Observer Column 21 February 2025

Last week our full council meeting approved our new corporate plan and budget for the next financial year. Our new ‘zero-based’ approach has made a real difference: it shows us the reality of our situation. This is a far more pragmatic approach, allowing us to be better prepared, and take measures to mitigate risk. This year we have a net deficit of £29,000. Compared with last year’s net deficit of £1.6 million, that’s a big drop. A break-even budget is a huge accomplishment. We still face huge challenges ahead with 40% of our budget taken up by spending on temporary accommodation but we will continue to invest in buying and improving housing to provide our own offer rather than paying into the private sector.

I had the pleasure of meeting some of the residents we have housed last week, and all were so positive about their new homes and the support from our officer team. I saw the before and after pictures for some of these houses and the transformation is astonishing, so we have a double win of providing housing and upgrading our housing stock. We have committed to investing at least another £10 million in expanding our housing acquisition programme.

We are committed to doing more to improve our tourism offer in the town so I am really pleased that the consultation on the plans for the new visitor centre and café on the West Hill will be launched in March. A drop-in session is planned at the Stade Hall on 22 March from 12 to 4 pm so do make sure to pop along and input into the proposals.

Another key priority within the new corporate plan is improving the health of our residents so I was delighted that the Alexandra Park tennis courts have been named Tennis Park Venue of the Year at the prestigious Sussex Tennis awards. With our partner Breakpoint Tennis, who also won awards, we run free coaching sessions throughout the year.

The government has launched its consultation on the proposed new mayor for Sussex this week. The declared goal of this new mayor is to ensure local communities have more say in areas such as investment in transport, jobs and skills but so far it is unclear what that would look like in practice so it’s essential that everyone makes their views clear.  We have postponed the special full council meeting that will discuss this and councillors' views on local government reorganisation from Wednesday 26 February to Wednesday 19 March to allow more time for us all to come to a well-considered position. A new page has been created on the council website explaining the government’s proposals.