West Hill Café and St Mary in the Castle – ‘Partners’ Sought
A call by Hastings Borough Council (HBC) for “experienced developers and operators” to put forward ideas and proposals “to restore the West Hill Café to its full potential” as part of the Hastings Town Deal Castle project has attracted a large response.
The prospectus invited “a partner who will work with the council” to develop, build, operate and maintain a new building that will serve as café, restaurant and interpretation centre for the adjacent castle ruins.
HBC set 8 December as the closing date for submission of expressions of interest. On 22 November Health and Culture portfolio holder Andy Batsford told a meeting of the full council that 25 bids from national and local businesses had already been received, including plans to transform the landmark and link it with St Mary in the Castle.
Cllr Batsford said that the council would review the plans in the new year: “There will hopefully be a very dynamic and exciting beauty pageant to develop one of the key sites in Hastings.”
As to potential re-use of the existing building as a café (or for any other function) in the meantime, the council blog makes it clear that no enquiries are currently being sought. An HBC spokesperson said last week: “The council is currently undertaking investigations and reports to determine the condition of the building before any short-term options could be explored.”
With regard to St Mary in the Castle, the former church-turned-arts-venue at the bottom of the cliff below which has now been closed for more than a year, the spokesperson said: “We are continuing conversations about [its] future. We are keen to see it being brought back into use, but also need to ensure that we are working with the right groups or organisations for the future of such an iconic venue. We are working to minimise the cost of the closure”
The council has declined to give any figure for the monthly maintenance costs being incurred.
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