Hastings Commons Wins Housing Prize
CHRIS CONNELLEY
Hastings Commons, the cluster of community businesses behind the refurbishment of Rock House and the Observer Building, and the lead organisation for the Hastings Heritage Action Zone in the town centre, has been announced as a Gold winner in the 2025 World Habitat Awards.
Jess Steele
World Habitat is a charity based in Leicester that describes itself as “working internationally to help bring the best housing to people who need it most”.
It has been running an award programme for 30 years and this year announced nine international winners, with Hastings Commons the only UK based organisation and one of just two awarded the most prestigious Gold Prize.
Hastings Commons, who are social landlords owning flats on Cambridge Road and in Rock House, are described by World Habitat as “a community-led initiative, including a community land trust, that allows residents of a low-income neighbourhood to own, transform and manage derelict buildings, turning them into secure, sustainable and affordable homes, workspaces, and social hubs for all”.
The citation goes on to note, “The enterprise combats the financialisation of housing, increasing affordability and availability whilst empowering the local community.”
Hastings Commons joins Tanzania Women Architects for Humanity (TAWAH) as a Gold award winner. TAWAH secured theirs for the Mhaga Homes for the Elderly project, a training programme that provides women with construction skills to build “eco-friendly and dignified” homes for the elderly in rural communities in Tanzania.
The Gold Award comes with a £10,000 prize and access to innovation investment and advice from World Habitat’s global network. There are seven other winners at Silver and Bronze levels, representing projects in Austria, Australia, Argentina, Algeria, El Savador, Slovakia and Pakistan.
Dr Jess Steele, the CEO of Hastings Commons, said, “We’ve been working with local people for many years taking difficult and derelict buildings and retrofitting them into affordable homes and workspace and among other things a youth club all of which will be held in community ownership for ever.”
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