – which aims to kickstart a debate about how to best ensure the future prosperity of our communities.

The third of the points on our ten-point manifesto, which we are focusing on today, calls for strong political leadership, cross-party co-operation and no self interest or borders. Speaking at the meeting in Worthing on Tuesday, members said the board had achieved all three.

Councillor Jason Kitcat, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council and chairman of the Greater Brighton Board, said: “This is the future, this is devolution, this is the city region in action and we have been successful. We are crossing the boundaries which were before creating unnecessary barriers and we are getting things done and getting the funding we need.”

When set up, leaders said they would create 8,500 jobs, bring in tens of millions of pounds in investment and deliver hundreds of new homes. While they are not there yet, members praised the progress made so far and in particular the cross-party and cross-council support and strong leadership.

Brighton and Hove City Council, Lewes District Council, Worthing and Adur councils, Mid Sussex District Council and the South Downs National Park Authority make up the board, alongside private and educational partners including the Universities of Brighton and Sussex, Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership and Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership.

The meeting heard progress had been made on a number of projects the board had attracted funding for, including the Circus Street and Preston Barracks schemes in Brighton and flood defences in Shoreham.

One key advantage of the board, members said, is the removing of borders and local authority boundaries.

Coun Kitcat said one item on the agenda – moving Fofars bakery from Brighton to Newhaven – illustrated the point. He said: “Newhaven is part of Greater Brighton so this is a positive thing, not negative. It’s not a case of Brighton has lost and Newhaven has won, we are all benefiting as the jobs are still in the Greater Brighton area.”

Board members also praised the way they had been able to attract large sums of money from the Government for projects. Garry Wall, Mid Sussex District Council leader, said: “We have been able to persuade government and reassure them that if they give us the funding we will deliver bigger bang for their buck. We have been able to attract huge amounts of money and you can see from the list of projects it is being put to good use.”

• Why this matters

LIKE our readers The Argus cares about our unique environment, the combination of factors which make our communities the UK’s most attractive to live in.

But to preserve their special status this newspaper believes it is time for co-ordinated action, for people of vision to outline the medium term future of our city and towns and natural spaces.

The seafronts give us our livelihoods and wellbeing. Yet it could be argued that pressures are rising, with investment needed to avoid decline in our infrastructure.

Piece-meal action will not be enough.

A coherent programme is needed all along the Sussex coast, from Hastings in the east to Bognor in the west, to ensure we win support and funds for a vision that has our seafront evolving, embracing the new but pre- serving the heritage that gives us its unique character.

This is not just a project for our politicians and leaders, but for all of us. We are all passionate about this wonderful place we live in. We all have a voice and a role to play in protecting its future.

•Seafront: Our vision

1) Develop a five-year plan for our seafronts which includes economic, structural and leisure visions for the future.

2) Vigorously preserve natural habitats, beaches and green spaces.

3) Promote strong political leadership and cross-party co-operation across the region. There should be no self interest or borders when discussing the future of our communities.

4) Protect traditional seafront industries, tourism, ports and fishing but encourage new creative digital activity 5) Protect iconic landmarks and heritage but encourage fresh thinking that will transform our sight lines.

6) Encourage a new range of private/public partnerships to fund developments to ease the strain on the public purse.

7) Support new bodies to bring co-operative and visionary proposals for the entire coastal region and encourage those bodies to work with full transparency and include all sections of the community in decision making.

8) Make transport infrastructure a priority. A range of regional proposals must be at the centre of any Seafront 2020 debate.

9) Develop a powerful lobbying voice at Westminster to push our case for investment as one of the powerhouse economic regions of the UK.

10) Involve all sections of our community in developing policies for Seafront 2020. The future of health services, housing and jobs should all be included.

• Analysis by Ben James

AS A newspaper reporter I have been to numerous local authority meetings over the years.

They are often long, sometimes dull and, on the odd occasion, interesting.

But one thing that defines them all is political fighting.

Whether it is the Tories shouting down Labour, Labour arguing with the Greens or all three taking shots at each other, you can pretty much guarantee heated disagreements at most meetings.

However, during Tuesday’s Greater Economic Board meeting something strange happened.

Towards the end of the meeting, the Conservative leader of Mid Sussex District Council Garry Wall put his hand up to speak and addressed board chairman, the Green Party’s Jason Kitcat.

With it being councillor Kitcat’s last appearance on the board before he stands down in May, it was not clear what councillor Wall was about to throw at him.

But what followed was unexpected. Coun Wall issued a heartfelt and glowing tribute to his opposite number on Brighton and Hove City Council for his efforts as chairman of the board.

He praised his dedication and the amount of work they had managed to get through in such a short space of time.

When he finished his short piece, fellow board members all nodded their heads in agreement and a “hear hear” echoed around the room.

Even leader of the Conservatives on Brighton and Hove City Council Geoffrey Theobald, who is usually at odds with coun Kitcat, nodded along in agreement.

So why is it different here? Why can’t it always be like this and will it continue when coun Kitcat stands down next month?

Coun Kitcat said: “I think it has been successful because this is a meaningful Greater Brighton region, we haven’t had to pretend it is to get the City Deal.

“People do travel to work throughout the city region, people do live in Worthing and work in Brighton or live in Lewes and study in Worthing.

“There is that genuine interconnection and it makes sense for us to work like this collectively to better the area.

“I think there are also genuine grown-up relationships here.

“There are some places like the Liverpool group where they can’t even agree on their name.

“Whereas here there is a mutual respect. “As a Green leader I get on fine with the other Conservative leaders. There are no party politics here at all. We are just focusing on the job in hand and getting the best for our area as a whole.

“If we were talking about immigration or benefits then there may be some disagreement. But on the board our differences are few and far between and what we share in common is that we want to improve our areas. “We are all ward councillors and we care about improving where we are. We might sometimes differ on how we are going to get there but we all want the same result.

Coun Wall said the success of the board in its opening year was largely down to the holistic approach it had taken.

He said: “This body is here to deliver projects.

“It is all good having these ideas and visions but it is actually seeing these projects taking root on the ground and that is what we are doing. That is the key.

“I think cross council support has been crucial and we have got rid of the boundaries we usually operate in, which has enabled the board to see the bigger picture.

“That has allowed us to not only pull in the support of other authorities in the area but also build relationships with the public and private sector.”

Coun Theobald said the board had excelled in being able to reassure and persuade government to hand out cash for projects.

He said: “It gives government more confidence to hand over money, they want to see that their money is generating jobs and boosting the economy nationally.

“So if they give their money to the Greater Brighton area and it boosts employment and therefore the country’s GDP, then everyone is happy.”

Coun Wall added: “To be given money from the Government when funding is at a minimum shows how well we have done.

“We now need to make sure our projects help create a region we are all proud of.”

However, with coun Kitcat stepping down and others on the board potentially losing their positions, is its continued success guaranteed?

Coun Kitcat said: “I think it is partly down to personalities and, as you know, I am not a tribal politician.

“There certainly needs to be a certain level of mutual trust, understanding and respect for it to work and that is what we have at the moment.

“I think this is actually how most people want politics to work.

“If we are all shouting at each other and disagreeing would we be doing a good service for our communities?”

• Views from the front: Why it is so special

We spoke to residents along the seafront to ask them why it is so special to them.

Andy Biltcliffe, from Eastbourne, pictured right, often visits his parents in Seaford.

Such is his love of the seafront, in November 2013 he walked along the coast from Eastbourne to Littlehampton in a day. But he believes there could be improvements.

He said: “I read somewhere that 7% of people live by the seaside while 14% of people in the UK want to – so it’s clearly desirable.

“I think in Seaford there could be more here for the youth like a skate park or just something for them to enjoy.

“There used to be a pub on the corner, it wasn’t the greatest pub but at least it was something – so that’s been lost.

“There is an attraction to the seaside and although what we have here is great, we just need to look at its usability.

“Someone needs to take control of development and keep track of what they want to do.”

Mark Jones, 50, used the front opposite Saltdean Lido towards Brighton every day last summer to walk his dog, Sherlock.

He said: “The beach is dog-friendly, which is great, so it’s the perfect place to come and walk him. It’s nice and tidy and it’s maintained pretty well. There are problems here with people not picking up dog mess, but it’d be unfair to only label this stretch with that. That’s a big problem everywhere.

“It’s a lovely walk because you’re close to the cliffs, the sea is right there and Brighton is just down the way.

“I think they could do with having a bit more down here, maybe a few little stalls. There’s a guy who plays the piano which is nice, it’d be good to have more of that.

“It’s amazing how many people don’t know about it, so we could offer something maybe you can’t get in Eastbourne or Brighton.”

The early successes for the Greater Brighton project

• New England House £4.9m funding has been approved and the Digital Exchange is nearly completed. The Digital Catapult Centre launched in March and broadband vouchers dished out.

• Advanced Engineering Centre A planning application for the University of Brighton's Advanced Engineering Centre in Lewes Road, Moulsecoomb, is due to be submitted in May 2015.

• Flood defences Work on the Newhaven flood scheme will start in April 2016. A planning application for the £25m Shoreham defences is expected next year for the Shoreham western harbour arm.

• Newhaven Enterprise Zone Lewes District Council has refreshed the Newhaven Enterprise Zone application and continues to push the case with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

• Circus Street development Planning permission was granted in September and various tenders are being undertaken with demolition due in July 2015 and construction commencing in November 2015.

• Preston Barracks The developers have undertaken a review of their original master plan and the new proposals are being developed to a more detailed stage.

• Sussex Innovation Centre - Block J Construction is now under way and it is expected the centre will open in spring 2016.

• Skills Capital – City College B&H Work on the new Construction Trades Centre is due to start in late summer 2015.

• Valley Gardens An £8m grant was confirmed in February and the following month the council agreed design work should continue on the project.

• A2300 Corridor – Burgess Hill Government confirmed £17m of funding for improvements to the A2300 road corridor with the dualling of the road link between the A23 being a strategic part.