Latest news with #BrightonHove
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Brighton council to unveil plans for Withdean swimming pool
Initial designs for a new swimming pool at a Brighton sports centre will be put on public display on plans for the 25m pool at the Withdean Sports Complex will be unveiled online ahead of a public consultation.A Brighton & Hove City Council spokesperson said work on the pool was hoped to start in the "early part of 2026", subject to a full planning Robins, cabinet member for sport, said the council wanted to provide "modern, sustainable and affordable sports facilities for all". An online survey on the five-lane pool will run until 27 June, and three public events are being can see the plans on Tuesday at Westdene Library, and the following Monday and Tuesday in Withdean Sports Complex.A planning application for the swimming pool is due to be submitted in the summer, a council spokesperson Robins said: "It's incredibly exciting that plans for this much-needed new swimming pool at Withdean are about to be unveiled."I'm looking forward to seeing the plans and would encourage residents to get along to the drop-in sessions and complete the survey to help us shape this exciting and much needed new facility."Councillors were previously told the new facility could generate £12,000 profit per year.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Brighton's Bin Mafia: How secret war by 'insurgent' waste collectors have seen death threats, tyres slashed and cache of weapons uncovered
A secret war being waged in plain sight in Brighton by bin collectors has resulted in employees receiving death threats, having their tyres slashed and a cache of weapons being uncovered. A row has been ongoing for at least 18 months at a council-run waste disposal site, with Brighton and Hove Council bosses accusing the GMB union of protecting 'insurgent' employees who create a 'toxic' environment. A group of workers have been accused of using 'bully boy tactics' in a falling out which has left residents with up to eight weeks worth of rubbish left outside their homes. Amid the terrifying militancy developing in the town, waste disposal vehicles are said to have been repeatedly sabotaged with wires cut and even being set on fire, with perpetrators leaving chilling threats behind. One employee received a death threat as recently as January - more than a year after an initial report found instances of bullying, intimidation, racism, sexism and homophobia across Hollingdean bin depot in November 2023. Someone even slashed the tyres of a waste-depot manager, before leaving a message in block capitals on the vehicle stating: 'Leave the case alone. Brakes next. Nice dogs by the way.' Staff members have been left with PTSD and have been victim to 'ongoing intimidatory acts both in the workplace and at managers' homes', a report published this month revealed. It comes after new figures revealed missed bin collections increased by 140 percent from 573 to 1,369 between December and April, despite a council tax increase of 4.99 percent for this year. This means the average Band D home is now being charged £2,455 - £200 more than in 2024. Allegations of a 'toxic' workplace at Hollingdean first emerged after a cache of deadly weapons was found inside an office at the site in 2023, including knives, nunchucks, baseball bats and a samurai sword. A three-month investigation ordered by the council and carried out by Aileen McColgan KC found instances of bullying, intimidation, racism, sexism and homophobia across the site. Summarising her key findings, Ms McColgan said she interviewed 70 witnesses who described a group of around ten 'white men' who were 'particularly protected by the GMB reps within the Council'. She found that individuals described managers as 'c***s', 'w*****s' and 'a f***ing b**** pulling the strings' and sexually harassed female employees. She also stated that incidents of racial harassment against colleagues included racist name calling and graffiti left around the depot, and homophobic abuse that included catfishing gay employees on dating app Grindr. One gay employee told the investigation that he was constantly the subject of homophobic 'banter' and that a lot of staff on the site refused to work with him due to his sexuality. Interviewees described the work atmosphere as akin to George Orwell's Animal Farm and working in fear of physical violence. Ms McColgan found that by 2017, 'bullying behaviours had become normalised' at the site, including by GMB reps, and that 'GMB reps with the Council have failed to cooperate'. Commenting on the alleged behaviour of one GMB rep at the site, she listed a string of incidents including threatening to stab workers, bringing weapons to work and showing them to staff, and other threats of violence. They were also said to have asked potential employees if they would 'grass up racists' and sexually harassed women, including by stating: 'Who would wanna f*** that?' GMB responded to the report at the time by criticising it for not having spoken to those accused of misconduct and lacking the 'basic test of fairness'. Since the report was published, more than 40 staff have left Hollingdean but a recent spike in missed deliveries has left locals concerned. Recently vehicles have been sabotaged and a - now deleted - post by the GMB Brighton Sussex branch in February last year threatened to bring 'chaos' to the streets of Brighton. GMB said it was investigating the post. On February 9 2024, a bin collection vehicle was set on fire in what is believed to have been a deliberate act of sabotage. At the time, a council spokesperson said: 'Along with the two vehicles with cut wires, we've experienced an unprecedented and unexplained number of reported vehicle defects – which we suspect may be intentionally caused. 'We do have some spare vehicles, but not enough to maintain a full service in the face of the deliberate sabotage the service is experiencing.' And residents are once again left frustrated after repeated missed collections which have left the streets strewn with litter and waste. Mark Earthey, an independent councillor for Rottingdean and West Saltdean, told the Telegraph that roads in his ward were sometimes missed for eight weeks at a time. 'I have residents who are partially sighted, or have mobility issues. They've been falling over rubbish and uncollected bins,' he said. 'People can't even get in and out of their own homes because of bins in the road or pathways. It's been total meltdown.' In a statement on Twitter, GMB Sussex said it had 'ready with interest' recent media reports and 'condemns any action that would harm the health and safety of our members and to the public'. Gavin Davies, GMB Regional Secretary told MailOnline: 'Comments coming from Brighton & Hove City Council are extremely disappointing and very poorly timed. 'It's GMB's view that council leaders are seeking to blame a 2 year old report for failures in service rollout, which have worsened since the report, not improved, and the blame for which needs to lie with the council leadership. 'That being said, GMB continues to try to forge a positive working relationship with the council against the backdrop of multiple problems, not least the millions owed to women employees who have been systematically underpaid over many years. 'It's frustrating our attempts to work with the council on issues such as equal pay keep falling on deaf ears.' In a police update issued last week, a spokesperson for Sussex Police confirmed reported offences from 2023 to 2025 include criminal damage, possession of offensive weapons, harassment, arson, and further serious offences. They added that all the incidents reported to Sussex Police remain under continual review and are forming part of a wider investigation that remains ongoing. Chief Superintendent Rachel Carr, divisional commander for Brighton and Hove, said: 'The matters that have been reported to us are of a very serious and concerning nature. 'We have ensured appropriate resource is in place to conduct thorough investigations into all reported incidents and would urge any witnesses or anyone with information relating to these matters to come forward. 'A previous statement issued by the force on this matter inaccurately implied that all investigations had concluded and we apologise for this and any distress caused.' Due to operational reasons, specific details on some investigations are limited at this time. Further updates will be published when appropriate. Anyone with information relating to the investigation is asked to report online or by calling 101 quoting Operation Senate.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Death threats and slashed tyres as Brighton's battle of the bins turns toxic
The threat, if not explicit, was thinly veiled. Written in capitals, it had been left on a car parked outside the home of a waste-depot manager. The car's tyres had been slashed. 'Leave the case alone. Brakes next,' it said. 'Nice dogs by the way.' It may sound like a scene from a Sopranos-style mafia drama, but the threat was not made in mob-run New Jersey – the note was left in one of the most liberal, bohemian cities in England, where a battle over who really controls the bins is threatening to spill on to the streets. The threat marks a low point in the decades-long bin saga in Brighton, which flared acrimoniously back into life this week. The story includes death threats, lorry sabotage and slashed tyres, accusations of 'gangsterism' and counter-allegations of union bashing, equal-pay claims and strikes, stashed weapons, police investigations and dropped charges. For Brighton and Hove's 278,000 residents it has also, more mundanely, meant hundreds of missed bin collections. The row between Brighton and Hove council and GMB union, which has a strong presence in the city's main waste depot, resurfaced after a council report revealing a 140% increase in missed collections over the last six months blamed an outdated paper-based system, spending controls and an ageing fleet. But there was something else. The report referred to 'toxic behaviours' by a small coterie at the council's Hollingdean depot, including managers having their tyres slashed, 'ongoing sabotage of council vehicles' and 'intimidatory acts both in the workplace and at managers' homes'. It added: 'A death threat was made as recently as January 2025.' And there were other eye-popping claims made in a letter to staff at the depot this week, seen by the Guardian. 'We have seen video footage of a manager's home being intentionally picked out and stoned by a masked man,' wrote the director of the service. Another employee had been found dealing drugs using council vehicles and phones. A small number of individuals were to blame, said the director, but added: 'It is not isolated. It is coordinated. It must stop.' On Thursday, Sussex police said it was investigating a series of reported offences from 2023 to 2025, including criminal damage, possession of offensive weapons, harassment and arson. Some investigations had concluded other offences were continuing or at an early stage. Ch Supt Rachel Carr said the reports were 'of a very serious and concerning nature'. In a post on X, GMB's Sussex branch condemned 'any action that would harm the health and safety of our members and to the public', adding: 'All our members want to do is to empty bins and keep the streets clean for the residents of the city of Brighton and Hove.' So, what exactly is going on in Brighton? In a small, strip-lit office in the council's unlovely 1970s Brighton and Hove town hall, Bella Sankey, the council leader, has an air of steely pugilism. 'It's fair to say that there has been dysfunction and malpractice in our waste collection service over several decades,' she says. 'What's also clear is it is possible for the service to run really effectively.' Asked if there is a battle happening here on the south coast, she replies: 'I think that's an accurate description. To me, it feels like a mission.' When Sankey became the first Labour majority leader in 2023, she was presented with 18 whistleblower accounts from the Hollingdean depot. Six months later, Aileen McColgan KC, whom she commissioned to investigate, published an explosive report. More than 70 witnesses gave 'appalling accounts' of a 'toxic' workplace where shouting, threats of violence, and sexual and racial harassment were endemic. Managers said they were called, among other things, 'a bunch of wankers' and 'effing cunts' and subject to threats of stabbing. Those accused were either GMB reps or among 'a group of around 10 white men' protected by them. The report sparked a search of GMB's office at the depot, where a stash of weapons, including nunchucks, baseball bats, knives and a samurai sword were found. Managers told McColgan that 'everything' had to be run by the union to avert strike threats and that politicians who had received GMB funding sat on appeal panels and would 'unashamedly just reverse' decisions to dismiss GMB members who had been sacked for misconduct. McColgan found that managers and the council had been 'unable to respond appropriately to the behaviour [because] of the threat of industrial action and a (reasonably) anticipated absence of political support'. Politicians are now barred from dealing with appeals, says Sankey. Council leaders meet regularly with both GMB and Unison, another union with a presence in the depot. On a less significant but perhaps telling note, GMB union reps are no longer entitled to their own office or a parking space at the depot. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion When the McColgan report was published, GMB, whose general secretary, Gary Smith, cut his teeth as an organiser in Brighton, said the behaviours and language described in the report were 'unacceptable' and that the union was investigating and would face down 'discrimination and bad behaviour'. But GMB argued that the report contained unsupported statements, failed 'the basic test of fairness' and lacked the voices of those accused of misconduct. Some of those who worked at Hollingdean say they are still suffering the consequences of that period. 'It was horrific, like working in a minefield,' says Eleanor*, a former waste operative. After making a complaint, she says she was harassed to the point that she felt scared to leave her house and finally left her job and relocated. 'I was suicidal at one point, I wanted to walk into the sea,' she says. Ella*, a former manager at the Hollingdean depot, says part of her is still broken. 'It led me to leave my career utterly burned out and afraid,' she says. Since the publication of the McColgan report more than 40 people have left the service and missed collections were down by 90% in the four months after its publication – before the recent spike. Despite improvements at the depot, a small group are still using 'bully boy' tactics, says Sankey. She says that some instances of vehicle sabotage occurred after a now deleted post by the GMB Brighton Sussex branch in February last year, which warned that 'chaos is set to hit the city of Brighton'. At the time, GMB said the deleted tweets were under investigation, with a spokesperson adding: 'We wish to reassure the people of Brighton that this tweet does not reflect the views of the GMB union.' Sankey says she has had no response to a request for the results of that investigation. 'If by chaos that tweet meant putting staff lives at risk, then that is gangsterism, not trade unionism,' she says. GMB's regional secretary, Gavin Davies, says Sankey's comments are 'inflamatory', 'unhelpful', 'extremely disappointing' and 'very poorly timed'. Refuse workers need unions, he argues: 'They carry out a hard, dirty, dangerous job that we all rely on.' The union wants to 'forge a positive working relationship' with the council, he insists, but it is failing to engage with a multimillion-pound equal pay claim the union lodged last August. 'It's frustrating our attempts to work with the council on issues such as equal pay keep falling on deaf ears,' he says. Sankey is adamant that she is a full-throated trade unionist – she was a member of GMB but left after the McColgan report was published – and says the council will always look at claims and seek to work with recognised unions to resolve them. 'I'm a massive believer in the power of unions to protect the human rights and dignity of people at work,' she says. 'But unions are supposed to provide checks and balances and prevent abuses of power. They have to deal with people who abuse power and undermine the dignity and the safety of workers.' The last 18 months have been bumpy, she says, but she is determined to carry on. 'I will not stop until my staff are safe and our residents can rely on regular collections,' she says. Asked who will win the battle of the bins in Brighton, she doesn't hesitate: 'I will.' * Names have been changed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The secret war being waged by Brighton's ‘insurgent' bin men
Slashed tyres, death threats and a cache of weapons. It sounds like the opening scene of a gangland crime thriller – but it is actually part of a decades-long war over Brighton's bins. The row has boiled over in the last 18 months, with council bosses accusing a group of insurgent refuse workers of 'bully boy tactics' in a 'toxic' environment in which they claim culprits are protected by the GMB union. Vehicles at the Brighton and Hove city council-run waste disposal site have been repeatedly 'sabotaged', according to a May 15 council report, with the council claiming wires were cut on at least two. It's a plot reminiscent of the Sopranos, in which the fictional mob boss Tony Soprano runs a waste management business as a cover for his mafia earnings. The chaos has left locals with no idea whether their waste will be taken, with haphazard collections leaving weeks of rubbish piling up. When The Telegraph visited the coastal East Sussex city in May, six weeks worth of discarded bottles and four worth of recycling had been left untouched. In one troubled area, Patcham, resident John Ellis, 65, said problems with collections had been 'on and off over the last 15 years'. Gesturing to a pile of rubbish outside his front door, he said: 'The collections, especially for recycling, are really poor, and it's quite dangerous because we have glass bottles out on the streets as well. 'If you go further into the city, there's a real problem, because the seagulls will come down, especially if it's a plastic bin bag, and hack the bags open to find any food that's left over… it makes a real mess. We're all paying our council tax, of course.' Across Brighton, the number of missed bin collections more than doubled from 573 to 1,369 between December 2024 and April 2025, rising by 140 per cent over the past six months. Rubbish is meant to be collected every Wednesday for residents in Patcham, with recycling picked up every second Thursday. This month, the council blamed a missed collection on 'a problem with the vehicle'. A spokesman added: 'This meant that they were delayed and unable to complete the round.' It was not confirmed whether the lorry was the target of sabotage. Meanwhile, the Labour-run council has announced a 4.99 per cent rise in council tax bills this year – the maximum increase allowed without a referendum. It would take take the average band D council tax bill to £2,455, more than £200 a month higher than the previous year. The latest round of delayed collections followed years of disorder at the bin depot. A cache of knives, nunchucks, baseball bats and a samurai sword was found in 2023 at the Hollingdean bin depot in the north of the city, inside an office. A subsequent three-month investigation ordered by the council, and carried out by Aileen McColgan KC, found instances of bullying, intimidation, racism, sexism and homophobia across the site. One witness said the environment was 'like Animal Farm', George Orwell's 1945 satirical novella featuring farm animals revolting against their farmer owner. And the investigation alleged many problems at the depot stemmed from the trade union members' 'pecking order'. The longest-serving lorry drivers were at the 'top table', and therefore protected by the union, while others were left to fend for themselves, witnesses claimed. Some members threatened to stab other binmen, and brought weapons into the depot to show them to staff, while others sexually harassed female staff and managers, the 2023 report claimed. In the wake of the investigation, 40 workers left the depot. Since then, council bosses have invested nearly a million pounds, along with £3.875 million into a new food waste collection. In a rebrand, it changed its name from 'City Clean' to 'Environmental Services'. Yet two years later, council bosses have reported more acts of sabotage – including the slashing of disciplinary managers' tyres, alongside 'ongoing intimidatory acts both in the workplace and at managers' homes'. A death threat was made against a manager at the site as recently as January this year. Staff members are still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the report published in May this year. It added: 'The council is determined to deliver a waste collection service that the city can be proud of and is taking actions in all areas of the service to address deep-rooted issues that have existed for many decades.' At the beginning of this month, council leader Bella Sankey claimed the reason for missed bin collections across Brighton was ongoing insurgence at the depot. She said: 'We will not be held to ransom any more in this city by this small group of individuals. We are on it, we are working with the police, there are investigations going on. They know who they are and they're not going to get away with it any longer.' She told The Telegraph the 2023 insurgents were 'either GMB Sussex branch reps, or said to have been protected by GMB Sussex branch reps within the council'. Of the latest report, she added: 'Over the last 18 months, as we have continued taking the necessary action to change this culture, we have seen direct sabotage of vehicles, threats to life, intimidation and a continuation of the same bully boy tactics. This includes a depot manager's car tyres being slashed.' Gavin Davies, GMB regional secretary, told The Telegraph: 'It's GMB's view that council leaders are seeking to blame a two-year-old report for failures in service rollout, which have worsened since the report, not improved.' He added that the blame 'needs to lie with the council leadership'. He said a key issue was the 'millions owed to women employees who have been systematically underpaid over many years', adding: 'It's frustrating our attempts to work with the council on issues such as equal pay keep falling on deaf ears.' Now many locals are losing patience. Outside 62-year-old Alastair Kerr's home, a month's worth of rubbish awaited collection when The Telegraph visited on May 19. 'When all of us are paying increasing amounts of council tax, it does feel a bit like a kick in the teeth to leave you without any explanation or even an apology,' said the actor, who has lived in Brighton since 2008. 'The council is not easy to communicate with, and you feel like you've been kept at arm's length.' Peter Goodman, 78, a resident in north Brighton whose recycling has remained uncollected for more than a month, has looked out of his window at an overflowing black bin and a pile of boxes each morning. 'If it gets beyond this, I may actually have to take some over to the tip myself,' he said. Allister McNair, a conservative councillor for Patcham and Hollingbury, blamed Labour for the problems. 'It doesn't seem to be getting better – the problem seems to be coming back,' he told The Telegraph. Accusing council bosses of 'taking their eye off the ball', he asked: 'When's the end in sight?' Mark Earthey, an independent councillor for Rottingdean and West Saltdean, said roads in his ward were sometimes missed for eight weeks at a time. 'I have residents who are partially sighted, or have mobility issues. They've been falling over rubbish and uncollected bins,' he said. 'People can't even get in and out of their own homes because of bins in the road or pathways. It's been total meltdown.' Sussex Police confirmed it was investigating a series of reported offences linked to a Brighton and Hove council depot in Hollingdean. A spokesman said the reported offences, which span a period from 2023 to 2025, included criminal damage, possession of offensive weapons, harassment, arson, and further serious offences. All the incidents reported to Sussex Police remain under continual review and were forming part of a wider investigation that remains ongoing, he added. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
BBC News
7 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Disabled bus pass U-turn in East Sussex
Disabled residents in East Sussex are celebrating after the county council made a U-turn on free bus now people with disabilities in the county could only use their pass after 09:30, whereas residents in neighbouring West Sussex and Brighton and Hove could travel at any time. Campaigner Liv, who created a petition calling for the change, said she was now "happy" as it had "felt really unfair".An East Sussex County Council (ESCC) spokesperson said: "This change has been introduced to provide additional support for disabled passengers who often need to travel earlier in the day for work, education, or health care." Liv told BBC Radio Sussex: "Some people just can't afford the fares and it can make it really difficult to get into day centres or even work. "As someone on a low wage this was really expensive for me."Buses can be expensive and my bus pass really does help a lot."A statement from ESCC said disabled bus passes could be used any time within county boundaries, but that did not include all-day travel into Brighton and Hove, Kent or West said the changes had come about because of additional Department for Transport funding.
