Contact Your Local Councillor

BRIGHTON AND HOVE CITY COUNCIL IS FACILITATING THE MANUFACTURE OF LETHAL WEAPONS COMPONENTS IN THE CITY.

USE OUR STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO CONTACT YOUR LOCAL COUNCILLOR AND OBJECT TO THE L3HARRIS PLANNING APPLICATION

1. Find your Councillors (by ward or postcode)
2. Click on each Councillor’s profile to find their email address
3. Send them your objection using the template – do adapt it to add your own words
4. Ask 3 friends to object as well!

The Councillors below are members of the Planning Committee – if you are in their ward, urge them to use exercise their role on the committee to ensure proper discussion of the application. If your Councillor is not on the Committee, urge them to raise their concerns with the Committee.

Members of the Planning Committee:

• Councillor Liz Loughran  (Chair) – Preson Park
• Councillor Jacob Allen  (Deputy Chair) – Woodingdean
• Councillor Julie Cattell   – Westbourne & Poets’ Corner
• Councillor Bridget Fishleigh  – Rottingdean & West Saltdean
• Councillor Paul Nann – Wish  
• Councillor Joy Robinson  – Central Hove  
• Councillor Sue Shanks  – West Hill & North Laine 
• Councillor Carol Theobald   – Patcham & Hollingbury

MESSAGE TEMPLATE

Dear [name of councillor]

I am a resident of [name of ward] and am writing to you as my Councillor to urge you to object to Planning Application BN2023/03236. L3 Harris is applying for retrospective planning permission to make permanent the temporary extension it built in 2018 at the Home Farm Business Centre.

L3 Harris Brighton makes bomb racks and bomb release mechanisms for the F-16 and F-35 planes that the Israeli Air Force is using in its assault on Gaza. Without these components, the bombs can’t be dropped.

Israel’s military attack on Gaza violates the basic principles of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). IHL requires that attacks distinguish between military and civilian targets and are conducted with proportionality. Israel is deliberately targeting journalists, medical facilities, and other civilian objects. It is also engaging in indiscriminate bombing that doesn’t distinguish between Hamas and the wider Palestinian population. The official death toll stands at over 22,000; of these, 8000 are children. These figures don’t include the people still buried under rubble that cannot be counted. Most of the population has been displaced. The UN Secretary General has made clear that “Nowhere is safe in Gaza” because of Israeli military action.

The Israeli assault on Gaza couldn’t happen without the bomb parts made in Brighton. Brighton and Hove City Council’s Constitution says that all decisions “will be made in accordance with respect for human rights”. Our city is a City of Sanctuary, offering refuge and extending solidarity to those forced to leave their homelands. On these grounds, I urge you to call for a Planning Committee to discuss L3 Harris’ planning application, and to raise your objections with your fellow Councillors. I also ask that the Council examine the legal implications of knowingly allowing the supply of weapons parts made on its land that are destined for use in Gaza against international law. Please do not let a decision of this importance be a delegated officer decision.

Yours sincerely

[Your name]

[Your address]