A new day has dawned in Brighton and Hove, with the Labour Party well and truly in charge with 38 out of 54 councillors and two out of three MPs wearing their red colours with pride.

They have told us they are listening to residents on everything from homelessness, traffic and vanity projects to potholes and weeds. I therefore thought I’d share some practical advice on how residents and businesses can ensure they continue to be listened to.

Step 1: Contact your councillor

Our primary role is to make your voice heard but as readers of these pages will know, it doesn’t always happen. Take the Valley Gardens 3 road scheme which will see the replacement of the roundabout by the pier and aquarium with a junction, private traffic on the east side of the Old Steine, paving over the road to the east of the Pavilion).

Tens of thousands of residents, local businesses and public sector organisations including the Palace Pier, Sealife Centre and main city centre surgery in the Old Steine have been pleading to stop this madness. Even Labour’s own consultants have warned the resultant delays in travel times, increased congestion and deterioration in air quality could all be avoided with a better-conceived plan. Now we have a new group of elected Labour councillors with the power and mandate to do exactly that.

Step 2: Visit the council portal

A new online portal will be available to submit questions and complaints from May 16 at https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/. During its six-month trial period, more than 1,800 complaints were received. For example in the areas fellow Brighton and Hove Independent Mark Earthey and I represent (Ovingdean, Rottingdean and West Saltdean) pot holes, pavements and the condition of the beach were the most frequent issues raised.

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Step 3: Speak at a committee

If you’re not satisfied with the answer you receive via your councillor or the portal you can speak at one of the council committees. They cover a broad range of topics, and include: the children, young people and skills; environment, transport and sustainability; housing; policy and resources; tourism, equalities, communities and culture; and full council.

There is time reserved for public involvement at every one of these meetings which will re-start in June. You can see the calendar at https://democracy.brighton-hove.gov.uk/ You can either ask a question in-person or online using Teams (the technology is quite easy to master) or submit the question and ask your local councillor to ask it for you. This is a good way to raise an issue publicly and receive an answer there and then that you can then respond to at the meeting and follow up with a supplementary.

Step 4: Make a deputation

A deputation is another useful tool if you want to represent the views of more than just yourself. It’s essentially a five-minute speech given to a committee or full council which must be signed by a minimum of five people and a maximum of 12 with the lead spokesman or woman identified.

A further two pages of supplementary information can also be submitted which can include photographs, graphs, statistics, etc. At full council, ie the meeting of all 54 councillors), the mayor will note the deputation and it will then be referred to the relevant committee where councillors may request an officer report, ask for officers to take action or explain why the council cannot act.

Step 5: Sign a petition

Any resident can set up a petition and encourage their friends and neighbours to sign it. You’ll have up to three minutes to present your petition at committee and councillors will then have up to 15 minutes to discuss the petition and how they will respond to it. Councillors may then decide:

l to note the petition and suggest an appropriate committee should consider it

l to take the action you’ve requested in your petition

l not to take the action you have requested for reasons put forward in the debate

l to suggest further investigation into the matter by committee.

There are two live petitions at the moment which you can see at https://democracy.brighton-hove.gov.uk/. The first is asking for a bus service to take “less mobile residents of the Kemp Town area down to Madeira Drive and the second asks for the council to temporarily close Stanmer Street at the junction with Stanmer Villas.

Many Argus readers will have exercised their democratic right last week in the hope of achieving a better-run city. I urge you use all the tools at your disposal to ensure our new council fulfils its side of the bargain.

Bridget Fishleigh is an independent councillor for Rottingdean & West Saltdean