Mike Weatherley MP

Following a huge public meeting at Hove Town Hall, Mike Weatherley, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Hove and Portslade, is delighted by the response and huge turnout for the public meeting on the future of the King Alfred Leisure Centre.

Over 350 residents packed out the meeting room in Hove Town Hall today. Keen to hear what residents have to say about what they want from a new leisure centre, Mike decided to host a public meeting to gauge public opinion.

There was a desire from residents, both who attend the meeting and those who contacted Mike beforehand, that sports should be the main focus of the site. It was also clear from the meeting that there is overwhelming support for a 50m swimming pool. Keeping the seafront location was certainly considered important and another facility that proved popular was a large ice rink.

Commenting, Mike said: “It was great to see so many people attend the meeting today and contribute with their views on how the King Alfred should be redeveloped. We’ve received a huge amount of input on what a future leisure centre should be like and I will be writing to Brighton & Hove City Council with a summary of the day.”

Mike added, “I want to thank all the speakers who took the time to take part in this discussion. I hope that this meeting illustrates the need for progress to be made concerning the redevelopment of this important site. Quite frankly, everyone is fed up with council delays that have meant that nothing has happened over the past 10 years. Residents know what they want – we just need it to be built.”

Mike Weatherley, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Hove and Portslade, is delighted to announce that his colleague, the Rt Hon Maria Miller MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, is to visit Brighton & Hove on Tuesday 28th May.

Commenting, Mike said: “I am looking forward to welcoming my colleague Maria Miller to Hove and Portslade on Tuesday. Maria has recently spearheaded the excellent Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill and has a wide portfolio as the Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, that is very relevant to the people of Brighton & Hove.”

Mike Weatherley, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Hove and Portslade, will be chairing a public meeting on the future of the King Alfred Leisure Centre tomorrow (Friday 24th May) at Hove Town Hall. The meeting will feature speakers on two panels. The first panel will speak from 2pm to 3pm, followed by a half-hour break during which refreshments will be served. The second panel will then speak from 3:30pm to 4:30pm.

A summary of the event details is below:

Friday 24th May
Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove, BN3 4AH
Doors will open at 1pm for a 2pm start
Please just turn up – no need to book. Refreshments will also be served.

Commenting, Mike said: “The public meeting tomorrow represents an invaluable opportunity for local residents and any other interested parties to come together and share their views on what the future should hold for the King Alfred. I look forward to hearing the views of everyone at the meeting tomorrow. Remember that there is no need to book – please just turn up and feel free to attend both or either one of the panel discussions.”

Mike Weatherley, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Hove & Portslade, would like to remind any residents who are interested in the future of the King Alfred Leisure Centre to attend the public meeting at Hove Town Hall this Friday, 24th May.

A summary of the event details is below:

Friday 24th May
Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove, BN3 4AH
Doors will open at 1pm for a 2pm start
Please just turn up – no need to book. Refreshments will also be served.

Commenting Mike said: “With two days to go until the public meeting on the King Alfred, I want to take this opportunity to remind residents of Brighton & Hove that this meeting represents a great chance for interested individuals and groups to come together and discuss how the King Alfred might be redeveloped. People will have a chance to hear from various speakers, including representatives from other councils who have redeveloped leisure centres and interested developers. I look forward to seeing anyone who cares about the future of this important site at the meeting on Friday.”

Mike Weatherley, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Hove and Portslade, has criticised the Green Party in Brighton & Hove and its Leader of the Council, Jason Kitcat, for underplaying the importance of new school places in the city and delaying to find an appropriate site for the King’s School.

Mike has written to his colleague Lord Nash, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools, to highlight his concerns with the plans to build on the BHASVIC fields by Old Shoreham Road and is meeting with the Minister on Wednesday 5th June. Mike is extremely disappointed that the Department for Education was forced to intervene in this matter, as a result of continued inaction from the Green administration, which runs Brighton & Hove City Council, to deal with the local school places time-bomb.

Commenting, Mike said: “Jason Kitcat and the Green administration are jumping on the ‘Hove v Gove’ bandwagon, making a political point against the Government, when it in fact it is their own failures on schools that has resulted in this situation. I have repeatedly asked Jason Kitcat for a preferred site, but come across a brick wall. If residents want to be against someone, then perhaps it should be ‘Hove v Kitcat’. Plonking portacabins on playgrounds is not the answer.”

Mike added, “I wrote to Lord Nash about this matter and in his reply the Minister reiterated that no final decision has been made, which is why it is imperative that the Green administration fully engages in helping to find a new site and not just pontificate about their opposition to Free Schools.”

Mike Weatherley, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Hove and Portslade, is pleased to announce the names of the panellists for the King Alfred public meeting that he is hosting on Friday 24th May at Hove Town Hall.

The first panel from 2pm to 3pm will feature:
• Carolyn Dwyer (Lambeth Council – Streatham Hub Leisure Development)
• James Appleton (Adur & Worthing Councils – Splashpoint Leisure Centre)
• John Reed (Reigate & Banstead Council – Horley Leisure Centre)
• Mark Cannon (Chairman of the Shiverers Swimming Club)
• Cllr Geoffrey Theobald OBE
The second panel from 3:30pm to 4:30pm will feature:
• Emma Andrews (PR manager for Simon James)
• Ed Allison-Wright (Centurion Group)
• Adrian Black (Totem Commercial)
• Kevin Doyle (City Partnerships)
A summary of the event details is below:

Friday 24th May
Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove, BN3 4AH
Doors will open at 1pm for a 2pm start
Please just turn up – no need to book. Refreshments will also be served.

Commenting, Mike said: “I hope to see anyone who is interested in the future of the King Alfred at the meeting. The meeting represents a great opportunity for residents to share their views on how the King Alfred Leisure Centre should be redeveloped, as well as to hear from interested developers. Residents will also be able to hear how three councils have gone about redeveloping leisure centres of their own. Remember that there is no need to book so please just turn up.”

Following repeated calls from residents and businesses about the failures of the City’s Planning Department, Mike Weatherley, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Hove and Portslade, has submitted a number of Freedom of Information requests to Brighton & Hove City Council.

Mike has written to Penny Thompson, Chief Executive of Brighton & Hove City Council, to request ten specific responses which relate to complaints that about the number of planning applications that are turned down at the last minute, despite seemingly being deemed acceptable to planning officers.

Information requested from Brighton & Hove City Council by Mike:

• Number of planning applications submitted each year since 2000.
• Number of approvals by Officers each year since 2000.
• Number of approvals by Committee each year since 2000.
• Number of refusals by Officers each year since 2000.
• Number of refusals by Committee each year since 2000.
• Number of applications sent to Committee each year since 2000.
• Number of appeals each year since 2000.
• Number of resubmitted applications each year since 2000.
• Number of applications not determined by target decision date each year since 2000.
• Number of planning applications submitted each year since 2000 that are actually built.

Commenting, Mike said: “Numerous unrelated complaints have been put to me by local builders about the Planning Department at Brighton & Hove City Council dragging its heels and holding back development in the city. Brighton & Hove desperately needs new construction of homes, businesses as well as Major Projects, which will help boost our local economy. I hope that the responses that I receive shed some light on how effective the Planning Department is. I am keen to get to the bottom of this matter.”

Mike Weatherley, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Hove and Portslade, and a Patron of The Cybersmile Foundation, is backing Stop Cyberbullying Day on Friday 17th May.

Stop Cyberbullying Day has been organised by The Cybersmile Foundation in order to draw attention to the difficulties which are faced by countless victims of cyberbullying every day. The Cybersmile Foundation is the first and only UK charity that is dedicated to the victims of cyberbullying.

The charity, founded by Brighton & Hove resident Scott Freeman, is committed to helping educate people to use social media safely; providing valuable information and guidance for all areas of cyberbullying; and offering urgent one-to-one counselling to the victims of cyberbullying. For more information on Cybersmile, please visit www.cybersmile.org.

Commenting, Mike said: “Cyberbulling is an increasing problem for both children and adults, which is why it is important to raise awareness of the issue and highlight that there is an organisation out there that can help people who are experiencing online bullying. I am pleased that this issue is now receiving national attention and I look forward to working with Cybersmile in the future.”

Mike Weatherley, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Hove and Portslade, has praised local primary school, Deepdene, for their brilliant Ofsted achievement, as the school received ‘Outstanding’ status in every one of its assessed categories.

Ofsted has recently published results which show that Deepdene has been awarded an Outstanding grade for its latest inspection. Schools are evaluated in six key areas – Pupils’ achievement; Pupils’ behaviour & personal development; Quality of teaching; Quality of curriculum; Pupils’ welfare, health & safety; and Leadership & management. Deepdene was rated ‘Outstanding’ in each category. For more information on Deepdene, visit www.deepdeneschool.com.

Commenting, Mike said: “This Outstanding Ofsted report is a fantastic result for Deepdene. I know that parents of children at the school are very proud of this achievement, which is down to the hard work and dedication of both the teachers and pupils. I want to pass on my congratulations to everyone at Deepdene and hope that other schools in Brighton & Hove, and around the country, can learn from the excellent standard that they have set.”

Mike Weatherley, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Hove and Portslade, has welcomed the Prime Minister’s decision to introduce legislation that will enshrine an EU referendum in law and will back the new bill.

Mike was one of a number of eurosceptic Conservative MPs who indicated his support to back an Amendment to the Queen’s Speech, which expressed regret at the speech not including an EU Referendum Bill. However, the Prime Minister has now decided that the introducing legislation is necessary and will seek to put before Parliament, in the form of a Private Member’s Bill, a commitment to hold a referendum on Britain’s relationship with Europe in 2017.

Commenting, Mike said: “I am pleased that the Prime Minister is now backing a solid commitment to holding a referendum on Europe. Over the years Britain has been pushed into accepting a raw deal with Europe. This cannot go on and I very much hope that serious negotiations can provide an acceptable outcome. However, the ultimate say will, rightly, be left with the public in 2017.”