Leader calls for council to be given more powers to implement local lockdown

The Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council has called for the local authority to be given more powers to implement a local lockdown in the area.

Cllr Nancy Platts said: “It’s incredibly upsetting to hear from people who live in the city, many of whom have no garden or balcony, that they can’t go to their local park or the seafront because they feel unsafe.

“We need more powers from central government to be able to call and implement a local lockdown if we see cases of Covid-19 increase in the city.

“At the moment this is still being discussed in Whitehall but to be able to act quickly we need to be able to undertake the actions we feel best protect the people who live here and the NHS staff and key workers who work here.”

Cllr Platts said the council needed to hear from Government on this “as a matter of urgency”.

The call for additional powers was made as Brighton’s Leader called on the general public to stay away from Brighton & Hove for the time being. “Protect our city; protect the people who make it such a special place.”

The Leader added: “Because so many people love coming to our city, this potentially puts people’s safety at risk and could undo all the work to prevent Covid-19 spreading which was achieved during lockdown.

“We have several specific challenges in Brighton & Hove that we and the police are trying to manage, but in reality, our resources are limited and our powers few when it comes to the scale of the task.”