Could Hove really divorce Brighton?

9:50am Wednesday 17th September 2008

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Brighton and Hove became one in 1997 when the two boroughs merged. At the time, some grumbled that brash Brighton was annexing its sleepier neighbour to its detriment. Now, 11 years on, the argument has been reignited in a series of letters to The Argus. Lawrence Marzouk speaks to the man who sparked the debate by claiming allegiance to the now defunct Hove Borough Council and asks what it would mean if the two towns divorced.

One, the salacious wild child of the South Coast, the other a distinguished lady of a certain age – Brighton and Hove are certainly unlikely bedfellows.

Thrown together through geography, this marriage of convenience has stood strong for more than a decade.

But now, the union has turned sour and Hove is calling for a divorce. Both sides of Boundary Passage are often characterised by stereotypes.

Just as Hove is portrayed as a sedentary settlement of Regency architecture, Brighton is seen as a 24-hour party town swarmed with students and hippies.

Neither, of course, are thought to be accurate descriptions even by the most ardent proponents of administrative amputation.

But many Hove inhabitants are increasingly concerned by the Brighton creep – late night bars, dirty streets and “jingoistic” developments like the King Alfred project.

A feeling also pervades among sections of Hovites that it is losing its cultural and leisure facilities to its bigger neighbour.

Paul Richardson, of Grand Avenue, Hove, has become so concerned he has launched a campaign for separation.

He has decided to pay his council tax to Hove Borough Council and believes a split is possible.

Whether these worries are a true reflection of the situation or not, his comments have struck a nerve and The Argus’s letters page has been filled for the last week with an outpouring of anger from west of the Peace Statue.

Mr Richardson said: “How can a town like Hove, that is completely different from Brighton in its societal make-up, has different wants and needs, visually looks very different, has environmental and architectural differences, recreational differences, differences in its ambitions and desires, be possibly lumped together with Brighton?

“Hove has not benefited from its union with Brighton one single bit, unless someone can beg to differ.

“One thing that many people have noticed in Hove is the increase in late night bars and nightclubs. This is purely down to Brighton and Hove council granting these licenses.

“Hove Borough Council would never have been so loose in issuing licenses as it would have wanted to preserve the peace and tranquillity of the town we all cherish. Hove is under occupation by the cronies in Brighton council who are trying to make Hove a poor overflow suburb of Brighton.

“I can’t believe nobody has tried to do something about this over the past ten years of occupation.

My guess is that the good-willing folk of Hove thought they might as well give the union a chance.

“For those of you that think it is impossible for a council, or unitary authority, to change or become dissolved, you are wrong.

“This has been evident with the abolition of the likes of Avon, City of Rochester upon Medway and the new unitary authorities that will be incorporated from Cheshire in 2009.

“Brighton and Hove could effectively become a metropolitan county, as a compromise called Brighton and Hove, but it would consist of two metropolitan boroughs – Brighton and Hove.

“It seems I have opened a massive can or worms with this debate and I had no idea I would get so much support.

“Over the course of the next few months, I will be developing a structured campaign, creating a slick, professional website and starting to become more vocal and make public appearances and lobby MPs.”

But Simon Fanshawe, who led the Place To Be campaign for city status, said Brighton and Hove has benefited from the merger and its city title. He said, by joining forces, it has become the biggest city in the South East and has built up a reputation for business and tourism.

He also points out that the most recent employment development was City Park in Hove, debunking the theory that the town has missed out.

He said: “People do not see a division in the towns in their everyday life.

“They think about what pubs they like to go to, what restaurants, what parks.

“A lot of the sentiment seems to be because people find change difficult – they feel something has been taken away from them.

“Brighton and Hove has dragged itself up to a much more successful economy.

“The unification has brought savings in administrative terms.

“But the main thing is that it is a single economic entity which is the biggest on the South Coast and that gives us some clout in trying to attract industry to the city.”

Cabinet member for enterprise and employment Councillor Ted Kemble said division could lead to key services like education and social services being handed back to East Sussex County Council.

He said: “It wouldn’t be a step forward for Brighton and Hove to divorce as the city has been operating as a unitary authority since 1997 and its services are fully integrated.

“There are advantages in Hove residents having a say on how Brighton is run and vice versa as we all so frequently use each other’s services, roads, shops and entertainment venues.

“We now have many Hove councillors in charge of key areas across the city such as education, finance, economic development and sustainability.

“So Hove people have more say over their affairs than they had in the past.

“If Hove and Brighton had separate councils they would be regarded as too small to be all-purpose unitary authorities.

“So we’d have to revert control of the biggest-spending services like schools and social services back to a county council for decisions to be made by people who don’t even live here.

“There are dozens of companies in the phone book with the words Brighton and Hove in their names – from the buses to The Albion.

“They see advantages in serving both areas and so does the council.”

Click here to read Adam Trimingham's view.

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