Hastings Decides on Housing
KENT BARKER
Residents of Hastings are being consulted on their views about at least three important areas over the next few weeks and months. The most contentious is likely to be the long-delayed development plans for the old Bathing Pool site at West Marina in St Leonards.
A public meeting has been called by Hastings Borough Council’s chosen developer – a joint venture between the Essex-based Generator Group and County Gate Properties. The latter, a housing development specialist, says: “the site offers a unique and exciting opportunity to create a place where people can live, work and enjoy leisure time. The overarching aspiration is to develop a high-quality environment, through characterful and intelligent design, quality construction and complimentary landscaping, whilst focussing on integrating into the existing surrounding physical and social infrastructure.”
The Generator Group also stresses that the plans will be “residential-led” but says they have a commitment to community engagement and are seeking feedback which, “where possible”, will be used to inform their plans before they are submitted to the Council later this year. Meanwhile the West Marina Partnership – an umbrella organisation for clubs, organisations, and community members interested in the development, will be holding their own meeting immediately beforehand. It is understood that the group has not been consulted by the developers despite producing detailed recommendations earlier this year.
Opponents of a second potential housing development site – Sandrock Bends on the Ridge – are also holding a public meeting to discuss what they describe as a “disaster in the making”. The Save Sandrock Bends campaign say developers want to build 80 private homes “on one of the last unbroken natural routes for hazel dormice, badgers, bats, deer, and countless other species” on land that links St Helen’s Woods with the High Weald countryside.
This, along with other proposed housing developments, comes as the Council seeks local views on a new Housing Strategy for the town. Residents are invited to take part in an online survey and to attend consultation events. The stated intention is to produce a five-year strategy which will “meet our ambition for everyone in the town to have a decent place to live”.
While this is primarily focused on social housing and the rental sector, HBC along with other local authorities has been given extremely ambitious targets for finding new housing development land. Following last year’s general election, the Local Government Chronicle reported that Hastings would be expected to identify land for 722 homes, up 47% from the previous figure of 490. In the past, councillors have argued the targets are unachievable given Hastings’ dense urban environment and surrounding protected areas like the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Hastings Country Park.
Other local planning commentators believe there are considerable areas of publicly-owned land held by institutions such as the NHS and British Rail that could be earmarked for housing. Nonetheless the ambitions of house-builders and the government are likely to continue to face fierce opposition from local residents and environment groups who don’t want to see new houses in their ‘backyard’.
Ridge Housing Public Meeting Thursday 24 April 7.30pm St Helen’s Church savesandrockbends.co.uk. West Marina Partnership Community Meeting Sunday April 27 2.00pm Marina Park, Seaside Road. West Marina St Leonards Ltd, Exhibition of proposals Tuesday 29 April 3.00pm Project Space Electro Studios Seaside Road. hastings.gov.uk/housing/housingstrategy
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