ALL MINUTES before May 2026 were printed in the North Laine Runner
NLCA trustees meeting at The Foyer, Pelham Street, on Thursday, September 3, 2026, at 6pm
NLCA secretary Lisa Macnab said a comedy night Mailchimp message has been sent out. There has since been a change of one of the acts and Lisa will send out another a week before the event.
Treasurer’s report: The balance is looking healthier again as invoices and merchandise funds have been paid in.
Planning: A complaint has been received from a resident about a new sign on the front of 20/21 Trafalgar Street. Peter has emailed the owners of the building to discover more.
8 Queens Gardens – an appeal to allow it as a short-term let has been dismissed. The planning officer noted that ...”the use has acquired a distinct commercial character which goes beyond its former use as a Class C3 dwellinghouse” and “the circumstances do not outweigh the conflict with Policy DM2 of the City Plan Part Two which seeks to protect the city’s existing stock of residential accommodation”.
70 Church Street – an application for a rear extension with roof terrace. No objection from NLCA as the application appears to mirror the roof terraces and extensions of the surrounding neighbours.
Licensing: Tanya has been away and has not been able to access the council licensing portal.
Anti-tagging: The new individual anti-tagging kits have been very useful and Emma Humphreys has recently bought more paint. She will submit the receipt to treasurer Maria Barney for payment.
Runner: Next edition is being prepared and copy deadline is September 18.
Social: NLCA's comedy night at Komedia is on September 28 and David Sewell's annual NLCA tea party on
September 6 in the Pavilion Gardens.
Anniversary: The NLCA 50th anniversary exhibition will be in Brighton MET college reception area from September 14 for four weeks. This will not be staffed. MET reception staff will take money for books and pamphlets if possible.
The possibility of the exhibition moving to Hove Town Hall was also discussed. There is a downstairs corridor leading to the council chamber where the exhibition could be mounted on the walls and in the windows which face the outside of the building, so passersby could also see it. There is currently no way to hang anything in the windows but Sue will order a tension pole (£6) to see if it will fit the windows and, if so, will order more for the other hanging posters.
NLCA's future meeting: Peter will chair the meeting at the Komedia on Monday, September 21, but Lisa cannot attend t take minutes. Kim has the minutes of a previous special meeting in 2018 for reference.
Kelvin McDonald is due to speak – Kim/Sue will explain that the focus will be on community suggestions for NLCA's future. Kim will invite Matt Baker, who provided helpful suggestions for a Runner feature on the meeting.
The meeting will need:-
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a white board and erasable felt tips for ideas;
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post-it notes for people to write down suggestions in the break;
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ensure that Komedia is set up with round tables.
It was noted that it would be advisable to keep discussion about a merger with West Hill to a minimum if it comes up. Their publication The Whistler has recently been put on hold (or possibly discontinued). Sue recently attended a social event at their hall, which is regularly used for classes and social activities. and West Hill have a very different vibe from North Laine.
Any other business:
1) Emma Humphreys has an idea about a What’s On part of the Runner. This will be for regular events only, i.e curry/quiz/Irish music etc nights at North Laine pubs, as the Runner comes out every two months. A suggestion was that this could be on the back page if the current advertiser leaves, and pubs could be asked to pay for this advertising. Chris Hayes pointed out that Catherine Clement had previously tried to get pubs to advertise in the Runner but, as there are few independents and most pubs are tied to breweries, they would not pay to advertise.
The trustees thought that Emma’s What’s On guide was a good idea for the community. If successful, it could also be expanded to include other services: dry cleaning, pharmacies, baby groups, community activities etc.
Emma will contact local pubs that have regular event nights. She will try to get this ready for the next edition of the Runner, if possible. Possible charging would depend on the success of the article.
2) Emma also gave an update on the labyrinth proposal for Jubilee Square – she has been in touch with Brighton Fringe who are happy for it to go ahead. Emma is chasing landowner Semperian and is waiting to hear back. She has also been in touch with the planning department at Brighton Council for their response.
NLCA special meeting on the future of North Laine and North Laine Community Association at Komedia, Gardner Street, on Monday, September 21, at 7pm
A full report on this meeting was published in the North Laine Runner, issue 302, October/November 2026 and then transferred to this website. You can read these report pages by clicking HERE and HERE.