Hangleton councillor, 81, to run for re-election for fifth time

Councillor Dawn Barnett, 81, has represented Hangleton and Knoll on Brighton and Hove City Council since 2004 after winning a by-election from Labour.

Since then she has garnered a reputation for being outspoken, no nonsense and straight-talking on a range of issues, from drug dealing to the cleanliness of the city.

In an exclusive interview with The Argus, she said she loves Hangleton and said that the area has everything people need while being very close to town.

“You’ve got the Downs in one direction and the beach in the other. It’s like being in the country ten minutes from town," she said.

“I’ve got lovely people here too - it’s a great place to live.”

Cllr Barnett expressed disappointment at the state of Brighton and Hove today compared to her childhood (Image: The Argus)

Cllr Barnett moved to Brighton at the age of seven and recalled how beautiful the city was in her childhood.

She said: “It used to be clean, there were flowers in Preston Park and all along the seafront. It was really an attractive place.

“You had the Black Rock swimming pool, the boating pool, Peter Pan’s playground - all those things made Brighton.

“You look at the pictures of Brighton in the past, it was so clean, with no rubbish and no graffiti.

“I wouldn’t want to live in Brighton as it is now because it has been so neglected for so long. It will never come back like it was.”

In particular, she noted how Lewes Road once had a range of high-end shops, but has now since fallen into a state of squalor.

“My mother would turn in her grave if she saw the house that I grew up in now,” she said.

“In that street, people were proud to live in it - not now. There’s only one house up there now that’s got a family in it, the rest are home to students.”

'People say to me "just get rid of the Greens"'

Cllr Barnett on the campaign trail with the Conservative Party manifesto for the city (Image: The Argus)

As Cllr Barnett begins campaigning for the election, she reflected on the Green council and said it shared some of the blame for the city’s decline.

“I genuinely cannot think of one good thing that the Green Party has done or has been a success,” she said.

“It surprises me that so many Greens were elected last time (in 2019) after so many people said ‘never again’ when they were last in power.

“I think they will lose a lot of seats in May - everywhere we go canvassing, people say ‘just get rid of the Greens’.”

Cllr Barnett said she and her fellow Conservative councillor Nick Lewry “work hard” for residents and that they often get messages of thanks from people living in the area.

“I like working hard - and I live here, so I also want it to be nice and to take pride in Hangleton," she said.

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One of the things driving Cllr Barnett in her campaign to be re-elected for a fifth time is her fight to ensure Benfield Valley is protected from development.

She said: “We have got to keep fighting that and I shall continue to keep fighting that.

“They want to build houses there but we’ve got so much wildlife over there and as far as I’m concerned it’s a nature reserve.

“It’s such a relaxing place and it’s the last green lung in Hove, so I’ll keep fighting to save it.”

'I get bored when I'm not working'

Cllr Barnett has not always been involved in the cut and thrust of politics. She did community work as a carer for 40 years in Hangleton and parts of Portslade.

She said: “One day, a gentleman said to me ‘how do you fancy being a councillor?’ and I said ‘all right then’.

“Before I knew it, I had an invitation for an interview and I got elected.”

Despite retiring as a carer, she still enjoys working.

She said: “I like having a purpose in life and I love what I do. I started working at 14 for a Saturday job and I haven’t stopped since. I get bored when I’m not working.

“Someone said to me recently ‘Dawn, you’ve got to slow down’, and I said to them ‘I’ll slow down on my way to the crematorium’.”