New Year Council Offensive
KENT BARKER
Hastings Borough Council has begun 2026 with resolute plans to improve the look and amenities of the town. The initiatives centre on the vacant site at the western end of George Street, the Flamingo Park boating pond leisure area on East Parade, and the former concert hall, St Mary in the Castle.
Proposals for George Street
The property at 39-41 George Street has been derelict or vacant since the devastating fire almost exactly three years ago on 18 January 2023 which led to a police investigation for arson. This month a police spokesperson told HIP that “lines of enquiry have now concluded”. Officers had conducted an investigation into the incident but “no suspect has been identified.”
Within a few months of the blaze, Oasis Developments sought planning approval for twenty flats, six holiday lets and four commercial units on the site which was cleared later in 2023. Since then the project has been at a standstill. Council Leader Glenn Haffenden has now issued an ultimatum to the developer saying, “there is one final opportunity to put this right, with firm deadlines.”
Meanwhile the council is taking legal steps to force a clean-up of the boating pond and the adjacent Flamingo Amusements area. Last summer Hastings MP Helena Dollimore said, “The miserable state of Flamingo Amusements is a stain on Hastings Old Town. Once our amusements were the pride of Hastings, over the past four years they have been allowed to fall into disrepair. The Ferris Wheel is now folded up into a corner. The children’s boating pond is full of rubbish and growing algae from disuse.”
At this January’s Council cabinet meeting, legal officer Mary Kilner told members the Foreshore Trust was “pursuing Luxury Leisure who are our tenants as to what they are doing to address the problems with Flamingo park, their sub-tenants, and are hopeful of a resolution soon.”
The meeting also discussed the empty council-owned venue St Mary in the Castle. Deputy Leader Julia Hilton accepted that the council would need to put more money into any long-term strategy, saying they were identifying “what spend we need” and that there would be an update when the budget proposals come out in February. Last year the council invited ‘expressions of interest’ from a new partner, operator, or consortium who would be willing to take over the venue. Submissions closed in mid-December. It is understood that one proposal is to turn the former church into a music resource centre with rehearsal and recording facilities as well as classrooms and research facilities.
It is unclear what the council’s ultimatum for the George Street developers could mean in practice. There have been numerous amendments to the planning application in the two-and-a-half years since it was first lodged and it includes the partial demolition of a listed building at 41 George Street with the existing building façade retained and the provision of a new ground-floor shop front. The site has problematic access, with George Street itself a partially pedestrian-only zone. Councillor Haffenden stated that the council will continue to monitor progress closely: “If the agreed milestones are not met, the application will be determined on the basis of the information available at that time, which could include refusal.” HIP approached Oasis Development for a comment but they did not respond.
If the council is correct that residents and business are rightly frustrated by how long the process has ‘dragged on’, turning down planning consent for the current scheme would inevitably lead to even greater delays and difficult decisions about what to do with the listed building on the edge of the site.
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