Author Archives: Hugh Sullivan - Page 2
Political Football
Council leader challenged over blocking of relocation plan The owners of Hastings United Football Club are pursuing a collision course with the minority Labour administration of Hastings Borough Council (HBC),…
Queensway Gateway: funding stand-off continues
The dispute between East Sussex County Council (ESCC) and the not-for-profit regeneration company Sea Change Sussex over financial responsibility for completion of the Queensway Gateway road project which we revealed…
Stand-Off Over Road Funding
Sea Change and county council in £millions budget wrangle In a fresh twist to the long-running saga of the Queensway Gateway project – the road intended to connect the Bexhill…
St Anne’s reprieve may be short-lived
By Hugh Sullivan A news article in HIP 2011 – St Anne’s reprieved – reported on the decision of the planning committee of Hastings Borough Council (HBC) on 28 September…
Council to Take Charge of Green Spaces
A proposal to bring the responsibility for maintenance of parks, gardens, allotments and other public green spaces in Hastings and St Leonards “in-house”, under the direct control of the council,…
What’s to be done with St Mary? (and who’s to do it?)
Health and Culture portfolio holder at Hastings Borough Council (HBC) Cllr Andy Batsford has a whole host of challenging issues in his in-tray. But top of the pile is surely…
Public Shit Storm
Sewage spills on beaches: who’s to blame? Beaches at Bexhill and Normans Bay were closed for around 48 hours on 18 and 19 August after over million litres of water, which…
TENNIS
A hundred years of sporting history Both past and present members of Amherst tennis club will gather in Amherst Gardens on Sunday afternoon 4 September to celebrate its 100th anniversary.…
Fairlight sees off development plan – for now
Residents of Fairlight Cove were toasting Rother District Council and a public planning inspector last week when the news came through. The appeal by developers against refusal of their application…
Drought Measures
A total of just of rain – around one sixteenth of an inch – fell in Hastings over the whole of July, according to the meteorological office on St Leonards…
Horntye to Claremont
Relocation Still in the Balance By Hugh Sullivan The intended relocation of prime cricket and hockey clubs from Horntye Park to Claremont school, to be financed by development of Horntye…
Candidate selection process lambasted
Helena Dollimore, a 28-year-old Oxford graduate who works as a senior manager at Unilever (in its Global Sustainability arm), has been selected as prospective Labour Party candidate for the parliamentary…
ATHLETICS
Running Clubs To Combine Local athletics clubs, Hastings Athletics Club (HAC) and Hastings Runners (HR) will combine forces in the East Sussex Sunday Cross-Country League season this coming winter. Runners…
Does Hastings oppose 5G?
Council planners review new mast site proposals Planning applications for the siting of 5G masts at three new locations across Hastings and St Leonards have been lodged with Hastings Borough…
Ambulance Waiting Times Exposed
Leadership in the service provided by local NHS ambulance trust SECAmb (South East Coast Ambulance Service) was last month branded “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission after an inspection earlier…
New Trustees rally to defend Flagship School
The Flagship school in Hastings, which opened last September with the aim of providing specialist education for neurodiverse children with social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH) and/or autism spectrum…
Party Politics Get Personal Internal turmoil for both Labour and Tories
Following on from our lead report in HIP 204 that Cllr Maya Evans has been excluded from a “long list” of prospective Labour party candidates for the next parliamentary election…
FOOTBALL
“It’s about the team” Manager Gary Elphick, assistant Jon Meeney and team captain Jack Dixon gave an impressively open and committed presentation as a three-man panel responding to questions raised…
Not on the List
Would-be Labour MP Maya Evans questions her exclusion A “long list” of candidates from whom one will be chosen to represent the Labour party at the next general election in…
Regime Change
Greens accept two posts in Labour-led cabinet At the first meeting of Hastings Borough Council since the local elections, Labour party chief Cllr Paul Barnett was voted back last week…
Cllr Carr: the dissenting party
Green party leader Julia Hilton showed undisguised emotion in her address to the assembled council last week when she thanked Cllr Claire Carr for her work on behalf of the…
CRICKET: Priory’s batsmen struggle for form
21 May:Hastings & St Leonards Priory 173;Middleton 175 for 1 28 May:Bognor Regis 130;Hastings & St Leonards Priory 76 Despite valiant performances by John Morgan with both bat and ball,…
Land speculators move in on Combe Valley
A six-and-half acre plot of land on the western edge of Combe Valley Countryside Park, which used to be a part of Pebsham Farm, was sold off last year. Estate…
Rough Ride Ahead For Park Cyclists
Proposals to lay a path through Alexandra Park for cyclists to share with pedestrians were endorsed by East Sussex County Council (ESCC) in March and are backed by immediately available…
FOOTBALL
United over the line Faversham Town 1,Hastings United 1; Hastings United 3,VCD Athletic 0 Each of the past two seasons, 2019-20 and 2020-21, ended with Hastings United at the top…
FOOTBALL
United Celebrations On Hold East Grinstead 0,Hastings United 4; Hastings United 0,Haywards Heath Town 0 It was perfect weather for a celebration: Pilot Field bathed in sunshine, if somewhat chilly…
New Council Leader “Will work with anyone”
Labour councillors on Hastings Borough Council elected Paul Barnett as their new leader last week following the surprise resignation of Cllr Kim Forward. No account of the internal meeting of…
Forward and Back
Cllr Kim Forward resigned as leader of Hastings Borough Council (HBC) last week after two years in the role dominated by reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic. Her formal period of…
HASTINGS DISUNITED
Council Pulls Offer of Tilekiln for Football Stadium Hastings Borough Council (HBC) announced last Friday that it will not proceed with the projected sale of Tilekiln playing fields to Hastings…
ATHLETICS: HALF MARATHON
Out of the Running Last Sunday’s Hastings Half Marathon, resumed after two years of Covid interruption, was the 36th. Runners, spectators, charity fundraisers, hoteliers, bed-and-breakfast providers, shoe retailers, and everyone…
Change of Hart?
Local campaigners press Hastings MP on Nationality Bill amendments This Friday 11 March the campaign group Hastings Community of Sanctuary (HCoS) will hand to Hastings & Rye MP Sally-Ann Hart…
Seafront Rally
A rally organised at short notice on Hastings seafront last Sunday with the aim of demonstrating solidarity with the Ukrainian people under attack from Putin’s troops attracted over 200 people,…
Piano competitors bridge political divide
The Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition (HIPCC), being held for the first time in three years after abandonment to Covid-19 restrictions in 2021, opened on 24 February, the same day…
Council Begs Businesses: Take Your Money!
Last month Hastings Borough Council (HBC) announced that it had received a little over £ from central government in cash grants to compensate hospitality businesses for the loss of custom…
Affordable housing: council cabinet sets First Homes criteria
Under a government scheme introduced last year, First Homes, at least 25% of all future new-built ‘affordable’ housing units are set to be offered at discounted prices to local first-time…
Channel crossings: Government and Royal Navy at odds?
According to Border Force statistics, nearly a thousand people crossed the Channel into England on small boats during the first three weeks of January – that’s around three times the…
FOOTBALL
“Don’t Get Too Emotional” Gary Elphick, appointed as Hastings United manager in mid-November, has taken them to the top of the Isthmian League South-East Division, though a run of eight…
Green Lights for Brownfield Housing
Total of 361 homes get planning approval at Ashdown and Darwell Close A meeting of Hastings Borough Council’s planning committee last week resolved to grant planning permission for the plans…
Art to replace bowls in the park
Arts on Prescription (AoP), a local community interest company which offers art and creative activities as a therapeutic means of mental health support, is to be awarded a tenancy by…
Union Council Pushes For Pay Rises
Hastings & District Trades Union Council, which represents around 2,000 members spread over 11 union branches within the local economy, is calling on all workers to put in substantial pay…