Thursday, 23rd December 10

Pride in Brighton & Hove 2011 - Saturday 13th August

The new Board of Trustees for Pride in Brighton & Hove wishes to assure the community that plans for Pride 2011 are well underway.

The key objectives for the coming Parade and Park event on 13th August 2011 are that they are safe, affordable, and enjoyable and that they serve as a focus for raising funds for the city's many LGBT organisations that work all year round to support the local LGBT communities.

To this end sponsorship contracts have been agreed to provide financial backing and Pride have met with the City Council's Safety Advisory Group (consisting of Council, Police, Fire and NHS representatives) to discuss our proposals to assure them that the event can be delivered in the safest manner possible.

As announced earlier this month Pride has seven new Trustees on its board, who have been in place for just a month. The new Trustees came forward independently of one another and applied to join the board alongside longstanding members Justin Manning and Russell Allen. The now nine strong board has a wealth of experience and talent are all involved in the local LGBT community in one way or other through businesses or community organisations. As a Trustee they all give their time for free and do not benefit in anyway financially, the Charity Commission regulates all charities and it would be illegal for Trustees to profit from their involvement in Pride - none do.

The Trustees of Pride have made a priority of gathering and evaluating the broad feedback supplied by contractors, partners, local groups and individuals to ensure the plans meet with expectations. Above all the focus is on ensuring safety of those that attend and maximising funds raised to support the LGBT voluntary sector. While doing this, the Trustees are also committed to rebuilding the mutual trust and confidence between all local businesses, the community and Pride.

Anyone sharing these objectives is asked to please unite with Pride to work together on delivering the event on Saturday 13th August 2011.

Pride has once again requested meetings with individuals involved in alternative plans to explore ways of working together for the benefit of the community as a whole, to date these requests have been ignored – any individual or group wishing to meet with Pride should contact the office now as the Trustees are very willing to discuss plans and receive feedback to ensure they are meeting expectations.

Pride still needs Trustees, members, volunteers and constructive opinions to shape the plan that best suits the city. To get involved or to share your views please email office@brightonpride.org or join the official Pride Facebook group.

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES