7 Days of Headlines with Phil Mills
Help for the high street, housing development on green area and a chief constable is investigated
City chiefs have vowed to help retailers fight the decline of high street shopping in Brighton. The internet and the economic downturn are eating away at traditional shopping and the city has already lost the likes of Habitat, Woolworths and Borders. It is fairing better than many others – the shop vacancy rate is six per cent compared to the average 14 per cent – but the council has vowed to work with retailers to identify what support is needed to maintain shopping areas which bring in more than £300m to the local economy. Subjects for debate include business rates, and parking.
Other areas of the city are booming – despite the wettest April to June on record, visitor numbers to attractions such as the Royal Pavilion, Preston Manor and the city’s museums are up by more than five per cent compared to last year. The trend has seen an extra 10,000 people visit these attractions over the three month period, despite the dismal weather.
The council is asking for residents’ views on the future of Toads Hole Valley in Hove, to help shape development proposals for the land. Go to www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/comment-cityplan. The City Plan is proposing that Toads Hole Valley is used for a mix of development to meet city wide needs – including 700 new homes (50 per cent family sized and 40 per cent affordable housing), a new secondary school, work spaces, community facilities, public open spaces, improved bus and cycle links, and improvements to the Site of Nature Conservation Interest on the western embankment.
A Brighton schoolteacher has been presented with a top award from the Zoological Society of London. Dr Dan Danahar, Biodiversity Co-ordinator and teacher of environmental science at Dorothy Stringer School received the 2011 Stanford Raffles Award. The medal is awarded for outstanding contributions to the advancement of Biodiversity Education. Describing Dr Danahar as ‘a teacher with a difference’, the Society’s Secretary, Professor Geoff Boxshall said: “He is passionate about increasing bio-literacy, not just in his pupils but right across his city.”
On the crime front, a 31-year-old Hove man has been charged with robbery and possession of a knife in connection with two robberies at Ladbrokes betting shops in Portland Road and Church Road in early July. Cash has been recovered. Three Brighton & Hove Albion footballers and a former team-mate face a crown court trial charged with sexual assault and voyeurism. Lewis Dunk, 20, Anton Rodges, 19, and George Baker, 20, are accused with 21-year-old Steve Cook, who is with Bournemouth. They have been bailed to 3 August.
Meanwhile, Sussex Chief Constable Martin Richards is being investigated over an allegation of misconduct and the matter has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. It concerns an allegation, made anonymously, of bringing undue influence on a criminal case.
A 25-year-old man fell 40ft from a roof after he climbed scaffolding to try and break into a house in Goldstone Street, Hove, in the early hours. He was taken to the Hurstwood Park Hospital, Haywards Heath, with serious head injuries. Police are appealing for witnesses.
Finally, a feather in the city’s cap – the leading gay equality charity Stonewall has named Brighton and Hove council top local authority in the country for tackling homophobia and homophobic bullying in schools. The council has come first in Stonewall’s Education Equality Index. This benchmarks the performance of different councils using a wide range of measures.
