Brighton & Hove: Cash For Jubilee Statue And Celebrations Rejected

Councillors rejected a proposal to spend money on Platinum Jubilee celebrations and a royal statue as they debated whether to amend the council’s budget for the coming financial year.

The Conservatives suggested spending £200,000 to commission a “monarchist statue” to commemorate the Queen on her Platinum Jubilee.

They also wanted to allocate an extra £4 million for the renovation of the Madeira Terraces over the next two financial years.

Councillor Joe Miller put forward the proposals at a Brighton and Hove City Council meeting at Hove Town Hall yesterday (Thursday 10 February).

The council’s Policy and Resources Committee discussed the council’s £1 billion budget which includes £220 million for capital projects.

Councillor Miller asked the committee to set aside £63,000 for Brighton and Hove’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The cash would include a one-off pot of £30,000 for community events and £30,000 for a red, white and blue City in Bloom celebration.

He said:

“It’s quite right that we as a council support community events and celebrations.

“Our communities in all wards will no doubt come together and celebrate and respect the Queen and her service to the nation and the Commonwealth whether those people are republican or monarchists.

“I think there’s a real sense that everyone – after what has been a very tough period for the city and the country – can come together in a moment of unity.”

Councillor Miller proposed using funding from the city-wide Strategic Transport Model of £76,000 a year to fund the statue and more investment in the seafront terraces.

Labour councillor Amanda Evans said that her group would be happy to send a card to the Queen but that was as far as they would go.

She said:

“In these times of desperate distress for so many in this country and this city – people bereaved by covid, people who are still ill, the health service struggling to cope, schools struggling to stay open, people who’ve lost their jobs or their businesses, people who couldn’t afford to heat and eat even before their food bills rocketed and their fuel bills were set to double … In these times, I don’t think the Queen herself would think it appropriate for us to spend £200,000 of public money in her honour.”

Councillor Evans suggested that a statue could be funded by public subscription as statues were in the past.

Green councillor Tom Druitt described himself as a “passionate advocate” for the Madeira Terraces and said that some of Councillor Miller’s ideas were worthwhile.

He had chaired a meeting of a joint project board looking at Brighton’s eastern seafront, with updates on Madeira Drive and Black Rock, and said that work on a master plan for the area was under way, adding:

“We are working very hard to progress those projects.

“The only reason there is no extra funding for Madeira Terraces this year is because we don’t need it.

“We are still trying to spend the money that’s already on the table and trying to do that as quickly as possible to push that project forward.”

The council’s chief finance officer Nigel Manvell said:

“The works to Madeira Terraces are complex and, for various reasons, the first phase has not yet started.

“While the restoration programme will need additional capital resources in future, it is unlikely that additional capital budget will need to be accessed until at least 2023-24, possibly later, and could therefore be considered in later budget rounds.”

Green council leader Phélim Mac Cafferty said that the council’s website would have a dedicated Platinum Jubilee page carrying news and details of events taking place locally.

Any costs for road closures would be funded from existing budgets, he said, with jubilee celebrations expected to include beacon lighting and tree planting for the Queen’s Green Canopy.

The Greens and Labour voted down the Conservatives’ amendment to the council’s budget spending plans.

The budget – including the council tax – for 2022-23 is due to be set at a meeting of the full council at the Brighton Centre on Thursday 24 February. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.