MIXED RECEPTION FOR TOWN CENTRE RE-DESIGN
HUGH SULLIVAN
A preliminary re-design of Hastings Town Centre was unveiled at a Town Deal Board meeting last week, then presented in the central hub of Priory Meadow shopping centre on Saturday at the start of a six-week public consultation process.
The project, styled Hastings Public Realm and Green Connections, was approved in principle two years ago as part of the overall £24.3m Town Deal package awarded to Hastings by DLUHC (the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities). It was then given a large expansion of funding when other projects were withdrawn, so that it now has a budget of over £10.2m. It is to be delivered by East Sussex County Council (ESCC) in conjunction with architectural design firm Arup.
The design involves substantial greening of Havelock Road, Wellington Place and the central area referred to as ‘Albert Circus’ with sustainable plantings of trees and shrubs, and an emphasis on prioritising ‘active travel’ i.e. bus lanes, cycle routes and pedestrian areas.
Chair of the Town Deal Board, Graham Peters, described the design at the Board meeting as “absolutely transformational and hugely exciting”. Other attendees were less fulsome in their responses. Sean Dennis, director of the Hastings Chamber of Commerce, complained that the design has been undertaken so far without any significant engagement with the local business community. John Bownas, of Love Hastings, which represents town centre businesses, asked what cost/benefit studies had been undertaken to show that the scheme was value for money compared to all the other needs of the town.
New council leader, Julia Hilton, who is herself a professional landscape architect and clearly favours the greening agenda with its emphasis on walking and cycling, noted that the consultation process, which runs until 1 March, was “long overdue”.
Ellie McDaniel, project manager for ESC, told the Board that, once the consultation was concluded, the design was expected to be further developed by June and planning application documents prepared by July. The whole scheme is due to be delivered by 2026.
The Saturday presentation at Priory Meadow included not only the new design of the Public Realm project but also updates in respect of other Town Deal programmes. The large numbers of interested viewers included many councillors and leading community activists. There was clearly an appetite for consultation, with concerns raised both in immediate feedback and subsequently on social media.
Proposed changes in bus routes and loss of the taxi rank in Havelock Road were questioned. But, more fundamentally, people wanted to know how the future town centre would be maintained and policed, many pointing out that the current supposedly pedestrianised areas of the centre are constantly overrun in the evenings with delivery bikes and vans.
To participate in the consultation on the town centre design, go online to consultation.eastsussex.gov.uk.
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