PETITIONS in Brighton and Hove were handed over to councillors with thousands of signatures.

The latest full council meeting, the last of the current term, offered a real platform for residents to stand up and be heard.

Seven residents, including a bowls club member, a music promoter, a determined mother and an ice hockey-crazy 12-year-old, took up the opportunity to use their three minutes of fame to talk about their burning issues.

Their voices carried weight, backed as they were by an incredible 13,000 combined supporters who had signed various petitions.

The sheer weight of support for these campaigns is unprecedented with so many at the same time and are a vindication for Brighton and Hove City Council’s e-petition scheme, which gives residents the opportunity to speak to all 54 city councillors, and get responses from appropriate committees or directly from high-ranking council officials.

At full council, petitioners have to steel themselves to speak in front of a packed hall surrounded by civic regalia, through often faltering microphones and with a bright red digital clock counting down their allotted minutes.

Social media can help any petitioner rack up support quicker than in pre-internet days, but the speakers at Thursday’s meetings had to go to extra lengths to hit their milestones.

Mother Faye Bridgwater, petitioning for a crossing in Freshfield Road, snapped up support by standing in the park while King Alfred bowls rink campaigner John English said he had three times the success through a paper petition at the leisure centre than online.

Campaigners fighting to save Preston Park Cycle Track and live music venues racked up thousands of supporters locally and nationally by cleverly tying their campaign to specialist publishers, unions and lobby groups.

What’s so impressive with these determined campaigners and their success is that they are residents juggling their passion with jobs, children and other commitments.

Labour council candidate Adrian Morris, who has supported Mrs Bridgwater’s campaign, said he was hugely impressed with her determination.

Twelve-year-old Sonny Keywood struck everyone with his maturity and understanding of his subject; it was clear to all in the hall that he had done his homework on the project to the extent of even writing to the Queen for her support.

In the end it was a mixed night for our campaigners with some receiving better news than others.

Sarah Booker-Lewis’s campaign to save the Mazda Fountain she played in as a child looks to be scuppered by the Green administration’s determination to bring in more efficient and less costly water displays in the Valley Gardens shake-up.

Young Sonny, meanwhile, was told in no uncertain terms there was no money for an ice rink.

Velodrome and King Alfred campaigners left cautiously optimistic while live music venue campaigner Mark Stack was jubilantly claiming victory as councillors agreed there was a need for a rethink.

All in all, it was a successful night where 13,000 voices were heard loud and clear.

Campaign: Freshfield Road crossing to help pedestrians

Signatures: 1,369

Issue: Parents and children want a pedestrian crossing point in Freshfield Road between Queen’s Park Terrace and Cuthbert Road to allow safe crossing en route to St Luke’s School, Queen’s Park Primary School, numerous pre-schools and to use the park.

Campaigners say the current island at the top of Cuthbert Road is “completely inadequate” for children and those with impaired mobility on a road where cars and lorries regularly breach the 20mph speed limit.

Petitioner Faye Bridgwater said: “I’ve not done anything in politics in my life; it was all completely new to me. I’m just a mum who goes to the park and so it was nerve-wracking speaking on a microphone with a big counter in front of me.

“I wrote my speech and then every poor person I know that I have seen in the last five days I have asked ‘can I practice this out on you?’ – there were so many points I needed to get in, in three minutes.

“This is just the beginning of it, I know it will take months and months, and I will have to go to another meeting where there will be a load of new councillors where I’ll have to say ‘hello, can I have a crossing please?’ but the whole process has been absolutely positive.”

Outcome: The issue will be discussed at the next environment, transport and sustainability committee.

Campaign: Sonny’s Ice Rink

Signatures: 900

Issue: Twelve-year-old Sonny Keywood currently has to make a 90-mile round trip to Guildford in Surrey because of a lack of facilities in his home city.

His call for an ice rink has received the backing of hundreds of supporters including former Brighton Tigers ice hockey players who wowed residents from the 1930s to the 1960s with their puck skills.

Outcome: Councillor Geoffrey Bowden said there would not be an ice rink coming to the city soon and that the site of the former ice rink in Queen Square was designated for housing in the City Plan.

Campaign: Save Longhill Wood

Signatures: 997

Issue: Campaigners want Brighton and Hove City Council to designate Longhill Close, Ovingdean, and Elvin Crescent, Rottingdean, as inappropriate for development in the City Plan.

The two sites have been identified as urban fringe with potential for development by independent consultants as part of the City Plan consultation.

Campaigners claim the land has stood undisturbed for decades and forms a natural gap between Rottingdean and Ovingdean, providing a natural habitat for birds and wildlife such as jays, woodpeckers, bats, badgers, foxes and squirrels.

Brighton and Hove City Council recently issued an abatement notice on the site after residents complained about the clearance of trees and shrubs using chainsaws and diggers.

Petitioner Annie Gilbert said: “It’s difficult to gauge but I did feel I got the councillors’ interest and attention, there were a few ‘hear hears’ in support of saving the woodland gap.

“I think it’s amazing; I had no idea we had the capacity to do something like this, the power of residents to make a change.

“Residents have realised they have a voice; everybody is talking to everybody, it is a real community thing.

“I only thought we would get 100 signatures but we got double that in the first 24 hours,” she added.

Outcome: The issue will be discussed at the next economic development and culture committee. For more information visit twitter.com/longhillclose1 or tinyurl.com/LonghillWoodland

Campaign: Save Preston Park Cycle Track

Signatures: 3,641

Issue: British Cycling has deemed Preston Park Cycle Track to be unsafe for future use for competitive racing.

Campaigners say the facility has suffered from chronic underfunding since the 1950s.

They want work to be carried out to make the facility race-safe again and further improvements to help it become a centre of excellence in a city which is full of biking enthusiasts.

Petitioner Rupert Rivett said: “I was not surprised at all by the level of response; it is loved by those who use it.

“If it wasn’t the fact that I was really busy, I probably could have got a lot more than that. We will see whether this is a positive outcome, we will see what happens,” he added.

“When you talk to councillors like that you don’t really get to the nitty gritty, it’s just posturing.

“We will only know when we get down to the details of where the money is going to come from.”

Outcome: A full report has been requested to explore ways to fund improvements to the velodrome.

Campaign: Six bowls rinks at new King Alfred leisure facility

Signatures: 1,612

Issue: The King Alfred Bowls Club fear that their future could be put in jeopardy if new bowls facilities at the revamped King Alfred Leisure Centre are reduced to just three rinks.

The club say that a downgrading from the current six rinks to the minimum of three suggested in a design brief for the new site will have the effect of preventing them from hosting competitive matches in future.

Two developers remain in the running for the £40 million project with a final decision expected in September.

Petitioner John English said: “I think it went as well as expected and we now push on.

“Of course there is the concern that it could be all taken out of our hands but I don’t think it is a done deal by any stretch.

“With developers if they are offered a minimum requirement, if they can get away without providing they will try to but we did learn there is a maximum requirement for six rinks so that is nice to hear.

“I think it can help to have the e-petitions but only if you have [the] members to spread the word.

“We only got 450 on that but we got more than 1,100 from a paper petition at the King Alfred from the people who actually use the facility.”

Outcome: Developer to be chosen in the summer and they will decide between three or six rink proposals.

Campaign: Save The Mazda Fountain

Signatures: 1,500

Issue: The Mazda Fountain is set to be removed from the centre of the city in the £18 million Valley Gardens project.

Campaigners say that the fountain has been a feature of central Brighton for 80 years and is an attractive feature in an “otherwise bland area”.

Petitioner Sarah Booker-Lewis said: “There is a lot of support for this but we are up against sheer bloody-mindedness.

“I thought this might be the response but I wanted to get them to see that there are people who do care.

“This fountain is not a piece of rusting unloved junk as some might suggest. It is one of the things residents identify as part of their home.

“I believe it is important to get involved with where you live and be an active member of the community; I’m quite a regular petition signer and always respond to consultations.”

Outcome: Brighton and Hove City Council issued a press release following Thursday’s debate saying that the Mazda fountain was a “historical accident” that cost £9,000-a-year to run, sprays water everywhere and would require an additional £30,000 to light up.

The authority says that the revamped Valley Gardens will have a public square with integrated fountains, a brook and drinking fountains.

Campaign: Standing Up for Live Music Venues

Signatures: 3,269

Issue: Save live music venues in Brighton and Hove under threat from closure because of malicious or underhand misuse of noise complaints.

Campaigners claim a legal loophole is allowing residents to move in near to long established music venues and then demand the noise is silenced, forcing the council to act.

The petition organisers say the misuse of sensible environmental health provisions was threatening the city’s cultural heritage and have called upon the council to transparently review its procedures and protocols in respect of noise abatement notices served on live music venues across the city.

Petitioner Mark Stack, pictured inset, said: “The meeting went better than expected; the Conservatives, Labour and the Greens acted in a very rare show of unity in backing the petition.

“I managed to get unanimous agreement from all parties that the Environmental Protection Act was flawed and, whilst still continuing to protect residents from excessive noise, needed rewording to protect music venues from unscrupulous noise complaints intended to close them down.

“This would not have been possible without all the fantastic support this has received.

“This is all about everybody together – and that is so typical of what our beloved Brighton is all about.”

Outcome: Councillors unanimously agreed that the Environmental Protection Act needs rewording to protect music venues from malicious noise complaints whilst still protecting residents from noise.

Campaigners say they will now look to create a Brighton Declaration of Music Venue Protection where the city comes together in a united front of politicians, music venues and promoters to sign a document calling for a change in the law.