NEWS IN BRIEF
Council Hacked
Hastings Borough Council has been hit by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack resulting in its website becoming unavailable for a day. Deputy Leader of Hastings Borough Council, Cllr Glenn Haffenden said: “The council’s web team has worked with our web provider to restore use, and the website is now available again. No personal information was able to be accessed during this incident but we apologise for any inconvenience this outage has caused.” DDoS attacks cause disruption by preventing users from accessing online services by overloading the server. The council says they are relatively low in sophistication and impact. HBC was one of a number of councils affected.
Rock Lane Housing Approved
A 26-house development on a greenfield site at Rock Lane on the fringe of Ore has been unanimously approved by the planning committee of Hastings Borough Council. Meeting on 24 October, the committee heard that, although the land in question is within the High Weald AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), it was already zoned for housing. A previous proposal put forward by Chichester-based house builders Jerboa Homes Ltd to build 29 units was refused in 2020 because of environmental concerns, but Jerboa’s revised proposals, at a lower density and offering 10 of the units as ‘affordable’ housing, were regarded as acceptable.
Local objectors had stressed in written submissions that the site was a natural habitat for local wildlife including badgers, foxes, mice and a host of birds; that there were already serious traffic and drainage issues in Rock Lane which this development would exacerbate; and that Ore’s existing infrastructure is already overburdened, lacking doctors’ and dentists’ surgeries, school places and public transport. None of these objections were given any weight in the committee discussion as against the pressing needs of the borough to reach its overall house building target: 481 homes per year, and to increase the supply of those that are ‘affordable’.
The planning committee was chaired by Green councillor Tony Collins and included representatives of all four political parties with seats on the council – Green, Labour, the (ex-Labour) Independent Group and Conservative.
Money Exchange
Sea Change Sussex has revealed it is seeking £1.2 million for the hospitality venue it developed on the outskirts of Hastings on the Queensway South link road. The previous tenants of The Sussex Exchange ran it as a restaurant, bar, conference centre and cinema but became insolvent and went into administration earlier this year. The owners describe it as a “striking, contemporary, eco-friendly building on a 1.6-acre site in a countryside setting with parking for 67 vehicles”. If you don’t have the readies to buy the 999 year lease, you could rent the space for £100,000 a year – all sums plus VAT, naturally.
No Exchange
Sea Change Sussex is having problems with another of its properties – the Azur Marina Pavilion on St Leonards seafront. Despite claims by property agents, it has not been sold nor has an operator been found. The agent Fleurets’ website says the Azur has been “sold subject to contract”, but according to the head lessees Sea Change Sussex, despite “a good level of interest” it has not been sold.
One reason for the delay is believed to be serious maintenance issues at the premises – including dilapidated fabric and peeling decoration plus problems relating to drainage and power supply. These are being addressed by both Sea Change and by the estates department of Hastings Borough Council, who own the freehold and retain responsibility for the power generator in a room at the western end of the property.
The council has no active involvement in the marketing of the property, though as freeholder it says it will “require information that shows the proposed underlessee is able to perform the obligations (financial etc) set out in the lease”.
The pavilion closed in January after its former lessee and operator, Azur Events Ltd, ran into financial trouble.
Dry Powder?
The Powdermill Hotel in Battle has closed, its staff made redundant and its entire contents are due to be sold as new owners consider their options. Although the closure is said to be temporary, the company that bought the hotel in July, Powdermills Prop Co UK Ltd, says reopening will only occur “once we are confident the business can operate viably”.
A post on social media said people whose weddings were cancelled received no apologies. Simon Sinden posted “Thank you Powdermill’s new owners for cancelling my wedding and making it more stressful for us.” An application to alter the Grade ll listed building which dates from the 17th century has been received by Rother District Council.
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