Valley Gardens resident Maxine Horn wants to know why the green space between North Road and Richmond Place, used for the Spiegelgarden and bar during the Brighton Festival and Fringe in May, has not been reinstated.
Ms Horn has submitted a question to Brighton and Hove City Council for the meeting of the full council on Monday (13 October) asking about payments to the council’s contractor.
She plans to ask: “In December 2024, the council appointed a third-party company New Timber, to work with City Parks to undertake rapid reinstatement of damaged green spaces following use by outdoor events.
“Can the council therefore list the reinstatement fees and bonds each event has paid since the new policy was introduced in December 2024 and where those funds are being held.
“Can the council confirm when the reinstatement of the grassed areas will take place and give precise details of the nature of the work and a breakdown of the costs.
“Is the council liable for any shortfalls or will event organisers meet additional charges? Will any underspend be retained by City Parks or returned to the event organisers?”
Ms Horn, who has lived for 20 years near the site used for the Speigelgarden this year, was taken aback when the venue was announced in late April because it is not an area regularly used for festival, fringe or other events.
The Level, the open spaces around St Peter’s Church and Victoria Gardens usually host fairs, seasonal events, food festivals and events during the festival and fringe.
Part of the gardens had to be dug up in June after the Spiegelgarden’s temporary structures were removed and a gas main was damaged in the process.
Southern Gas Networks (SGN) had to excavate parts of the gardens – and, in June, Brighton and Hove City Council said that the Spiegelgarden organiser would pick up the bill.
Ms Horn chose to take the issue to the full council because she feels “fobbed off” with excuses as to why the repair has not occurred.
She said: “Here we are in October. We’ve been fobbed off with ‘it’s not the right time to reseed until September’. Now we’re in October,
“Then they said, ‘We’ve sprinkled some seed but the birds ate it.’ Talk about dog ate my homework!”
In March, the council’s Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee was told that City Parks would not be “making good” green spaces but that a third-party contractor would assess the sites and carry out repairs.
A new “Sustainable Event Commitment” was introduced this year for event organisers to ensure that they carried out any remedial work required after events at their own cost.
When asked why the Valley Gardens grassed areas were not now being repaired after complaints by the Friends of Valley Gardens in July, the council said that the parks team was currently unavailable because of the time of year.
Green councillor Sue Shanks, who represents West Hill and North Laine, has submitted two written questions to Labour councillor Alan Robins, the council’s cabinet member for sports, recreation and libraries.
Councillor Shanks asked for a list of reinstatement fees and bonds for each event paid since the council appointed New Timber to carry out rapid reinstatement of damaged green spaces last December and where the money was held.
She also asked when Valley Gardens restoration would start, the nature of the work and the breakdown of costs, who would pay for any overspend and who received underspends.
The full council meeting is due to start at 4.30pm on Monday (13 October) at Hove Town Hall. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast.
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