Seagull Weekly Briefing 04/10

Good morning, and welcome to the Brighton Seagull's Weekly Briefing. Team Seagull are all at varying stages of recovering from illness at the moment, so we won't delay, we'll just get into it.

Fake blood covers road leading to L3Harris

Protestors have covered Home Farm Road, the road to the L3Harris factory in fake blood, as well as graffitiing 'kills kids' on the factory's sign.

This is the latest in protest actions from the group, who have been protesting outside the factory since March 2023, built a peace camp nearby, and disrupted council meetings.

L3Harris, a defence contractor, builds bomb-release mechanisms used in Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning fighter jets—used by the Israeli Air Force. Protestors have also blocked the road leading to the factory.

Brighton and Hove City Council declared the peace camp an "unauthorised encampment" and have said it will be removed.

L3Harris applied for planning permission earlier this year for its temporary building extension, which was constructed in 2018, to make the extension permanent—this was unanimously rejected, and Paxton Access, L3Harris' landlord, had previously confirmed that it would not be renewing L3Harris lease when it ends in 2027.

Stop L3Harris said:

The people of Brighton and Hove refuse to allow arms company L3Harris to operate in our city, and some have taken action by showing all who drive on and past Home Farm Road that L3Harris have blood on their hands.

The latest protests come following the recent Israeli invasion of Lebanon and killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrullah.

The Wood Store to close by the end of the year

The Wood Store, a 26-year-old recycling charity in the city, has announced it will be closing by the end of the year.

The project, which was the first organisation in the country committed to finding a way to reuse waste timber, has cited 'covid, the cost of living crisis, and ongoing low consumer confidence' as the reasons behind closing.

Other reasons include 'increasingly hard to find' premises, and their main revenue stream having 'almost disappeared' from timber prices rising, saying: "We do not have sufficient reserve funds to continue operations in the short-to-mid term."

A spokesperson for the charity said:

Over the past few months we've tried to boost income, and received generous support from funders and the public, but it's not been enough to survive.

The Board of Trustees have therefore taken the difficult decision to wind-down the charity while we still have sufficient funds to ensure we meet all out final debts, especially payments to our loyal staff.

Customers are encouraged to buy their reduced timber, place one final order for something, pay if they owe money, make offers to buy tools and vehicles, and volunteer to help wrap the charity up.

Community union speaks out in support of council commitments to make city better for renters

ACORN Brighton has welcomed the council’s commitments to crack down on rogue landlords and address the shortage of affordable housing, demands the union has long been campaigning for.

The council’s new housing strategy, which went to cabinet last Thursday, includes commitments to implement city-wide landlord licensing by 2025. The plan also includes tougher action on short term lets and second homes. 

ACORN also met with the council last Friday about introducing a ‘zero tolerance’ policy on landlords who break the law and health and safety standards, including seeking potential prison sentences for illegal eviction.

An ACORN spokesperson said: 

We welcome these measures in this report, many of which are the result of our hard-fought campaigns. We are particularly glad to see our demands for city-wide landlord licensing, a crackdown on rogue landlords, and tougher measures on second homes and holiday lets. 

But these changes need to be the number one priority for this council.  Every day, our members and renters across the city face appalling and often criminal behaviour from landlords, who ignore dangerous mould, damp and disrepair, and evict tenants for complaining. 

We had a very productive meeting with Councillor Sheard about the zero-tolerance policy towards rogue landlords, and we will be working with the council to make this happen as a matter of urgency.

🖋 News in Brief 🖋

• Monday 28th October to Sunday 4th May, Saltdean Lido will be open five days a week! The pool is heated, the views are beautiful, we highly recommend you go down.
• Do you think you're funny? No really, do you? Because Komedia's New Comedy Awards is open for entries for 2025! The semi-finals and final taking place in January and February 2025. The award is open to comedians who have been gigging regularly for fewer than three years and have not won any major comedy competitions. They must have seven minutes of their own stand-up material, plus a clip they can send in with their application. To find out more, and to enter, click here.

What's happening?

The council has submitted an 'Expression of Interest' on devolution to the government.

What prompted the EOI? Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, sent a letter to council leaders in areas where there's no devolution inviting them to submit an EOI by the end of September. It was co-signed by Horsham, Worthing, Mid Sussex, Adur, Arun, Crawley and Chichester councils.

What exactly is devolution? Devolution is a transfer of power from one body to another. In this context, it would mean transferring power from central government to local government, meaning councils would have more say over how things were run.

What would it mean for the city? According to council leader Bella Sankey, it would 'unlock powers and funding that would drive economic growth and ensure that decisions are made closer to the local people, communities and businesses they affect'. There would also be an elected mayor!

What are the benefits of this? Devolution would mean the council having more control over policies, more influence locally over decisions made, and the possibility for more resources and attention to be directed to areas of deprivation that have not benefitted as much from broader, national policies.

And the disadvantages? Adding a new structure to pre-existing local authorities can take time, and be complicated, something which may cause confusion and inefficiencies at first, and transparency is key to avoid disengagement from local residents.

What happens next? We wait to see what the government tells the council. Watch this space!