Author Archives: Hugh Sullivan - Page 7
Plaza Victory? Not So Fast
Rick Dillon, press officer for Hastings & Rye Labour Party, posted a triumphant “We Did It!” headline on its website last week claiming that NHS leaders were about to confirm…
Ore Valley On The Market
The acre freehold site of the former power station at Ore Valley, allocated in the Hastings Local Plan for up to 50 units of housing and now vacant after the…
CRICKET: Priory Look For Travelling Support
After a thrilling denouement to the match against Division Two promotion rivals Haywards Heath at Horntye last weekend, Hastings & St Leonards Priory hope to bus supporters to watch their…
Marshlink Rail Upgrade Stuck On Amber
Since her arrival as constituency MP in 2010, Amber Rudd has consistently talked up the prospect of local railway stations of Bexhill, Hastings and Rye getting a fast connection to…
POLO: A Not So English Sport
From Hastings it’s a two hour drive past Uckfield, Haywards Heath and Billingshurst, an English odyssey of country pubs and roped-off cricket squares, high crops and trees in full-spread leaf,…
CRICKET: Priory Maintain Winning Run
Sussex League Division Two leaders Hastings and St Leonards Priory have opened up a gap of 11 points over nearest challengers Haywards Heath and 29 over third-placed Billingshurst after two…
May Bank Holiday 2020: Hastings Leads the Opposition
On 8th June Business Secretary Greg Clark announced that next year’s early May bank holiday will be moved back by four days for the whole of the UK to coincide…
A Turn Up For The Books!
County council extends time for new Ore library initiative Following two meetings of a group of community leaders and activists co-ordinated by Hastings Borough councillor Heather Bishop, East Sussex County…
RUGBY: H & B Hold Sevens Tourney
Morale at Hastings & Bexhill RFC is on a high, despite the relegation of the first team from the London & South East League back in April and defeat in…
Fisherman Caught In Legal Net
Early one morning last October, a fisheries officer from the Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Association (SIFCA) on patrol at Rock-a-Nore spotted two fishermen taking fish from a net and…
Chart Funds Still Awaiting Release
European Union funds worth £ aimed at supporting “social and economic development of the most deprived areas of Hastings and Bexhill” remain in the pipeline four years after being applied…
CRICKET: Priory In Comfort Zone
Burgess Hill 171-9; Hastings & St Leonards Priory 173-4 After defeat at Billingshurst the previous weekend, Hastings Priory got back to winning ways last Saturday with a comfortable victory at…
FOOTBALL: Exodus From Pilot Field
Hastings United have announced a full overhaul of their playing squad for the 2019/20 season. Ten of last year’s troops have departed, including many who arrived during manager Chris Agutter’s…
MINI:GOLF: The Windmills Of Your Mind
International cricket teams no longer play in Priory Meadow, and the world tennis pro circuit calls in next month at Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, not Hastings or St Leonards. Nevertheless the…
FOOTBALL: Managing Disappointment
Who would be a football manager? Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino experienced the highest of highs last week as each guided their respective teams, Liverpool and Spurs, back from the…
SAILING: Boat People
On Saturday 25th May, as part of the Royal Yachting Association’s annual initiative Push The Boat Out, Hastings & St Leonards Sailing Club is holding an open day. Adults and…
Green Light in Bexhill
One beneficiary of the local political revolt in Bexhill was Green Party candidate, Polly Gray, who topped the poll in the Old Town and Worsham ward. At the last council…
FOOTBALL: Not Going Up
Hastings United drew a crowd of 1,123 - the biggest at Pilot Field for over six years – for their Bostik League play-off semifinal on Monday night. But for the…
£25M Bid For Town Centre Funding
But Council Leader Queries Competitive Process At a meeting of the Hastings and St Leonards Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) held at the chambers of Hastings Borough Council on Monday, Director…
The Squeeze On Landlords
Hugh Sullivan examines whether the government’s increasing regulation of the private rental market will actually benefit tenants in the manner it claims In an era of low economic returns on…
ROWING: Ruling The Waves
Formed in 1868, Hastings Rowing Club may not be quite the oldest sporting institution in town - some form of cricket was being played by the Priory Club at the…
GOLF: Where Everybody Knows Your Name
Roger Hyder, director of Beauport Park Golf Club, is back where he started his professional career. In his early 20s he was senior assistant pro here before being headhunted to…
Dog Attacks: A Weakness In The Law?
It happened like a scene out of a horror movie and was duly splashed across the Daily Mail last week: the art-collecting hedge fund owner of a Gothic mansion deep…
Sore Valley
Hastings Council loses out on £700,000 funding for community housing project Community Land Trust company Heart of Hastings (HoH) has occupied the site of the former Broomgrove Power Station and…
HOCKEY: Season Of Redemption For Saxon Ladies
This time last year the South Saxons Ladies team were relegated from the Sussex Premier League by the very last hit of the 2017/18 season. A year on, the tears…
FOOTBALL: Peaking For the Play-Offs?
Hastings United notched a fourth successive Bostik League victory at Pilot Field last Saturday, overcoming tidy but limited opposition from visitors Ramsgate to win 3-0. This followed a 3-1 away…
Pride versus The Egg: A Meaningful Vote
Hastings Pride, the LGBT+ celebration parade that will march through town on Sunday 25th August (the Bank Holiday weekend), has been short-listed for an award of up to £50,000 from…
Exit the University…
SeaChange, the trading name of the not-for-profit ‘regeneration’ company East Sussex Energy Infrastructure and Development Limited, has an enviable track record of obtaining large amounts of public funding from national…
All Change at Empty Quarter
The Priory Quarter, the clutch of new and redeveloped buildings between Havelock Road and Priory Street that was intended to form centre stage of the University of Brighton campus in…
BADMINTON: Helenswood Hosts Elite Coach
Badminton is the most popular racket sport in Britain, with more numerous regular players than tennis among both sexes. Badminton England claims that there are over 1,800 clubs in the…
Bohemian Rhapsody
Council votes funds for feasibility study The Labour-controlled cabinet of Hastings Borough Council (HBC) voted on Monday evening to pursue a feasibility study for the development of a combined sporting…
“Jew-Baiting” In Hastings Labour Party?
Amber Rudd’s Remarks Draw Prompt Denials In a remarkable press release, issued last Sunday and given extensive exposure by the national newspapers, Amber Rudd, MP for Hastings and Rye as…
The Tenth Anniversary – Tuesday gets fatter
At the time of going to press, the main musical event of Fat Tuesday, 5th March, had yet to get under way. But already a schedule of gigs, parades, workshops…
FOOTBALL: Late Goals Depress United Hopes
Hastings United have slumped from second to fifth in the Bostik League South East over the past fortnight as they suffered successive defeats – 2-1 away at East Grinstead on…
Pestalozzi Village Sells Up To PGL
After more than 60 years of hosting international students at its estate in Sedlescombe, the Pestalozzi International Village Trust has confirmed that it has sold the site and will cease…
His Place Funding Appeal
His Place, the large grey-stone Victorian church that straddles Cambridge Road and Robertson Street opposite the ESK emporium, combines a place of Christian worship, a well-used community hub, and arguably…
FOOTBALL: Brilliant Ajakaiye Boosts United
After four games without a win that had resulted in Hastings United slipping to third place in the Bostik League South-East, last Saturday’s 2-1 home win over Faversham Town came…
HOCKEY: Saxons Heading For Double Promotion
South Saxons hockey teams, men and ladies, moved closer to a potential double promotion with excellent victories last Saturday. The men overcame Gillingham Anchorians 4-2 at Horntye to record their…
Carbon Neutral By 2030?
Only if the Government allows, say Labour In response to the threat of climate change, Hastings Borough Council passed unanimously a motion brought by leader Peter Chowney last Wednesday that…
College Staff Strike for Higher Pay
Strike action was taken by members of the University and College Union (UCU) at East Sussex College in Hastings last week. Teachers and other admin staff went on strike for…