Full council meetings will move to fully accessible venue

Brighton Town Hall has long been recognised as an inaccessible venue for holding any public meetings as the main Council chamber provides significant barriers to disabled people taking part in democratic processes in the city.

The Council’s temporary solution was to provide a screen downstairs, but this sometimes failed and the video link was lost, so disabled people were unable to view what was happening at all in the main chamber.

Campaigners point to the original Access Statement for Brighton Town Hall produced in July 2015, which said; The lift cannot be used in an emergency and Evac Chairs are not suitable due to limitations of the escape routes. For your own safety please do not to go beyond the Ground Floor if you are unable to use the stairs.  Please inform staff on Reception if this affects you so that you can be directed to the rear of the Council Chamber or an alternative room where video conferencing facilities will be available for you to use should you wish to watch the meeting or need to take part in the proceedings e.g. because you have submitted a public question. We apologise for any inconvenience

Brighton Town Hall has two wheelchair spaces in the chamber. However, campaigners say “where they are positioned, if you are a smaller person in a standard wheelchair it’s doubtful that you are able to see over the barrier gate” and “the room where disabled people are directed to is a depressing affair, plus the press button to the accessible toilet does not work, which was reported in July 2015.”

During August, Steven Devote widened the campaign to include the three local MPs. Mr Devote had previously waited some years for provision to be provided for parking his mobility scooter under cover. Delays resulted in the scooter being parked in the lobby making him a prisoner in his own flat.

Brighton and Hove City Council issued the following statement to Gscene on September 11 following an enquiry on their progress finding a suitable venue for full council meetings with full disabled access.

“We are very aware of Mr Devote’s concerns and have been in touch with him to discuss them. We are working with the Brighton & Hove FED on this issue, and the matter is to be discussed by councillors and officers to see if a review is necessary.

“We’ve done a lot of work in recent years to make Brighton Town Hall more accessible.

“It is a listed building and has constraints, but we consider it to be fit for purpose for full council meetings with associated reasonable adjustments.

“This is a temporary measure whilst Hove Town Hall is being refurbished.

“We have done a review of possible alternative venues across the city but our options are limited due to our specific requirements.”

On September 17, 2015, Head of Democratic Services at Brighton and Hove City Council issued a statement to campaigners, saying; “Thank you for the list of possible locations to look at, many of which we have already visited and either included as a possibility or discounted for one or other reason.

“I can confirm that the next full Council meeting will be held at the Brighton Centre on October 22 and we as officers are still looking at alternative venues until we can use Hove Town Hall. We will also be taking the matter back to the Leaders to get their views.”

Disabled campaigner Steven Devote said; “I would like to thank everyone for their hard work and persistence in changing the venue for the full council to meet so all us residents can now fully access the Council’s public meetings. Of course none of this would have been possible were it not for the leadership of Geraldine Des Moulins at The Federation of Disabled People.

“Thanks so much every one.”

The next meeting of the full Council will be at the Brighton Centre, King’s Rd, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 2GR on Thursday, October 22, starting at 4.30pm.