Landslides Action Plan
Rod Webb and Paul McLaughlin
The threat of landslides in Hastings and St Leonards is real and persistent (see page 5), with 24 recorded events in recent years. The most recent landslides at Old Roar Ghyll and between the Bo Peep pub and Marina Church destroyed homes and infrastructure, leaving deep financial and emotional scars on the community.
Council Leader Glenn Haffenden with Ben Ramsden and students from Bexhill College
The scale of landslide damage along the south coast is immense, demanding a coordinated response from national government, local councils and insurers. Yet affected communities often feel abandoned, left alone to piece together their shattered lives.
This looks as if it is about to change, however. On Monday 8 December, a group of Hastings residents and other interested parties gathered on The Green opposite 76-84 West Hill Road, St Leonards for their first physical intervention in tackling the problems of landslides in the town. This was the first step in a bold plan by newly formed Community Interest Company HASTE (Hydraulic Activity Stabilisation Training Enterprise) to install a network of sensors to monitor the cliff system.
It was the culmination of two years of behind-the-scenes work putting together the necessary expertise, getting the local community on board working to ensure that there would be the political will to support this bold community vision.
“This is what community resilience looks like in practice,” says Ben Ramsden, HASTE Coordinator. “We’ve spent two years analysing historical data, building partnerships and planning carefully. Now we’re putting sensors in the ground that will act as an early warning system – helping us to understand where the risks are and figure out how to bring back stability to our cliff.”
The event on Monday was a testament to those partnerships. Bexhill College was represented by 23 students from the Geology Department, Hastings Borough Council by Glenn Haffenden (Leader of the council) along with Land Stability Project Manager, Sarah Tye and Mark Stanley of local firm Thingitude, a consultancy and training company that helps the public sector understand the potential of ‘smart city’ technology. Installation of the sensors was carried out by local company In Situ Site Investigation Ltd.
The monitoring installation is being provided free to the community through the partnership with In Situ and Thingitude and with funding from Sussex Resilience Forum. HASTE is hoping to demonstrate the benefits of collaboration between professional specialists and local residents who understand that protecting their homes requires collective action.
Darren Ward, CEO of In Situ Site Investigation, explains his involvement: “This is about giving back to the community I grew up in. We have the specialist equipment and expertise to help understand what’s happening beneath these cliffs, and if that knowledge can help protect people’s homes, then we want to be part of it.”
Cllr Haffenden agrees that from the council perspective, this is a great example of what can be achieved when the council and community work together. “HASTE has shown real initiative in tackling a challenge that affects hundreds of local homes, and we’re proud to support their innovative approach,” he says.
And it’s not just Hastings Borough Council who are interested in this initiative. Following the first stages of sensor installation on West Hill, Ben Ramsden was off to Westminster to join local MP Helena Dolimore to meet representatives from 56 councils at the Local Government Association’s Coastal Special Interest Group and present HASTE’s community-led approach as a potential template for other at-risk areas. On Monday 15 December a second visit was an opportunity to discuss HASTE’s plans with the Under-Secretary of State for Water, Emma Hardy.
The next project phase involves partnering with an engineering firm to design a stabilisation plan for the entire mile-long cliff. Following this, the work will focus on training local workers and securing the necessary funding to execute the repairs. This is the action plan which will be presented to the water minister.
Anyone with skills or resources who would like to support the project should contact [email protected]. To read a BBC article about the project visit bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjrj0ll2x1ro. To watch watch a BBC South report visit WhatsApp Video 2025-12-11 at 16.27.06.mp4 – Google Drive
The Technical Picture
HASTE is deploying a multi-sensor network combining piezometers (which measure groundwater pressure – a critical precursor to slope failure), accelerometers and tilt sensors (detecting movement at sub-centimetre precision) and weather stations (correlating rainfall with ground conditions).
The team will also survey existing boreholes along the cliff system to identify which remain in suitable condition for additional sensor deployment. This ‘intelligent reuse’ of existing infrastructure dramatically reduces costs while accelerating coverage.
The goal is to install monitoring points strategically across the entire cliff area to understand how weather events affect different zones – and to identify any areas showing warning signs and develop solutions before they become dangerous.
Traditional engineering consultancy approaches to monitoring this scale of risk would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. HASTE’s community-led model, with professional engineering oversight, delivers the same capability at a fraction of the cost – and builds local expertise in the process.
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