Brighton Secular Humanists

 Upcoming events:-

All at the King & Queen, Marlborough Place.

The Brighton Society

Join The Brighton Society to help protect our city.

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Lyn Lynch White
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4 The Village Barn
Church Hill
Brighton
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email: admin@brighton-society.org.uk

Bye, bye bowling . . .

The last bowling green in use summer 2016.

For many decades the summer scene in Preston park has been graced with the sight of white-clad bowls players on emerald, beautifully manicured greens. But now no more. Two greens went out of use several years ago and were turned into wildflower "meadows". Another went last year, the last has gone this and is already showing signs of neglect.

Now gradually returning to nature.

The Men's Bowling Pavilion

Consequently the Men's Pavilion, is now redundant in its original purpose. It is a nice little building that was once used as the back drop of one of the scenes in the film 'The First Gentleman' the story of a romance between the daughter of the Prince Regent and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. This was also filmed partly in the Royal Pavilion—the first film to be shot there.

The council will soon be putting the pavilion up for lease and a meeting is to be held to discuss the viability of the community acquiring that lease for the benefit of all. This is the only remaining building in the park that could be reserved for such use.

The meeting is on 3rd May at 7.30pm in the Men’s Bowls Pavilion.

Tall Buildings Discussion Forum

What part should tall buildings play in meeting the city's urgent need for more housing?
Come and have your say at:-

City College, Pelham Street. 

at 7pm on the 19th October.

Brighton & Hove Humanists

MEETING TONIGHT:-

"Religious Rites and Animal Suffering"

by 

Trish Penney

7.30 pm for 8 at Lord Nelson, Trafalgar Street.

The future of the Brighton History Centre

Three years ago, following an out-of-the-blue announcement that the Brighton History Centre would close within months, a vigorous campaign was mounted, resulting in a temporary reprieve for the facility.

The BHC will, nevertheless, finally close its doors in 2013 when its rich collection of books and original documents, covering all aspects of the city’s history, will transfer to The Keep at Falmer. 

The long-awaited opening of The Keep towards the end of the year is an exciting prospect. Yet much stands to be compromised in terms of access and service quality for users of the existing specialist city centre facility. Furthermore, as long ago as January 2010, BHC users were promised a key role in helping develop family and local history services throughout the city. To date, though, such user involvement has been minimal and apparently fruitless. 

A MEETING

Friends of the Brighton History Centre invite all users and interested parties to an open meeting with Janita Bagshawe, Head of Royal Pavilion and Museums at Brighton & Hove City Council and other relevant Council officers at 10.30am on Wednesday 19th December in the Education Pavilion (ground floor of Brighton Museum).

The aim of the meeting is to ensure that facilities and resources for BHC users are optimised, both at The Keep and at the proposed, compensatory city centre local and family history 'hub' which - somewhere, somehow - is to be crammed into the Jubilee Library.

There remain many other outstanding questions. For example, will present BHC staff continue their exceptional service, either at the Keep or at the new hub, or indeed both.

Also unknown is the timescale for closing the existing city centre facility. Documents held at East Sussex Record Office are already being mothballed ready for transfer to The Keep, so becoming increasingly inaccessible. Inevitably, BHC users will be similarly inconvenienced in due course; they need a guarantee that this will be kept to a minimum. 

Please consider attending this meeting and do bring your own questions. 

Has Jesus passed his sell-by date?

Wednesday 5th September 2012.
The Lord Nelson Inn
Trafalgar Street, Brighton.

The Brighton & Hove Humanist Society presents a talk by Ken Humphreys:-

"Has Jesus passed his sell-by date?"

730pm for 8pm start

Council checks Saltdean Lido

Officers from the council’s conservation team recently visited the Saltdean Lido, which is on English Heritage's "At Risk" register, to assess its condition.  They are now considering next steps forward.  Options include serving a notice on the operator requiring repairs to be made.  Non-compliance with such a notice could lead to compulsory purchase of the leasehold interest.

A new Brighton & Hove City Council report also signals that the authority, which owns the building, would be willing to take back the lease if suitable terms could be agreed.

The authority as landlord has already served a legal notice on the leaseholder in May 2010 requiring a list of repairs to be made.  There is currently a dispute between the council, which owns the freehold of the building, and the leaseholder about the extent to which this has been done and the quality of repairs. 

The council is also set to introduce a new monitoring regime to ensure the leaseholder regularly opens the pool to the public.

Alleged infrequent opening and the condition of the building have been the focus of a local campaign and a petition which prompted a council debate last month.

Cabinet councillor for culture Geoffrey Bowden said:  “At the same time as pursuing the legal route over the state of the building, we’re now seeking an official view from our conservation experts.  I’m expecting this will strengthen our hand.”

While campaigners have been demanding the council withdraws the lease, council lawyers say a court is unlikely to support such a move unless and until negotiations with the lessee have broken down.

Councillor Bowden added:  “I completely share campaigners’ frustration but for now we must pursue other ways of keeping the pressure on the leaseholder to repair the building and open it regularly.  We want a vibrant, accessible Lido that plays a full part in the life of the local community and city as a whole.”

A report updating the position is expected to go to the next of Councillor Bowden’s regular decision-making meetings on December 6.

See also:- Save the Saltdean Lido Campaign - latest

Save the Saltdean Lido Campaign- latest

The Save Saltdean Lido Campaign today announced a series of emergency community meetings to take place on Sunday 4 December at St Nicholas Church Hall, Saltdean Vale at 2.15pm, 3.30pm, 5.00pm & 6.15pm.

Hundreds of people are expected to attend the meetings which will give local residents and other interested people a chance to discuss a report about the lido site which Brighton and Hove Council are issuing on Monday 28 November.

This report, which will outline the key issues and options available to the Council, will be discussed by the Culture, Recreational and Tourism Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 6 December.  Ms Crook, the Chair of the Lido campaign, has been invited to speak for three meetings at this meeting as have the Saltdean Residents’ Association, the Saltdean Community Association and Dennis Audley, the leaseholder of the site.

On December 4 the Save Saltdean Lido campaign will discuss the options which council officials have laid out in the report and raise a number of other urgent issues regarding the site.  It is intended to continue its policy of fully involving the community to secure a clear mandate for action.

Last month, at the Full Council Meeting of Brighton and Hove Council, the Save Saltdean Lido campaign group presented a petition signed by almost 3,000 people which asked the Council to commence urgent proceedings and pro-active action against the current lease-holder of Saltdean Lido to maintain the building and comply fully with the terms and conditions of the lease.  The petition went on to state that if there is failure of compliance, signatories immediately expect the Council to revoke the lease with forfeiture.

The Campaign group have stated that the pool was not open daily this Summer as the lease states and neither has the building been maintained to a satisfactory standard to provide sufficient community facilities.
See also:- http://www.saltdeanlidocampaign.org/

Last previous post:- Saltdean Lido put on "At Risk" register

Congratulations to the Brighton Society website

It was announced at the Civic Voice AGM in Peterborough yesterday that the Brighton Society website has come out top of the Civic Voice nominated websites.

More details to follow.

Saltdean Lido latest

The Save Saltdean Lido Campaign will be putting on an exhibition with Conran & Partners to enable the public to view plans and future vision for the site and to leave feedback and suggestions.  

The exhibition will be held in the Community Centre to the rear of the Lido and will be open on Sunday 26th September and Monday 27th September from 4pm until 7pm.  They are both drop-in sessions. 

Members of Friends of Saltdean Lido are invited at 3pm on Sunday 26th September for an exclusive preview.  Please make sure you bring your membership card with you.

David Miliband in Brighton

The Public Meeting at the Brighthelm Centre this evening could have been described as a "sell-out" if they had been charging for entrance. Should be interesting; and encouraging that people are still willing to turn out in numbers for political meetings. Perhaps it is indicative of a new spirit abroad amongst the grass roots of the Labour Party.

A New School for Hove

Announcing a Public Meeting at the Connaught Centre at 1pm on 7th June.

An ePetition has also been posted on the City Council's website :-

"We the undersigned petition the council to lease or buy Connaught School, Hove from City College Brighton, and to immediately return it to Infant School use. Further, in view of its size & capacity, we urge BHCC to consider taking it into Infant Primary use as well in order to provide the continuity so highly valued by parents at Davigdor/Somerhill and at the C of E St. Andrews School. This 125 year-old purpose-built school was taken out of infant school use in the 1970's when pupil numbers fell. City College are now taking it out of its current adult education use; and the future of this Grade 2 Listed school building is now at issue. Any newbuild school will take years to achieve elsewhere, and the current strategy of add-ons is robbing other schools of playspace which is to be resisted."

So far it has 39 signatories.

"Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species."

This was the title of the meeting on Wednesday 4th. of the Brighton & Hove Humanists Society. Terry Sanderson of the National Secular Society gave a rivetting account of the circumstances and the furore that attended the publication of "Origins" and this was followed by an entertaining re-creation (written by Terry) of the historical debate between T.H. Huxley (“Darwin’s Bulldog”) and “Soapy Sam” Wilberforce (Bishop of Oxford).  Derek Lennard effectively took the part of Huxley and Terry Sanderson, appropriately attired and with appropriate accents played the Bishop. Keith Porteous-Wood, Director of the NSS, acted as the commentator.  There was some heckling from the audience.

These monthly meetings in the back room of the Lord Nelson have of late been very well attended but this particular one really packed them in. Some late-comers may even have been disappointed. It was encouraging to see a good sprinkling of younger people. Although handily placed the venue is not ideal because of "noises-off". It is a pub after all. If attendances keep up they will have to consider alternatives I think.