Tackling a particularly nasty drug dealing tactic in the city is a new priority for Brighton & Hove’s Community Safety Partnership.
That’s the message in a report going to the Neighbourhoods, Inclusion, Communities & Equalities (NICE) committee on January 22.
‘County lines’is the police term used to describe a national issue of urban gangs supplying drugs – primarily heroin and crack cocaine – to towns across the country using mobile phone lines.
Gangs establish a base, typically by taking over the homes of local vulnerable adults by force or coercion, in a practice known as ‘cuckooing’. Gangs also often use children and vulnerable people to move drugs and money.
The activity and associated violence, drug dealing and exploitation can have a major impact on young people, vulnerable adults and local communities.
Targeted Sussex Police operations regularly disrupt drug dealing. The latest in the city last year led to 76 arrests for drug supply offences and the disruption of 14 county lines. However, demand in the city means that new drug dealers quickly take the place of those arrested.
The experience gained from a situation where a number of addresses were taken over last year has been shared across council and partner services.
This makes sure signs of cuckooing and county lines are identified early, and guidance on the action can be taken to deal with the issue and support the communities affected.
Cllr Emma Daniel
Councillor Emma Daniel, chair of the NICE committee, said:“County lines is a particularly nasty crime as it preys on the young and vulnerable. The gangs operate here due to the high demand for drugs, and we’ve seen the significant impact it and the associated anti-social behaviour has on neighbourhoods.
“We’re asking parents to be alert to the dangers. We’re clear that any children and young people who get drawn into this are victims of crime. If you have any concerns about a young or vulnerable person in your neighbourhood, please do report them to make sure they can get the help they need.
“Please also report any suspicions you have about a property. Effective action to tackle the problems relies on early reporting and solid evidence, and we will work across services to tackle the problem as soon as we can.”
Chief Inspector Chris Veale
Chief Inspector Chris Veale of Sussex Police, added:“We have robust working practices in the city for dealing with cuckooed homes, including gathering intelligence, executing drugs warrants, closing premises quickly using ASB Act powers, supporting vulnerable and displaced residents, and taking direct action against perpetrators of crime.”
If you have suspicions or information about drug dealing, contact the police at any time online at www.sussex.police.uk or telephone 101, quoting Project Preclude.
For information about reporting anti-social behaviour in the city, click here:
Or telephone the community safety team on 01273 292375.
The full report is available in the Neighbourhoods, Inclusion, Communities & Equalities committee papers (agenda item 59).
Community groups across Brighton and Hove will put a little bit of pride back into their city thanks to grants worth nearly £20,000 from the Pride Social Impact Fund (SIF).
In what has been a record year for grant applications, nearly 30 groups representing people of all ages from Mile Oak to Moulsecoomb, Saltdean to the city centre will benefit from money awarded by the independent grants panel.
The cash, most of which is raised from businesses who benefit from the annual LGBT celebration, will ensure that the positive impact of Pride extends beyond one weekend a year.
Grants awarded this year will see parks and open spaces improved; community groups host events and day trips; equipment provided to sports groups; and charities supporting some of the city’s most vulnerable given a boost.
Tim Ridgway
Tim Ridgway, chairman of the Brighton Pride Social Impact Fund, said:“This year saw a record number of entries with bids from more than 45 groups from across the city requesting more than £30,000 to make their communities a better place.
“With the fund oversubscribed, making decisions on individual bids was not an easy process.
“But those groups who have been awarded money will ensure that the legacy of Pride is far-reaching, extending to all corners of the city.
“We hope it will help some of the city’s amazing community and voluntary groups create a colourful rainbow of happiness and inclusivity all year round.”
Launched in 2016, the Pride Social Impact Fund has now distributed about £35,000 to groups across the city.
Projects put forward do not have to be LGBT+ related; or directly-linked to Pride (although applicants directly impacted by the foot print of Pride will be favoured).
However big or small, the only criteria is that it brightens up people’s lives by the time Pride comes round again later in the year.
Funding comes from contributions made by businesses who are part of the Pride Village Party in the St James’s Street area as well as a top up of extra funding from Pride.
The panel was made up of representatives from the city’s media organisations including The Argus, Latest TV, Brighton and Hove Independent, Sussex Life, Brighton and Hove News, Juice 107.2 and Gscene.
Among the largest grants awarded this year are two separate bids to the Friends of Preston Park: £942 will be used to plant three new trees in the Brighton park; while £1,000 will go towards putting on a Halloween event for children and families in the area.
Another grant of £1,000 will support a weekly girls group at the Tarner Community Centre, which was set up to meet the needs of local girls and young women in the Tarner and St James’s Street area, many of whom are deemed at risk.
Grants awarded will also benefit community centres who support some of the city’s most vulnerable residents.
One successful bid saw £500 given to the Honeycroft community centre in Hove to establish a group to support lone parents.
Natasha Silsby, general manager of Honeycroft, said:“We are absolutely delighted to have been selected by the Pride Social Impact Fund for support. Lone parent households with dependent children in our area is one of the highest in the city.
“This funding will enable us to set up a lone parent support group at Honeycroft to address associated challenges including; isolation, lack of social network and limited support with childcare.
“Our aim will be for the group to become self-sufficient and directed by the parents attending and this essential funding will give us the opportunity to make this possible, thank you.”
Another grant saw £500 awarded to the Hangleton and West Blatchington Foodbank in Hove. Trustees will use the cash as £10 monthly vouchers which can be spent in a local butcher to ensure the provision of fresh meat for those in need.
Zoe Smith, of Hangleton & West Blatchington Foodbank, said:“We are incredible grateful for the support of the Brighton Pride Social Impact Fund.
“As a local Foodbank we work hard to support the needs of all members of the community and this grant will enable us to assist and make a positive impact to the health and wellbeing of people living in food poverty in the Hangleton and West Blatchington area of the city.”
This year also saw the Pride SIF support a range of sports clubs, such as buying tracksuits for Crew Club United under-11s football club.
A further £1,000 will be spent on supporting table tennis sessions for young people with Trisomy 21 (which is known as Down Syndrome).
Philippa Hodge, of T21 Table Tennis, said:“T21TT is delighted to receive support from the Pride Social Impact Fund.
“Our young table tennis players will really benefit from the monthly coached sessions that the funding will help to pay for, together with the passionate support we receive through our Brighton Table Tennis Club Headquarters.
“We already have three players representing Great Britain and working as qualified Coaches, and we are so proud of them, and some young talent that we are nurturing. We are Brighton T21 Table Tennis – Ping Pong powered by our extra chromosomes!”
A further grant of £500 will provide colourful planting in garden beds at the Saltdean Lido pool and community centre.
Rebecca Crook, one of the volunteers at the Saltdean Lido Community Interest Company, said: “We are all big fans of Pride and are so pleased that they like the lido as much as we like them.
“We have almost £3 million still to raise to renovate the building but every little really does count!
“We will use this money to buy plants for the area by the changing rooms which is looking a bit sad at the moment.”
APPROVED GRANTS FOR 2018 ♦ Brighton Oasis Project – £1,000 to run a series of holiday arts activities for young people affected by substance misuse in the family, in conjunction with poet Lemn Sissay and choreographer Charlotte Vincent.
♦ Mile Oak Recreation Action Group (MORAG) – £775 to run regular art sessions which will explore the outdoor environment of the park
♦ Hangleton & West Blatchington Foodbank – £500 to allow trustees to give out vouchers of £10 per client per month to a local butcher to ensure the provision of fresh meat for those in need
♦ Diverse City Bowlers – £100 towards boosting participation of ten pin bowling within the community, with emphasis on providing sessions for the elderly
♦ Brighton Table Tennis club – £1,000 towards continuing pilot table tennis sessions for up to 15 children with Down Syndrome
♦ Friends of Preston Park (bid one) – £942 for the planting of three new trees
♦ Friends of Preston Park (bid two) – £1,000 towards a Halloween event for young families and children
♦ The Manor Boccia and Lunch Group – £490 to run a 14-week programme of Boccia with healthy lunch for the over-50s in east Brighton
♦ Friends of Farm Green (bid one) – £695 towards Mini Farm and Community Picnic in the park in Lower Bevendean
♦ Friends of Farm Green (bid two) – £695 towards Mini Farm and Community Picnic in the park in Moulsecoomb
♦ OUTReach at the B Right On LGBT Community Festival – £1,000 towards the costs of the accessible adaptations needed to make the venue fully accessible for older, deaf and disabled attendees
♦ Creative Cascade Recovery – £450 towards creating free community performances for a group which supports people in recovery from addictions
♦ Honeycroft – £500 to establish a lone parent support group at the community centre
♦ Stay Up Late – £974 towards building on the success of Wild Rainbows, a gig buddies scheme for LGBTQ+ communities established by Social Impact Fund
♦ Surrenden Field Group – £500 for improvements to Surrenden Field, including the creation of a butterfly bank, community composting area and wild flower field
♦ Saltdean Lido – £500 towards plants for garden beds at the heart of the pool and community centre
♦ Crew Club – £620 to fund a day out for low-earning families in east Brighton to Tulley’s Farm, while also providing equipment for Messy Play sessions
Dotties Cafe – £400 towards creating a ramp to improve accessibility to a cafe in east Brighton staffed by deaf people
Young City Reads – £300 to allow two primary school classes who would otherwise be unable to afford it to attend the finale event of the giant book group
Crew Club United – £400 towards new tracksuits for a newly established under-11s football team in east Brighton. Some funding will also support the club’s end of season awards.
Say Aphasia – £200 towards funding day trips so that members can practice their communication skills in public
Quiet Down There – £500 of match funding to help people explore the Open Market through culture, making the project accessible to 100 more people; 60 children and 40 adults
Audioactive – £1,000 towards supporting a female-led ‘Young Woman’s Music Tech Group’ in Brighton
Tarner Community Project – £1,000 towards weekly girls group, Tarner Young Women, which was set up to meet the needs of local girls and young women in the Tarner area, aged 12 upwards, many of whom are deemed at risk
St Peters Cricket Club – £400 towards funding kit for one of the youth cricket teams
Little Green Pig – £500 for printing of books containing an anthology of stories created by young people
Brighton and Hove Housing Coalition – £500 for costs towards a Homelessness Action Group specifically to contribute to practical services including shelter for those on our streets
Friends of Dorset Gardens (bid one) – £1,000 towards improved accessibility of Dorset Gardens – non-slip matting for the two entrance ways
Friends of Dorset Gardens (bid two) – £566 towards improved accessibility of Dorset Gardens – new handrails
Up to £1,000 has also been allocated towards buying a projector and screen that will be held by Brighton Pride and used as a community resource. This will be used by 4 Street in Hove and Pop-Up Brighton, as well as other groups.
Brighton based artist Matthew Callow (27) to launch debut electro synth-pop album Neon Moon at the Marlborough Theatre on February 24.
Matthew Callow: Image by Manel Ortega
All proceeds from the event will be donated to MindOut, the LGBT mental health service.
Work first started on the project in 2014 and the album includes contributions by Alistair Lock, also from Brighton, who has worked on many atmospheric soundtracks for Dr Who and London-based sound engineer Jonathan Essex.
Matthew, a self-trained vocalist, has enjoyed a passion for singing from a very young age. For him creating Neon Moon is “a dream come true” and it’s sound has been inspired by many sources.
He says:“I have a very eclectic taste in music and I have tried to include elements of the sounds I’ve enjoyed by my favourite artists. I love the bouncy rhythms of the Goldfrapp, Lisa Gerrard’s strong operatic vocals, Björk’s unique use of vocal effects and the euphoric sounds achievable with new pieces of software. It is important to me to try to create something unique, but at the same time recognisable and easy to listen to.”
The album artwork was shot by photographer Manel Ortega, who over the years has produced many front covers for Gscene magazine. Manel has organised many exhibitions himself and his quarterly magazine Manolo is on-sale at The Tate Modern in London.
Creating a visual show that marries with the music has been very important to Matthew and the launch party will also be the premier of the Neon Moon Video Project which was inspired by the early French cinematography of Georges Méliès.
Event:Neon Moon – Launch event for new album by Matthew Callow
RadioReverb launch brand-new radio show about mental health as part of their new 2018 schedule.
The ground-breaking show,Mental Health Matters, aims to be a valuable resource for Brighton residents and mental health charities alike.
Hosted by counsellor and dramatherapist, Bruce Guthrie, he will be joined by a co-host to explore ideas, new and established approaches to helping others grow, recover and experience better Mental Health.
Bruce Guthrie
The programme made by – and for – people who’ve experienced mental illness and emotional suffering in all its forms will bring people together to share what works for them in terms of navigating their way through life’s sometimes immense challenges.
Mental Health Matters format will be positive and entertaining but also responsible and informative and will aim to combine information about local services with interviews featuring local health professionals – and of course there will be music too!
The show will also have a light-hearted game segment, The Dedication Game, which is designed to encourage open discussion. Any listener can apply to join Bruce in the studio and take part in the game.
The first episode of this weekly/monthly show will be aired on RadioReverb on Sunday, January, 14 at 3pm and then repeated on January 21 at 9pm, 28th at 3am and February 4 at 3am.
In the first episode, Bruce is joined by Paola St George from Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, chatting about her counselling skills training courses.
Host and producer Bruce Guthrie, said: “Myself and the RadioReverb team have spent a long time developing the show as we really wanted to get it right. ‘Mental Health Matters’ will be a fantastic resource for those struggling with mental health problems and I’m very excited to finally be bringing it to the airwaves in January.”
Station Producer Ben Noble, added:“We’ve wanted a show about mental health on RadioReverb for some time now – it was just a question of getting it right. Bruce came to us with a great idea based around the format of The Dedication Game. It’s a conversation about healing and music, which exemplifies Bruce’s hands-on, practical attitude to mental health. We were thrilled at his approach, but we wanted to go further and cover the more academic and medical side of treatment too.
“In the past couple of months we’ve worked with Bruce to develop the concept so that it will now include interviews with mental health professionals, news on the latest advances in treatment, and information on local services – all without losing the initial down-to-earth focus of Bruce’s original idea, which asks “what can YOU do to improve your mental health in your day to day life?
“We’ve ended up with a show that will be fun to listen to even as it stimulates meaningful conversations around mental health. We are immensely proud of this show and hope it will become a valuable resource for Brighton residents.”
Mental Health Matters is just one of many exciting new shows taking to the air on RadioReverb over the Winter period including Sophie Cook Talks: A new weekly current affairs show from media personality and LGBT+ rights campaigner Sophie Cook, mixing thought-provoking chat with great music.
To listen via the Listen Again button, click here:
He says: “I have a very eclectic taste in music and I have tried to include elements of the sounds I’ve enjoyed by my favourite artists. I love the bouncy rhythms of the Goldfrapp, Lisa Gerrard’s strong operatic vocals, Björk’s unique use of vocal effects and the euphoric sounds achievable with new pieces of software. It is important to me to try to create something unique, but at the same time recognisable and easy to listen to.”
The album artwork was shot by photographer 
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