I spend quite a lot of time in and around the Hove area, which in happier times was home to John Tyndall. On my travels, I noticed that a popular bus stop had been suspended and a temporary stop had been put in down the road. I know that doesn’t sound very interesting on the face of it, but bear with me.
The signage put up by Brighton and Hove City Council cited building or road works; I can’t remember which, but over the period of a month or so it became quite clear that no such work was taking place.
Situated behind the bus stop at Westbourne Villas on New Church Road is the BNJC building, a Jewish community centre, synagogue, residential, nursery, etc. https://bnjc.co.uk
I couldn’t help but speculate that the Jews who run the facility had requested the stop be suspended, and that the council had provided them with a cover story (a massive lie) about road works, so I submitted a Freedom of Information request under a pseudonym, which I’m sure BNJC and the local authority were very happy to receive.
I expected them to try and wriggle out of giving me answers and sure enough their first response, a month after the request was made, was to delay, citing the need to consult with other departments and consider whether it would be in the public interest to release the information. They were certainly hoping it seemed to me that they could find an exemption, and they granted themselves a twenty-day extension, as is their right.
Another whole month later came the second reply, again delaying, citing their wish to further examine the regulations to see if they really would have to tell the public anything at all. This time they gave themselves another month to make a reply, which was now well overdue.
The date they gave me, 29th July 2026, came and went, so I requested an internal review, which is still pending; I’ll update you on that at a later date.
But then, to my surprise, no doubt after much kvetching, whining and oy-veying, they came good and provided most of the email evidence, except the bus company’s input, with some names redacted.
So was I right that the jews had lobbied the council to get a bus stop used by 300 people per day according to the bus company shut down, and had the council loyally done so and covered it all up with a big old lie about road works? In a word - yes.
The emails and covering letter are all available to view and download at the link provided at the top of the article, but here are some key takeaways.
The Smoking gun
“Stakeholder Requests: Any formal requests received by the council from third-party organisations or private developers within 200m of the site requesting the relocation of this bus stop for security or operational reasons.
Response: No.
Councillors have been advised, via Brighton & Hove Jewish Community (BNJC), that the Community Security Trust (CST), who safeguard Jewish community sites across the UK, have stated that it is rare to have bus stops located at their entrance - such as the Synagogue within the BNJC. As such BNJC have requested that the bus stop is relocated to reduce risk and fear in our communities.”
They seem to have contradicted themselves here, claiming that no request to remove the stop has been made, and then detailing the request that has been made.
It’s also worth noting that the bus stop predates the BNJC building in all its forms by several decades.
“Work Schedules: A copy of the work schedule, project plan, or permit associated with the "site works" at this specific location for the period of May 2024 to May 2026. Response: We (‘the council’) do not hold the specific documents requested. That is, a work schedule or project plan.”
Because no such work schedule or plan exists, that was a huge porkie.
The covering letter also states that it is the councils intention to permanently relocate the stop, and to hell with the people who use the stop.
The top secret city operations briefing paper
There’s a whole load of emails dating from January to April. Of course I would like to see the more recent ones as at the time of writing it’s August.
Here’s one of my favourites. Cllr Sam Parrot lying about his chats with the public and bus drivers claiming that nobody is bothered by all this.
And I also enjoyed this one, from an unknown person fearing ridicule if this were to get out.
I’d urge you, if you are interested to take a look at the email dump rather than me post them all here.
Of course, I don’t have the profile to publicise this effectively, and it may be a rather niche, local issue, but the public who are affected should know why their bus stop has been taken away.
But I suppose that any objections would be marked down as antisemitism. How Cohenvenient.
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