NEWS IN BRIEF
Another RIBA Prize for Hastings?
The extension of a detached Victorian house in Milward Road on the side of West Hill has been announced as one of six buildings nominated for the 2025 RIBA (the Royal Institute of British Architects) Stirling Prize.
The redesign of Hastings House was undertaken by Hugh Strange Architects, a practice based in Southwark. It involves a series of timber-framed rooms within; the exterior includes a concrete yard and galvanised steel staircase. The RIBA judges described the result as transformational, “a lesson in restrained, inventive use”.
Four of the other five nominated buildings are in London, the sixth, the prestigious AstroZeneca Discovery Centre in Cambridge. But Hastings has form: the 2017 prize was awarded for the restoration of the pier.
Former Council Leader Dies
Cllr Peter Pragnell, a former Conservative leader of Hastings Borough Council (HBC), has died aged 65. He was first elected as borough councillor in 2000 and served as leader for four years between 2006 and 2010.
Cllr Pragnell represented Conquest and later St Helens wards but was ousted from the borough council at the last election in 2024. He remained the councillor for Ashdown & Conquest ward on East Sussex County Council.
Cllr Glenn Haffenden, current leader, said that everyone at the council was sad to hear the news. “Peter will be remembered as a dedicated former leader and long-serving councillor who cared deeply for the town and our residents and always worked to achieve the best for them.”
Police Response Times
Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne has issued a newsletter claiming that Sussex Police are currently the top-rated force in the country for handling 999 calls. Over the past three months, more than 95% of calls to them have been picked up within the target time of ten seconds.
It’s also claimed that, over the same time period, fewer than 5% of non-emergency 101 calls have been abandoned. This was “a vast improvement from a few years ago”, according to Ms Bourne, “when rates were high and public frustration with the service was understandably reflected by increased complaints”.
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