Castles in the Air
CHRISTOPHER CORMACK says that the continued closure of St Mary in the Castle is a disaster for Hastings, and that the boarded-up Pelham Arcade in front is a disgrace.
What is needed, he argues, is some radical blue-sky thinking.
As an Old Towner who often walks past St Mary in the Castle, the sorry sight of its closure and all-but-derelict Pelham shopping arcade brings a constant reminder of our council’s failure to build on the success of the many memorable events that took place there. When all the Morris dancers collected in the town to celebrate ‘Jack in the Green’ with us,where else could be better to share their interest in folk and dancing? What other venue in Hastings provides the flexibility to stage innovative opera?
It was a huge disappointment that no provision was made for this once flourishing arts centre from the Levelling-up Funds. More than £5 million will be allocated towards making Hastings Castle a ‘Flagship Signature Project’ but nothing for St Mary – very soon Hastings Borough Council (HBC) might be having to manage two ruins: one at the top and one at the bottom of the cliff.
So what can be done for St Mary? One solution might be to apply part of the Pelham Place Car Park’s income towards running costs. After all, visitors to St Mary ITC pay between £4.80 and £6.40 for parking. Without the events taking place, this income is lost, and parking bays stand empty. A successful event used to generate 600+ visitors. If only 150 came by car, just two or three events a week would generate about £75,000 a year. The Foreshore Trust, as the owner of the car park land, used to benefit from this income.
Income Generator
Another way of looking at this, is that each successful event at St Mary might generate £1,100 for Foreshore Trust. Events generally take place in the evening when most day-trippers will already have driven home. So it is in the Foreshore Trust’s financial interest to perhaps pay £1000 for an event to go ahead. It would still benefit from the remaining £100 that it would not otherwise have. A classic win win.
The Foreshore Trust (FT) is a charity wholly run by the council which is its sole trustee. The most recent accounts for the Trust on the Charity Commission’s website are for 2020. These show gross annual income in the region of £1.4m, of which parking income is about £1.1m. So if the Trust were to offer St Mary ITC an annual subsidy of £75,000 for core funding, this would represent about 5% of its gross revenue and would be largely financed by additional parking revenue at Pelham Place. It would also provide some longer-term reassurance and stability to St Mary’s finances.
In order to relaunch the arts centre successfully, it is essential to complete the refurbishment and reletting of all the vacant commercial retail units at Pelham Arcade in front of St Mary. These are in multiple ownership – including the council – and are listed Grade II*. Renovation financed by Historic England and HBC was ‘completed’ in 2021, thus removing them from the At Risk Register, but since then little appears to have happened.
Vacancy and Dilapidation
I think the White Rock Hotel with its excellent track record might be persuaded to return to take charge of the catering unit which flanks the entrance to St Mary, but how could one resolve all the other problems of vacancy and dilapidation at the Arcade? This would be one visible sign to visitors that Hastings is open for business and regeneration is taking effect.
Conversely the present sorry state of affairs – in front of what should be Hastings’ crowning architectural glory – prolongs the stigma of Hastings as a ‘ne’er do well’ town. We reinforce failure when East Sussex is such an area of outstanding beauty and general wealth. We are confirming anti-Hastings prejudice that holds back important investors and visitors to the town. Its location near the Old Town, the mini-golf and the fisherman’s beach, makes it all the more important to regenerate this eyesore where so many day-trippers can see it.
Whatever happened to Jeremy Birch’s ‘Grotbuster’ campaign? Perhaps the council could force owners and tenants (including itself!) to complete refurbishment? It would certainly seem possible that they could levy the Uniform Business Rate on vacant units where this is proper and feasible. The council must have extensive experience in dealing with the ‘carrot and stick’ solution to this sort of problem! The stick is as important as the carrot to get things done. I would urge that landlords are forced to offer a rent free-period for as long as the period they had allowed dilapidation to accumulate!
Cultural Regeneration
But I’d also urge the council to exert pressure to ensure that all vacant units at the Arcade are reopened immediately. If they are not, perhaps the council itself could rent them for a Tourist Information Office. It really is shameful that Hastings has cut back so much on its tourism marketing when so many enterprises depend on the hospitality business. These were false economies. Our town will not get the planned 250,000 growth in visitors for the Castle without being far more proactive in its marketing.
Other ‘blue sky’ ideas might include a new box office and computer ticketing system, embedded in the Tourist Information Office. A joint marketing initiative to showcase the huge musical talent available in our town and grow through cooperation and greater professionalism. Ideally it would be compatible with the White Rock Theatre ticketing system. Booking fees could be applied towards cultural regeneration expenses.
Restore Self-Respect
A merchandising shop should fill the available vacant space until suitable quality commercial tenants are found to pay rent at Pelham Arcade. The diverse selection of ‘I heart’ T-shirts and Fleeces seen around town might do something to restore self-respect in our tourist offering and more awareness of the reasons why visitors should come back for more, whether it be music, chess, mini-golf, skateboarding or the Castle.
The history of St Mary in the Castle, especially the first collegiate church, is interwoven with Hastings Castle – the canons claimed that their church was endowed by Edward the Confessor before 1066. Examination of the old St Mary ruin suggests the stone church building predates the rest of the castle and could well have been built before 1070. When the 1066 story is developed for promoting Hastings Castle as a visitor destination, I hope it will be seen as worthwhile and right that some – even a small – portion, of the £5 million+ budgeted for the project can be allocated towards the St Mary’s part of Hastings’ heritage and the promotion of cultural tourism generally.
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