The programme of events has been created by East Sussex County Council, in collaboration with East Sussex Seniors Association and seven local senior forums, to celebrate the contribution of older people and change the way people think about ageing.

Cllr Mark Estcourt, East Sussex County Council’s lead member for adult social care and health, describes the festival as: “a great opportunity for anyone over 50 to try a new activity, learn a new skill, get active and meet new people. He points out that it showcases the range of activities on offer across the county and all the benefits they can bring to people’s health and wellbeing, and with many of the activities free and not requiring booking, “it’s the perfect time to give a new hobby a go and meet new people.”

With more events on offer than ever, the festival promises to offer something for everyone over the age of 50, with events and activities available in every district and borough.

A full programme of events and more information about the festival is available: eastsussex.gov.uk/community/over-50s/full-of-life-events. The Full of Life Festival brochure can also be picked up from libraries, leisure centres, and council offices. 

As well as spending time by the sea, the family paid a visit to the aquarium and sampled some traditional fish and chips..

Seaside trips have long held happy memories for Marjorie, as her frequent visits were accompanied by her late husband Albert.

Linda, Marjorie’s daughter, explained: “Once Mum and Dad retired, they would often head out for weekend trips to the coast. Southend was the closest for them as they lived in East London at the time, but they would visit different beaches around Kent and Sussex too, including Hastings.

“If they fancied a trip to the seaside they would pack up the car and go, whatever the weather, so it wasn’t unheard of for them to be sat on the beach in their coats with a windbreak around them eating their fish and chips on a cold and windy day!”

The Hastings trip was made particularly special by the presence of Marjorie’s 15-year-old great-granddaughter April. Although April spends time with her great-grandmother, it was the first time the pair had enjoyed a proper day out together.

The two shared a particularly special moment at the aquarium, with April pointing out the different fish to Marjorie as they explored. She repeatedly commented on how wonderful it was to be able to see creatures she would otherwise never have had the opportunity to encounter. She particularly enjoyed the brightly coloured tropical fish, which she’d never seen before, as well as being treated to a special display from an octopus which slid across the tank directly in front of her.

Talking about what a lovely day out she’d had, she said: “It’s amazing that we can get so many of these things here for us to see because we’d never get the chance to see them otherwise.”

For Linda, having four generations together for the day made it especially meaningful. “It was such a memorable day. It’s something I wouldn’t have been able to organise and do with Mum myself, so we’re incredibly grateful to Hannah and everyone at Heathfield Court for making it possible. It was particularly special for April to have her first proper day out with her great-grandmother.”

Hannah Tribe, lifestyle lead at Heathfield Court, said: “Bringing four generations of the family together made this trip incredibly special, and seeing Marjorie and April enjoying the aquarium together was a lovely moment.”

“Days out like this are about so much more than simply going somewhere different. They give our residents the opportunity to revisit happy memories while continuing to have new experiences and make new memories with the people they love”.

Residents of Hastings, St Leonards and Bexhill can now tune in to a new local radio station from 1 September. Seahaven FM, already broadcasting to East Sussex for more than 16 years, is extending into the area via its new DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) licence, adding to the many coastal towns already receiving the station on FM.

Listeners can hear its signature mix of hit music, join in with the daily quizzes, including the Mystery Tune and Bird-Plant-Fish, and receive vital local information, particularly during travel disruption and adverse weather.

Nick Mallinson, founder of Seahaven FM, says: “We’re excited to be bringing our unique music selection of eight decades of hits to Hastings, St Leonards and Bexhill. Our music, local news, weather, sport, travel and local personality features have been enjoyed by listeners from Saltdean to Pevensey Bay for many years. We’re pleased to be increasing our coverage to welcome a new audience.”

David Crozier, Managing Director of Seahaven FM, adds: “As a not-for-profit organisation, mainly powered by local volunteers, we’re proud to bring our service to people in our new DAB area. We play a vital role in promoting local charities and community organisations and their events, as well as providing affordable radio advertising opportunities for local businesses.”

The station’s website seahavenfm.radio has details of Seahaven FM’s programmes, presenters and the station’s free events listing. As it extends its footprint, Seahaven FM welcomes new advertisers and sponsors.

You can hear Seahaven FM on DAB+ (you may need to re-scan or re-tune your DAB+ radio). All programmes are also available online, on smart speakers and by using your free mobile apps (OIS and Android). Further details on how to listen can be found on the station’s website.

CHRIS WATKINS

Back at the start of this long, hot Summer, at The Bowl Play Park on Wishing Tree North, Hollington celebrated itself. The Hollington Community Spirit group worked with Tornado Twirl Stars, Hastings 1st Scouts Hollington, Women’s Voice, Gozmina’s Circus Skills and Just Jam/Ark in the Park to programme a day of play activities, the like of which many residents reported not having seen since the early 2000s.

Volunteers from Craig’s Cabin cooked up free food for the crowds, and community organiser Andrea Cowhig explained how Hollington had come out in their masses to celebrate the community and speak up for their play spaces and how they feel about them. Families that remembered using the play parks when they were better maintained talked about what they would like to see from their housing associations and the local council.

Andrea emphasises that as well as raising local spirit and community connection, the event was intended to highlight how resources are spent locally. “Most were aware that there has been a big grant given from the government for new play provisions and are hopeful that we’ll see some of that here in Hollington and Wishing Tree including The Bowl, Blackman Avenue, Kent Road and Willingdon Avenue. There was also discussion of more sports and activities being put on in the area, like other areas have in their parks.”

Andrea and her mother experienced a long-running disagreement with Southern Housing over the condition of their accommodation and, a couple of years ago, joined with other residents to form Hastings Area Southern Housing Tenants Association to better organise, pressure and work to improve conditions in local housing.

After a significant medical diagnosis, Andrea says stepping up as a community organiser provided her with a new confidence and motivation. “I know what it’s like to struggle, and it’s better to struggle together than alone. Especially working in a community that is struggling with things like loneliness, the cost of living, addictions, disability and a massive housing crisis. Standing up for myself gave me my voice again. I’ve always been someone who stood up for the underdog and been very passionate about what’s right.”

In the face of significant socio-economic challenges in the Hollington area, Andrea argues that problems like antisocial behaviour are best addressed by involving residents in regular activities and developing a shared sense of community responsibility. She formed Hollington Community Spirit group to organise events and, following the release of significant Government funding for community development, the group has recently applied for a Pride in Place grant.

As well as hoping to organise meetings, craft days for young people and community events several times a year, the grant application includes a plan for an ongoing six-week cookery course to help families learn more about healthy eating, budgeting and gain confidence making fresh food. Each course would end with a community meal, shared with family and friends of the participants.

Andrea says: “There’s pocket parks in Hollington which have been closed down – little parks which were intended for the roads around them, and we’re hoping to open one of those up to grow fruit and vegetables which will eventually be used to provide ingredients.”

Whilst recognising the danger of anti-social behaviour, Andrea is positive that involving often under-employed young people in community projects can create better community ownership. Since 2022, one of these ‘pocket parks’ has already been successfully developed into Craig’s Cabin, a community garden created within a small patch of fenced and otherwise unused land off Tile Barn Road.

Granted a lease by Southern Housing but otherwise run by volunteers, this charitable venture serves as a wellbeing garden, runs foraging walks, hosts men’s support meetings, regular social activities for children and monthly Community Spirit meetings.

Both groups are involved in the second part of the Pride in Place application, hoping to establish a location where young people can be taught practical trade skills and vegetable gardening to increase their resilience, community engagement and self-belief.

Andrea is not currently keen to repeat her recent unsuccessful run at the recent local elections. “I’dd rather be out there caring about the community. I think I can get more done not being a councillor.”

What’s the link between the tragic fields of Flanders in WWI and an unusual shop on The Ridge? Well, built around 1920, that iconic building was a workshop for Burslem Memorials, which provided many WWI monuments, perhaps most famous of which are at the Menin Gate in Belgium: the 350 handcrafted name panels commemorating 54,585 British and Commonwealth soldiers missing in the Ypres Salient. For decades the premises remained a stonemasonry, selling mainly headstones; then in 2014, there was an abrupt change of character.

Now it is called Two3Two and is not at all the kind of shop you might expect on a leafy, suburban road next to the cemetery. Large statues from the Far East flank the doors when the shop is open (Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 12 to 6 pm) and, if you peer through the windows, all manner of unusual objects can be seen. After some years of wondering, I finally couldn’t resist the temptation to look inside and was astonished by what I found.

There was no pressure to buy, and I was free to wander around looking at things as I wished. My personal interest was mainly in the abundant wooden tribal artefacts, but I was also dazzled by old valuable pottery, all sorts of jewellery, Javanese shadow puppets, hand-crafted bags– and the list goes on. Intriguingly, there is a surprising diversity: alongside the exotica, I spotted homely items like teapots and, through the back window revealing a spacious yard, I was amused to notice a two-metre-high metal Tyrannosaurus Rex.

I’ve since learnt that there are other amazing things out there too, most notably many large Buddhas. In fact, the emporium includes a wide range of Buddhas and Ganeshs, from miniature size to 2.4 meters tall. Only when you enter the shop can you realise the scope and variety. It’s surprisingly spacious, with a mezzanine and an upper floor, as well as the backyard with huge garden sculptures and architectural carvings. There are a large range of masks from all over the world, as well as bronze, wood and ceramic sculptures of all sizes. In addition, there is furniture, all of it unique, including chairs, sofas, tables and even beautiful large teak cabinets. All of it is accessible to visitors.

There are many surprising items, but the owner, Mick Smee, is always happy to explain the provenance of anything on display. As a photographer and cameraman, he travelled extensively around Asia, and he gradually built up a personal collection. He spent a lot of time in the many islands of Indonesia, which particularly fascinated him with their varying cultures and artefacts.

Buying this spacious stone building has provided him with the perfect place to store, display and build on his collection. But currently Mick is working towards clearing stock, so his prices are all negotiable. He plans to eventually sell the premises and continue his travelling.

He hopes to spend his winters in South America and South-east Asia, where “swimming in warm waters and pursuing esoteric medicines” should help with his recovery from spinal injuries sustained when he fell 80 metres while free-climbing Fairlight cliffs. Refusing to allow that accident to restrict his life, he is now an avid swimmer and determined to continue his travels.

Meanwhile, the treasures of this Aladdin’s Cave are available to view in what could be described as an iconic building. Stone statues from the Far East now stand in the yard where once a massive framesaw, built on-site, cut through large blocks of stone to provide WWI memorials all over the world. Over a hundred years later, 232 The Ridge remains a remarkable place.

The 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence was marked with separate events in Hastings, Rye and Bexhill, bringing Ukrainians together with local residents, civic representatives and friends of Ukraine.

The celebrations began in Hastings on 22 August, as part of the Hastings Multicultural Festival at The Stade. Members of the local Ukrainian community took to the stage to speak about Ukraine’s Independence Day and its significance. The programme also included a Ukrainian national song, introducing the wider festival audience to another part of Ukrainian culture.

Throughout the day, the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB), Hastings and Rother District Branch hosted a Ukrainian Community Stall. Visitors were able to meet and talk to local Ukrainians and learn more about Ukrainian culture and traditions.

Two days later, on 24 August – Ukraine’s Independence Day itself – Rye held its own ceremony. Rye Town Crier Paul Edward Goring delivered a specially prepared proclamation in Ukrainian. Colonel Anthony Kimber MBE was also involved in the event, alongside representatives of Rye Town Council, including the Deputy Mayor.

For Ukrainians attending, hearing the Town Crier deliver his proclamation in their own language was a particularly moving gesture. They were also touched by the thought and care that had gone into the ceremony and by the warm welcome from the local community.

Among the Ukrainian symbols brought to the ceremony was a flag covered with handwritten messages and signatures collected during the years of war. Many of the signatures belong to Ukrainian servicemen – some of the soldiers who signed the flag have since lost their lives.

Bexhill also marked the Independence Day on 24 August, with Ukrainians gathering alongside residents and community representatives. Rother Voluntary Action (RVA), which supports the Ukrainian community across Rother, was also represented at the event.

Lieutenant Colonel Peter Swanson MBE, who has longstanding connections with the Armed Forces and veterans’ community, addressed those gathered and delivered a speech in Ukrainian.

Although the events in Hastings, Rye and Bexhill were organised separately and were very different in character, they all highlighted how Ukrainian people have found a place within local communities across Hastings and Rother.

This year marks 35 years since Ukraine restored its independence in 1991. For Ukrainians, however, the anniversary represents a much longer history, culture and national identity – something that was reflected in the celebrations across all three towns.

Across Hastings, Rye and Bexhill, that celebration was shared with the communities around them – sometimes, quite literally, in the Ukrainian words spoken by their neighbours.

PhotoHastings’ collective of photographers aims to inspire an appreciation of contemporary photographic art through its annual festival programme. It is directed by Tracy Jones and Neale Willis, with talks, exhibitions, workshops and mentoring throughout the year. 2026 sees PhotoHastings celebrate 16 years of exhibitions and activities throughout October and November. This year’s show includes over 60 photographers, seven exhibitions and two internationally-known star exhibitors.

The exhibition programme is centred at Electro Studios, with group and solo shows in the main gallery and upstairs ‘Landing Gallery’; it’s a heady mixture of themed and personal work; stills, moving image and film.

As a highlight exhibition, PhotoHastings are privileged to welcome the celebrated artist Tom Hunter (Saatchi Gallery, Purdy Hicks, V&A), known for his reimaginings of classical paintings, many of which are works of social and political commentary. He was the first photographer to have a one-man show at the National Gallery.

A curated show, Tom Hunter – A Dialogue, will form a response to his large piece, Greg: Powdermill, itself created in reference to the work in the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery Collection, Harmony Cattle Watering, Pevensey, East Sussex by Sidney Dennant Moss (1885–1946). Tom will also give a talk about his work and a review of the resulting exhibition.

At Solaris Gallery, St Leonards, Grace Lau (V&A, Tate Britain, Tom Blau, Arts Council, gracelau.co.uk) will exhibit her journey through the world of sexuality, gender identity and sado-masochistic sub-culture in Adults in Wonderland (see opposite page here for full details and interview).

Editorial and advertising photographer Tim E White will curate As Above, So Below at Hastings Arts Forum, to showcase further the richly diverse talents of the members of PhotoHastings.

A group show, Flux, will occupy Barnaby’s Lounge for two weeks. The trademark Photology series of talks and discussion, organised by Alexander Brattell and featuring celebrated practitioners, is also in the planning stage.

All exhibitions are free. Exhibition spaces are Electro Studios Project Space, Seaside Road, Solaris Print, 76 Norman Road, Hastings Arts Forum, 20 Marine Court, and Barnaby’s Lounge, 46 Robertson Street. More details: 2025 festival, photohastings.org. Instagram: photohastings

Local band Afrit Nebula have been gigging mainly around Hastings, St Leonards and Brighton (but also as far afield as the Czech Republic) for 12 years. They have worked with dancers and film-makers, most recently composing the original music for Sleepwalk: The Dream of Lady Macbeth, a dance performance film by Mark French. What Next? is the band’s fourth release, and the second with the present lineup.

They are known for their eclecticism: the improvisatory tracks are inspired by Japanese Noh flute, mediaeval Hispanic (Muslim/Christian/Jewish) folk tunes, Middle Eastern popular music, African landscapes, Monteverdi, and the blues.

This is true World Music – not just a marketing tag but three human beings’ original response to the world.

What Next? was recorded in 2026 by Aram Zarikian at RavenFish. Orders and enquiries: ken@realitystreet.co.uk 07706 18/9253. Limited free streaming/download: afritnebula.bandcamp.com/album/what-next 

The Trouble With Women opens as part of Coastal Currents Festival on 5-6 and 12-13 September in the artist’s own home in Hastings Old Town.

We’re told we can have it all – but at what cost? If you have children, you’re expected to sacrifice but also to bounce back. If you don’t, people question why. If you work full time you feel guilty for not being there enough. If you stay home you’re asked when you’ll get back to work. Whatever choices you make, someone always has an opinion, as if your worth is up for debate.

That question sits at the centre of The Trouble With Women, a new body of work by documentary photographer Lauren Joy Kennett. Over the past year, across Hastings, she has photographed women in their own homes. Each figure is then hand-cut from the print and collaged back into the room she came from – altered, distorted, displaced. Her life, but not as it should be.

Each woman was asked a single question: “What has been hardest to hold together?” Their answers are written by hand, in gold pen, directly onto their own portraits.The women who took part include single mothers, women who have lost pregnancies, women who have chosen to remain childless, those who have ended toxic relationships.

Kennett herself lost an unplanned pregnancy during the making of the work. “The women in this project were so brave,” she says. “To let a stranger into their home, to sit in front of a camera and write their own truth on a photograph of themselves.”

A woman’s peak earning years are the same years she is expected to have children, but even in these times, society isn’t built to support either. Whether she’s raising a child, longing for one, or choosing a different path entirely, the weight of expectation follows her everywhere.

The work is shown in the artist’s home so visitors stand inside the subject matter rather than looking at it from a distance.

Exhibition shows 12-13 September at 6 Old Humphrey Avenue, 11am-6pm. Lauren Joy Kennett, photography and handcut collage.

The book combines original artwork, colouring pages and reflection prompts. The idea grew from Thomas’ professional experience supporting people through trauma and difficult life transitions, as well as from her understanding that creativity can be a way of processing experiences that are difficult to articulate.

Although its main relevance is to women going through challenging times, it may also be useful to therapists, coaches, wellbeing practitioners and community organisations supporting people affected by anxiety, trauma, burnout, bereavement, workplace upheaval or creative block. The book has particular significance at a time when many people are struggling with stress, isolation, and/or constant digital stimulation.

Fell, ‘freely adapted’ from Anne Bronte’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, is a dramatic work which challenges both the audience and the actors. Writer and director Frances Viner has cut away the novel’s softening social satire and emotional tenderness to concentrate on its core: the horrors of the marriage of the idealistic and optimistic Helen to the depraved, alcoholic Huntingdon.

This is a short play, running only for fifty minutes, but it demands concentration for every one of those minutes.The language does not pretend to be plausibly ‘realistic’ but is rich, dense with metaphor. The weight and colour of the costumes, put on and cast off, are significant.The movements of the players as they dance, embrace, witness or refuse to witness, are stylised and call for a high level of collaboration among the actors.

The enclosed space of the Stables Studio enhances the intensity. Years of attending plays in the back rooms of pubs make me no stranger to the up-close-and-personal possibilities of theatre. I remember handfuls of tripe thrown into my lap. And in the more Establishment setting of Stratford’s Other Place, a King Lear in which a sexy Edmund stroked the faces of young women in the front row. Well, it was the 1970s. But in Fell the violence of Huntingdon to Helen, while stylised, was deeply disturbing and to be taken seriously. The other characters refused to witness, turned their faces to the wall. The point was made.

Language and movement make great demands on the cast too and their commitment and accomplishment were outstanding. The servants, significantly titled ‘housekeepers’, have an important level of narrative control. Ginny Beaumont, Kaye Gabriel, Pauleen McLaughlin, Sophie Schoenkrecht and Lou Whalan, with Lawry Rhodes as butler, frame the story, negotiating introduction and epilogue, witness and comment. Richart van Zyl’s violin music added to the emotional charge. Milo Ward as Helen, packed into layer upon layer of confining wedding clothes, demonstrated in her movements the terrible shift from lightness and love to terror and repulsion. First impressions suggested that Henry Smalldon looked too young and innocent to convey Huntingdon’s cruelty and depravity but by the end he certainly frightened me. Which, of course, makes another serious point. 

Café Franglais runs for just two nights: on 30 September and 1 October you can enjoy a generous menu degustation of songs from Novello and Schwartz to Piaf and Trenet – with all manner of tuneful crumpets and croissants in between.

BallyBest’s previous productions at The Stables have included Picture Perfect, performed by Olivier Award-winning Liza Sadovy and signed to producers Beckman Unicorn for a film. Here at Last is Love, directed by Jason Morel, won the 2022 NODA Southeast Best New Show. Kabarett, also produced by David Manners, is a Weimar-inspired night of music, satire and surprise, and was brought back by popular demand for a second sell-out production.

Details: stablestheatre.co.uk/cafe-franglais review of Kabarett: tinyurl.com/5epm47k5 

D-Punk, part of the We Crip film festival at the British Film Institute, was the closing feature on 19 July. Local resident Penny played a key role in this powerful exploration of the early disability punk movement and is often called its ‘spiritual matriarch’. The film also featured commentary from others with a local connection, including the daughter of punk icon Poly Styrene (former resident of St Leonards) and Jemima Dury (Hastings resident), daughter of mighty punk legend, disabled activist and influencer, Ian Dury.

Penny’s performance at The White Rock Theatre will bring audiences a 15-minute set of her signature blend of performance poetry with bite, provocation, humour and unique insight.

Penny has featured as part of the Book Festival on several occasions.She appears in the anthology, Poet Town: The Poetry of Hastings & Thereabouts. Penny is the first poet in the book, represented among several other locally and nationally well-known poets. She has also performed alongside Salena Godden at The Royal Albert Hall, and more recently at The Print Works, Hastings, at the Refugee Buddy Project fundraiser. As a performer at many Hastings events as a spoken-word poet, speaker and mentor, she has been proud to call this area her home since 2010.

Headliner for the event, Roger McGough CBE, is president of the Poetry Society and former host of BBC Radio 4’s Poetry Please, and remains one of the UK’s most beloved literary figures.

Penny Pepper: pennypepper.co.uk; Hastings Book Festival: hastingsbookfest.org/our-events Sunday, 13 September, 4:45 – 6:00pm, Studio 27, White Rock Theatre. Single Session and All-Afternoon Passes available at: hastingsbookfest.org/events/roger-mcgough. Studio 27 and the main foyer feature level, step-free access, dedicated wheelchair spaces, accessible restrooms, and hearing loop systems. Features as part 3 of the Poets in Performance event.

On Saturday 19 September, for the next instalment of Creative Chill, their series of creative workshops, Afri-Co-Lab will welcome back local artist Elaine Mullings for a workshop called Care In Repair: Visible Mending. This will be a calming experience that creates space for caring, repairing and breathing new life into your well-worn and well-loved clothing.

No sewing or creative experience is required, as Elaine guides you. You leave with a little stitch reminder document and a lovingly repaired item of clothing.

On Thursday 24 September, Led by local musical talent Deanne Naula, Afri-Co-Lab’s community choir The Naulettes is ready for new voices to join.

They are working towards building a confident group of singers who can share their voices harmoniously and with heart. No perfection is required, just a love of singing. They recommend registering your interest early, as limited places are available.

Workshop details: Creative Chill: 19 September, 1.30-4.30pm; Naulettes Community Choir: 24 September, 7.00-8.30pm. Afri-Co-Lab: afri-co-lab.org

The project (with support from Arts Council England) challenges three writers to immerse themselves in the stories, folklore and forgotten histories of Hastings, before writing an entirely new short play. Rather than responding to a set theme, each writer has complete freedom to discover the stories that inspire them. Once completed, each play is rehearsed in just five days before being performed live.

Each evening then continues with pizza from local favourites Duke Harper Pizza, with a post-show party hosted by Remi Vibesman (Hidden Beach), transforming a theatre visit into a social event that reflects the character of Hastings itself.

Creative Director Ross Drury says: “Pizza & Plays combines my three favourite things: plays, pizza and parties. But underneath that is a much bigger idea. We wanted to create something that reflects Hastings and the people who live here. Theatre shouldn’t feel like something separate from the community – it should be somewhere people come together, share food, have conversations and discover something about the place they call home.”

The first writer in the series, Chloë Lawrence-Taylor, is Spun Glass Theatre’s new playwright-on -attachment. Her previous work has been developed with the National Theatre and Hampstead Theatre. Her new play, Hannah, Jack and Tomorrow Too, follows two young people returning home to Hastings, drawing inspiration from festival mythology and local history. It raises questions about ambition, sacrifice and belonging. Lawrence-Taylor spent time exploring Hastings’ stories, from pioneering women doctors and Fairlight Glen to Jack in the Green and Hannah the Witch. “What interested me most,” she says, was “how history still echoes in young people’s lives today.” Actors are Helen Black and Seth Ringrose.

Each evening of Pizza & Plays features a different playwright responding to a different aspect of Hastings’ identity.

Spun Glass Theatre has designed Pizza & Plays to be as accessible as possible. Tickets are offered on a Pay What You Can basis (£5, £10 or £15), ensuring cost is not a barrier to attending. Dates (all at the Stade Hall) and writers are: Friday 18 September – Chloë Lawrence-Taylor; Friday 30 October – Anna Atkinson; and Saturday 5 December – Elijah W. Harris 

The second exhibition is Gathered Earth, showing between 16 and 27 September, with an open evening on 18 September. This is a collective exhibition by women ceramicists from East Sussex, with exhibiting artists Annika Aril, Fiona Dean, Sheila Hay, Izumi Maeda, Lorri Scott and Marina Wade.

Details can be found at hastingsartsforum.co.uk/category/exhibitions. Hastings Arts Forum gallery is at 20 Marine Court, St Leonards

History is often something children read about in textbooks: distant, untouchable and confined to the past. But at Mulberry West St Leonards Primary, we believe education must transcend the four walls of a classroom. We believe in placing our children directly into the narrative of our world. This past week, our pupils did not merely study history; they stood shoulder to shoulder with the figures shaping it today.

As the Headteacher of our vibrant school on Harley Shute Road, I have always held a fiercely ambitious vision for our children: no room is too grand for them, and no stage is too large. This belief was brought vividly to life this week when our students were invited to the British Museum for a momentous occasion: the unveiling of the Bayeux Tapestry, temporarily loaned to the UK.

Our first visit on Wednesday is now permanently woven into the fabric of our school’s 148-year legacy. Imagine the profound impact on a young mind, standing mere metres away as His Majesty The King, Her Majesty The Queen, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the Prime Minister unveiled an eleventh century masterpiece deeply connected to our 1066 Country. The room was a living tapestry of modern global leadership, with former Prime Ministers and our local MP, Helena Dollimore, who was instrumental in ensuring Hastings pupils were present, also in attendance for this exhibition of a generation.

Yet, amidst these global leaders, it was our pupils who shone brightest. Standing with quiet dignity and an unmistakable sense of belonging, they realised the message we impart every day: your voice matters, and your place is alongside the decision makers of our time. It reinforced that the character and confidence, instilled through our POW (Pride of West St Leonards) values, enables them to be change makers. The children spoke with remarkable respect and confidence to both royalty and world leaders. Her Majesty The Queen was particularly generous with her time, sharing a lovely connection with our Sussex pupils as she grew up in the county.

Our extraordinary week did not end with the Royal premiere. The following morning, our children returned to the British Museum for an exclusive, private tour. Stripped of the bustling press and grand pageantry, the children were granted the rare privilege of intimately examining the intricate, 950-year-old stitches that depict the very origins of our local heritage.

The pinnacle of this second visit came when three of our pupils were invited to speak live to the nation on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme alongside Nick Robinson, Chairman of the British Museum George Osborne, Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, and distinguished experts. Interviewed about seeing the Battle of Hastings brought to life, they articulated their thoughts with breathtaking confidence, eloquence and profound insight. They didn’t just represent our school; they represented the limitless potential of every child in Hastings and St Leonards. Listening to them speak brilliantly on national radio filled me with immense pride. 

This is the standard of opportunity we strive for. We do not settle for the ordinary; we are fiercely committed to broadening horizons and providing a genuinely transformational education. 

The legacy for our school community will be creating an embroidery in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry, involving every pupil, parent, and the wider community. Culminating in the Summer of 2028 to mark our 150-year anniversary, it will be unveiled at our fifth summer festival, WestFest 5. We will undoubtedly take inspiration from the 1966 Hastings Embroidery currently on display in the Town Hall. Looking ahead, my next great ambition is to take our children across the Channel to Bayeux when the tapestry returns; if there is a benefactor who shares our bold vision and would like to help make this dream a reality, I would be delighted to hear from you.

Our week in London was a declaration of our school’s ambition. We are shaping confident, articulate, deeply inspired young people ready to take on the world. History was on display at the British Museum, but looking at our remarkable pupils, I am certain the future is being shaped right here in St Leonards and Hastings in 2026. As His Majesty The King said on Wednesday: “These seventy metres of memory and artistry remind us, therefore, that our two Nations have been bound together for almost a millennium.”

SGN insists the work is vital and cannot be postponed. The project will replace the old cast iron and wrought iron gas mains which were laid over 100 years ago with new, more durable polyethylene plastic pipes, which have a lifespan of up to 80 years. The company is confident that once the upgrade project is complete, residents and businesses will benefit from a safe and reliable gas supply for many years to come.

Temporary traffic lights will be installed along The Ridge to manage traffic flow and maintain public safety. These will be manually operated to keep traffic moving smoothly throughout the works.

A spokesperson for SGN said: “We will do everything we can to keep traffic moving, but we strongly advise motorists to plan ahead, use alternative routes where possible and allow significantly more time for their journeys while the lights are in operation.”

Drivers need no further warning about delays along The Ridge. The road is a notorious bottleneck at the best of times, and these works will cause major disruption, especially for those heading to the Conquest Hospital.

TIMELINE OF ROAD CHAOS

Phase 1 (22 September – 11 December 2026): Grange Road to Stonestile Lane (1,500m of pipe replacement and upgrading 30 services to adjoining properties);

Phase 2 (4 January – 5 April 2027): Stonestile Lane to Elphinstone Road (650m of replacement and upgrading seven services to adjoining properties);

Phase 3 (28 June – 13 September 2027): Elphinstone Road to Norcross Close (700m of pipe replacement and upgrading 11 services to adjoining properties);

Phase 4 (16 October – 31 October 2027): Grange Road to Stonestile Lane (28m of pipe replacement);

Phase 5 (3 January – 28 February 2028): Maitland Close to Conquest Hospital roundabout (425m of pipe replacement and upgrading 38 services to adjoining properties);

Phase 6 (26 June – 21 August 2028): Norcross Close to Pine Avenue – 450m of pipe replacement).

Sheikh Gulzar, owner of Hastings pier, emerged triumphant from a hearing before Brighton Magistrates last week after being cleared of unlawful possession of an eight-inch knife blade.

The 80-year-old had been stopped by a police patrol when driving a Ford van in the early hours of a Sunday morning in May 2025. He told officers that he needed medication, which was in the glove compartment of the vehicle. When the police searched for it there, they found the knife.

In an interview at the police station Gulzar explained that he had been fishing in his private lake at Pevensey that morning, and that the knife was used for cutting up fish. The van contained net poles, folding chairs and other equipment for his fishing expeditions.

He was charged with possessing a bladed article in a public place. But 16 months on, he was acquitted. District Judge Amanda Kelly told him: “I am just about persuaded that at the time you had a good reason for having that knife in your car.”

Gulzar faces another court trial in November, this time in Lewes Crown Court, on unrelated fraud charges in a private prosecution brought by water supplier Castle Water Limited.

He indicated last year that he was inviting bids for purchase of Hastings pier. However, the asset has been frozen as security by the court pending the trial.

Letter

Food Waste Rollout 

Dear HIP

I welcomed Hastings Borough Council’s food waste rollout with open arms and the earnest hope of a true eco-warrior. I was ready to save the planet, one potato peel at a time.

Unfortunately, local fauna didn’t get the memo. Boris the Badger, Freddy the Fox, and Gerald the Gull have formed an unholy coalition, treating our supposedly lockable caddies like a tactical puzzle box designed by MI6. When a collection round is mysteriously skipped, the council-supplied starter bags dissolve into a fragrant bio-hazard soup that looks and smells like a biochemistry experiment gone catastrophically wrong.

Hoping for a shred of practical advice, I wrote to Waste Services. What I received was not a conversation, but a masterclass in municipal déjà vu: a stiff lecture on the statutory nuances of the Environment Act 2021. When I replied and politely asked a basic, operational question about whether I could purchase a thicker, certified compostable liner to stop the leaks, the council sent me the exact same word-for-word boilerplate macro a second time. They literally double-tapped me with a copy-paste loop.

It is a magnificent irony. We are living in the age of advanced artificial intelligence, machine learning, and dynamic digital tools capable of parsing complex queries in milliseconds. Yet Hastings Borough Council’s waste department appears to be powered by a single, exhausted hamster trapped inside a photocopier, churning out legal disclaimers instead of thinking. Rather than engaging with human feedback, they cheerfully suggest that if a rotting mess coats your bin, you should simply “rinse out the container ready for its next use”—evidently imagining local residents joyfully pressure-washing 23-litre caddies over their morning cornflakes.

I genuinely want this municipal scheme to succeed. But if the council insists on treating resident feedback with robotic stonewalling while local wildlife hosts all-night tasting menus in our back alleys, my vegetable peelings will have no choice but to migrate back into the standard general refuse bin. Even badgers have standards, after all.

Yours faithfully,

Dr Julian Patrick Keogh

Letter

Whose Free Speech 

Dear HIP

Gabriel Carlyle has criticised our MP, Helena Dollimore, for “her” policy on Israel and Gaza (Whose Free Speech? in HIP 309). But an MP to observe party policy and the Labour manifesto, and to support the leader and Prime Minister, is not a matter of her individual position. I suggest it is a waste of energy and time to bombard Helena with criticism for “her” policy on whatever Mr Carlyle is campaigning on at the time. Save your breath and your energy for campaigning against government policy, by all means – I may well join you. Better still, campaign (with others) against the Israeli regime’s actions. One-man campaigns against another individual never look that convincing.

Bea Rogers

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HIP does not endorse the views on the Letters page. They are solely those of the writer.Please be aware we may need to edit letters for reasons of space and we will only withhold names if this is necessary for the protection of the writer

Hastings Borough Council will also receive £2 million to help address local homelessness and to offer practical help with housing, health and other needs. Under a £442 million total package, areas like Hastings will get the largest share of support as part of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s drive to get people out of the cold this winter and to give people facing long-term homelessness a settled home and the support to keep it.

Helena Dollimore MP welcomed the bold initiative, saying: “Our area is at the sharp end of the housing crisis. I have long campaigned for funding to support local people to leave the streets behind, move into secure homes and get the support they need to rebuild their lives. The Labour Government has already strengthened rights for renters, including ending no-fault evictions which were a huge driver of homelessness in our area.

“We have also boosted our support for the East Sussex Veterans’ Hub who do fantastic work supporting our former service men and women find housing. It is great that a portion of this funding will go towards supporting local organisation Seaview who do hugely important work tackling homelessness in Hastings.”

As well as off the street provision, the funding will help local areas deliver more than 1,000 settled homes over the next three years, alongside intensive wraparound support to help people rebuild their lives. Areas facing the greatest pressures, like Hastings, will receive the largest share of support.

Alongside funding allocations, the Government is publishing guidance to help local areas mobilise quickly and deliver a consistent route off the street this winter. The guidance will make clear the need to ensure adequate and accessible provision for women experiencing rough sleeping, recognising that women are often underrepresented in official statistics and may be at greater risk of violence, abuse, and exploitation.

Guidance encourages local areas to consider single-sex accommodation with specialist, intensive and trauma informed support for victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence. This will support the government’s commitment to halve violence against women and girls in the next ten years.

Charities, faith groups and community organisations are at the heart of efforts to end homelessness. This is why, in addition to holding a first of its kind national summit bringing together leaders across society with a role to play, the government is specifically allocating £8.4 million of the new funding to the Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund.

This takes total funding allocations for 100 different projects to £47 million over three years, helping small and medium-sized organisations provide life-changing support to people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.

Bexhill Community Garden is encouraging people to visit and discover what it has to offer – whether they want to volunteer, learn how to grow food or simply spend time outdoors.

The garden, in Preston Road, Bexhill, forms part of Bexhill Family Collective, which also includes Dragonflies Nursery and a community pantry at Sidley Family Hub. The 0.8-acre garden grows fruit and vegetables for a local community pantry and provides space for activities, workshops and events for all ages.

Richard Best, garden manager at Bexhill Community Garden, says: “We want people just to come down and enjoy being here. There’s no obligation to work, but if you want to do some gardening, or if you want to learn and you’ve never done it before, you can come and we can teach.”

Despite the sloping site, the garden includes polytunnels, sheds, a yurt, pond, amphitheatre and growing beds. Richard emphasises that its purpose goes beyond producing food. “Bexhill Community Garden is an allotment space for growing fruit and vegetables in order to feed our local pantry,” he explains, “but the garden also provides a space for holding activities and workshops for all ages.”

There is a particular emphasis on encouraging children and young people to connect with nature through gardening and creative activities. Previous events have included pumpkin carving, Christmas wreath-making and creating headdresses for Jack in the Green in Hastings. Produce is also used in cooking activities; last year, cherries from the garden were turned into jam on site.

During August, the Collective started running Give an Hour, Grow a Garden sessions on Tuesday mornings to allow people to try volunteering without making a regular commitment. Volunteer coordinator Leanne Deedman is keen to welcome more volunteers: “It might be to pop down to do a bit of watering, help us with a bigger project, do something regularly or just donate a day or a few hours of your time,” she says.

Families with young children can also attend Little Hands, Big Help sessions on Tuesdays from 9.30am to 11am. Children and their grown-ups can help with small gardening jobs or simply enjoy the outdoor space, which includes a pond and mud kitchen.

Leanne stresses that the aim is for local people to see the garden as their own community space. Richard adds: “You can come and take part, or you can come and volunteer. You just come and use the garden as you want.”

For activities or volunteering, visit the Collective Facebook page: facebook.com/BexhillFamilyCollectiveCIC. For volunteering enquiries, email  leanne.dedman@bexhillfamilycollective.org.uk.

As children across Hastings return to the classroom after the summer holidays, Local MP Helena Dollimore has urged all parents to check their eligibility for free school meals after the “significant expansion” of the programme.

From 1 September, an additional 5,500 children in Hastings and Rye will qualify for free pre-school meals under the new Labour government policy, a change the MP said was made “because we don’t want children to go hungry.” She also confirmed that local schools are rolling out free breakfast clubs starting this term.

In a further boost for families, Ms Dollimore reminded parents that rules regarding school uniforms have been updated. She said the government has acted to restrict the number of branded items schools can require, aiming to reduce the financial burden on families.

Parents will have to opt-in to the free school meals programme and they can check to see if their child is eligible by clicking on: gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals

This year, the UK has experienced the most days over 30 degrees in its recorded history. With five near-continuous heatwaves that decided to concentrate most of their wrath on the south-east, dining al-fresco became more of a need than a want for many restaurant-goers during the summer months. And, as more and more chairs were hauled out of restaurants onto curbsides, and parasols hastily assembled above melting mains, what it meant to ‘go out to eat’ changed across the country.

Most of Hastings has been turned inside out this summer. Cosy pubs have turned into sprawled gatherings and the guts of restaurants have crept out from cramped kitchens into vacant interiors to give sweltering chefs relief from the inferno of ovens at midday. But for one restaurant, whose identity has always lain more on the exposed promenade and rocky outcrops beside it, this outward shift has represented a more internal, identity-based change.

St Leonard’s Goat Ledge may have been the town’s most popular restaurant regardless of its menu this summer. Having opened on the Warrior Square seafront nearly 10 years ago, Goat Ledge has spent most of its existence as a cafe-type joint, serving deliciously smashed breakfast baps in the morning, before giving way to fresh fish sandwiches, booze, and a host of incredible, obscure music in the afternoons and early evenings.

Often operating in view of the worst waves, and in the midst of the very worst weather, eating on their Balamory-coloured outside benches, rain or shine, has arguably been the defining part of the Goat-Ledge experience up until now.

But this year, as fine dining filled the pavements of King’s Road and George Street, Goat Ledge decided that the seafront wasn’t to be without an upscale kitchen of its own, and so was born Fire on the Beach. Serving the type of food that makes your mouth drip reading the menu (wood-fired prawns; skate wing with sobrasada and peppers; baked feta and cucumber salad), Goat Ledge has transformed from a place to go for lunch to the place to be for dinner.

And it’s not just the perfectly slow-cooked pigs’ cheeks that have done this; it’s the authenticity of being and eating outside at a place created with that in mind. The Fire on the Beach kitchen spills from a small wooden hut onto the promenade itself. Benches are stacked tightly with chairs dotted loosely around their ends. People sit in sprawling groups next to people they only half know, and food comes out in bowls designed for sharing; with their normal kitchen operating just feet away, sitting at Fire on the Beach feels like you’re being secretly treated to off-menu hits before they go mainstream. Every night is a dinner among friends, even if you’ve just stopped by on your own.

This spirit of being outside has crept from the seafront, through the town’s high streets and back up the hills towards our country pubs and towns. In Battle’s Crafted at Powdermills, nomadic dining became the defining feature of their summertime offerings. Evenings with featured guest chefs weren’t hosted in their restaurant, pub, or bar, but on sprawling tables set for 50 or more, at the edge of their lakeside woodland.

These candlelit evenings culminated in an appearance from hash-brown aficionado and Masterchef semi-finalist James Sharp, whose menu of perfectly grilled mackerel, cannons of sirloin, and charred allium salads turned a patch of woodland into the type of restaurant you dream about for a long time after. Served on large sharing platters, passed down the table family-style, the evening was just as much about food as it was about getting to know those around you, and smiling at the stranger who offered you the last, perfectly cooked piece of sirloin.

The feast was finished in the most delicate way, with a gently charred swiss meringue, made under the light of iphone torches as the sun set over the lake. Bought over in single servings by the team of waitstaff who had floodlit their creation, the little meringue felt like a microcosm of what these evenings were really about: people coming together.

So clear was this feeling, that people stayed on as summer sun turned to a first set of candlelight and then another when they had burned out. A small speech from the chef about how being part of an evening like this was really what his (and his teams) jobs were all about, put a neat bow on the evening, and Crafted’s ‘Forest Feast’ itself.

As the heat begins to relent and tables slowly creep closer to the doors of restaurants with each passing day, it’ll be easy to forget how the simple joys of summer dining can make any meal into a shared experience with place and people. So now, whether it’s sandwiches at Rock a Nore, spritz at The Selkie, or Sobrasada at Goat Ledge, make sure to enjoy the last embers of our scorching summer on dry chairs outside.

Or, if you want to bring some summer joy to your own home, here’s a showstopper BBQ recipe by The Crown’s Jody for fire-cooked pulled lamb flatbreads with roasted pepper sauce. This one is definitely for a special occasion!

Fire-Charred Pulled Lamb Flatbreads

A RECIPE BY JODY MORTON

Smoky pulled lamb shoulder in a charred roasted pepper sauce, served in charcoal-cooked flatbreads. Expect something between a slow-cooked lamb stew and an enormous, gloriously messy kebab.

Ingredients

For the lamb

• 1.5kg boneless lamb shoulder
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• For the sauce
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 3 tomatoes
• 2 red peppers
• 1 large onion, peeled and halved
• 1-2 red chillies
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 300ml chicken or lamb stock
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Handful mint, chopped

For the flatbreads

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 7g fast-action dried yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 10g salt

Method

1. Light fire: Light charcoal, ideally in a chimney starter, (15-20 min), then place the hot coals on the bbq, concentrating most of them on one side, giving a hot side for grilling and a cooler side for slow cooking.
2. Make dough: Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, then stir in 325ml warm water and 2 tbsp olive oil, combining to form a soft dough. Knead for 8 minutes, then cover and prove in a warm cupboard for 60–90 minutes.
3. Sear lamb: Cut lamb shoulder into 2-3 large pieces. Mix all the other ingredients (under For the lamb) as well as 2tsp fine salt, 0.5tsp black pepper, 1tbsp vegetable oil and an optional 1tbsp pomegranate molasses, in a bowl. Rub the mixture over the lamb, then sear in a casserole dish over the hottest coals for 3-4 minutes per side until well charred (not cooked through). Transfer lamb to a plate.
4. Char vegetables: Grill the tomatoes, peppers, onion and chillies over the hot coals, turning, until blackened and softened. Allow to cool slightly then peel most of the pepper skin, and roughly chop.
5. Make sauce: In a cast-iron casserole over the fire, combine the charred vegetables with the garlic, tomato purée, ground coriander and ground cumin. Cook for a few minutes, then add the stock, red wine vinegar and pomegranate molasses; season and bring to a simmer.
6. Slow-cook lamb: Add lamb to the casserole pot, cover, and move to the cool side of the fire (roughly 150–170°C). Cook for 2½-3 hours, turning occasionally and topping up liquid or charcoal as needed, until the meat is fork-tender.
7. Pull and finish: Rest the lamb for 10 minutes while the uncovered sauce reduces over stronger heat. Pull the lamb into rough chunks and return it into the thickened sauce with the chopped parsley and mint, adjust seasoning.
8. Cook flatbreads: Divide the dough into 8 pieces, roll into rough circles, and cook on a hot griddle over the fire, about 60–90 seconds per side, until puffed and charred. Keep warm under a tea towel.
9. Serve: Pile warm flatbreads with pulled lamb and sauce. Top with extra herbs to serve, with yoghurt on the side if you like. Fold and enjoy!

Five volunteers took part in the head shave at the Emmaus superstore in St Leonards, with residents and colleagues cheering each other on. The head shaves were kindly carried out free of charge by local hairdresser Sue, from Hair and Beyond, who wanted to donate her skills and time to the cause.

Zoe, the former counsellor whose cancer diagnosis motivated many of the group to take part, came along to support and watch the head shaves take place in person.

Some of the residents who took part have experienced homelessness and wanted to give something back to others facing difficulties. Cancer is a cause close to their hearts, and the group felt strongly about supporting those affected by it.

Janine Woodland, Support Lead at Emmaus Hastings & Rother and one of the brave participants, says: “One of the most important aspects of the Emmaus ethos is solidarity – standing alongside people who are vulnerable or facing difficult circumstances. Through solidarity projects, we work with charities, causes and community initiatives to help make a positive difference to people’s lives.

“Zoe was a counsellor to our residents here at Emmaus Hastings & Rother. She’s recently been diagnosed with cancer and said she didn’t mind what they did to her; she just didn’t want to lose her hair. We wanted to raise money in acknowledgement of what she, and so many others, face every day.”

The group set out to raise £250 and has already smashed this target, raising over three times their goal. They are now hoping to reach £1,000 in donations.

Supporters can still donate via the group’s Macmillan fundraising page at bravetheshave.macmillan.org.uk/shavers/62eb638a-3e84-45fa-889c-dc95e601446a

Following the success of last year’s inaugural Dawn Walk, Hastings and Rother Samaritans is delighted to be doing it again this October – and we’d love our local community to join us.

On Sunday 11 October, we will gather in the early morning and walk together along Hastings seafront through the blue hour as the golden dawn breaks over the sea. Our purpose is to mark World Mental Health Day, which aims to raise global awareness about mental health, remove stigmas and help more people get the support they need. It’s a simple but powerful way to show our community that no one has to face difficult times alone, while raising vital funds to support the work of our local Samaritans branch.

Last year, more than 50 people – including Samaritans volunteers, friends, family, supporters, and plenty of four-legged companions – gathered before sunrise for a scenic 5km walk along the seafront from the Rock-a-Nore carpark to the Azur and back again. As the darkness gave way to the morning light, our green Samaritans attire made a striking sight and helped us share a message of hope, connection and support.

It wasn’t just about the visibility of Samaritans and also a lovely way to welcome the morning: the walk raised much needed funds for the Hastings and Rother Samaritans branch.

Many people don’t realise that our branch is a local, self-funded charity. We aren’t funded by the national Samaritans charity and raise all our own running costs. Our branch is entirely run by volunteers who also answer calls, day and night, providing a listening ear without judgement. It costs £48 a day to keep our branch running and make sure we are there for those who need emotional support. Every pound we raise locally helps us continue to be there for people who are in crisis, struggling to cope with daily life, or simply needing someone to talk to.

This year, we’re hoping to make the Dawn Walk even bigger and bring together people from across our local communities. You don’t need to be a Samaritans volunteer to take part. Whether you come with family or friends, walk with your dog, or simply join us on your own, you’ll be very welcome.

Even if you’re not normally an early riser, why not join us for a walk, some good company and a beautiful start to the day – while helping to spread a message of hope? You can also support us without taking part. A donation, however large or small, will help us continue our vital work in and across Hastings and Rother.

Sunday 11 October 2026: 5km Dawn Walk – Hastings seafront. Everyone welcome

Gazing longingly into the window of B&T Music at seductive guitars, cymbals, pedals… is part of Hastings life for budding musicians. So it was a blow to our hearts when it was announced this year that it was time for B & T to hang up its hat as a walk-in. But in a last-minute reprieve for the music community, the shop will remain open on Saturdays, and actually most weekdays with a doorbell for service. Workshop facilities will also still be available as usual, serving those who need strings, plectrums or sticks, want to try out a guitar or just get some person-to-person advice.

Since the advent of the internet economic pressures have increased, making it less and less financially sustainable to run an open-doors music retail business, and shops close up and down the country. At this pivotal moment for the business, I talked to owner Roger Flack about the shop’s history.

B&T Keyboards, as it was then known, was set up in 1975 by two sisters (and business partners), Linda Barnett and Sylvia Thompson – hence B&T. Linda’s husband Dave ran their repair workshop.

Not long after opening, Liane Carroll and Richard Moore joined the team, Richard first as an employee and later becoming a business partner. He recalls the focus on the local organ scene, with many happy days spent demonstrating gear and staging promotional concerts with organ greats of the day, including George Blackmore, Tony Pegler, Harold Smart and Chio Sunamoto.

Music technology changes fast, and demand alters with the generations. As the organ market died off, the keyboard scene developed. “By the time I sold to Roger in 1998,” says Richard, “the shop had become a general music shop, with high music sales and a large amount of educational instruments – as music was being taught successfully in schools at the time – plus hundreds of guitars of course.”

When Liane left, Roger Flack (at 17 already playing piano, guitar and drums) joined the team, and began to learn about set-ups and other essential aspects of the business. He says that while Dave Thompson was a whizz at electronics, he himself never fully got into the electrical side of keyboards, “although I learned about pick-ups, soldering and how to fix a lead.” Roger eventually became a business partner and today is the sole trader, working with two members of staff, Adam Flack and Matt Patmore, both also guitarists.

Hastings is a special place for musicians. And there are makers of musical instruments here too, notably luthier (specialist in stringed instruments) Russ Haywood, originally from Sheffield. Many players, including myself, are proud of their wonderful Sussex-built Haywood guitars, with their clarity and good intonation – they ring beautifully right up the neck. Although Russ is now semi-retired, a couple of his handmade guitars still hang on the shop wall, available for sale. Roger uses his Haywood guitars for his gigging career, having moved from progressive rock into more folky fields. He is one of the original trio of Peter Knight’s Gigspanner, and at the core of the acclaimed Gigspanner Big Band.

Richard Moore is writing his memoirs about his life playing and promoting organs including his work with the Rye Wurlitzer Academy. “In the late 70s/early 80s there was a huge Town and Country Fair in Alexander Park with a large Marquee,” Richard remembers. “It was a wonderful event two days – we always had a large stand and took instruments along, and I sat and simply played them for two days. What a nice memory to have.”

The community aspect of the business has been vital to the music community of Hastings – not to downplay the other independent music equipment shops over the years such as Deano’s (Golden Axe Music Shop), also on Claremont, or the legendary Masons Music that closed ten years ago. While the music scene is still thriving here despite the pressures, it needs a support system. When buying remotely or online, counterfeit goods are an issue, and there is also the worry about buying the wrong thing. Real person-to-person advice helps to avoid mistakes. And as Roger says, “A beginner who starts on a bad instrument can be put off for life”.

Rick Nesbit’s experience illustrates the experience of many others over the years. “I was in that shop every week as a young teenager spending my pocket money buying 09-gauge strings. After a couple of visits, they told me to bring the guitar in and they fixed the sharp edge on the bridge which was causing the strings to snap – free of charge. I’ve never forgotten.”

Returning on Saturday 26 September, Moonlight Walk will see hundreds of people come together for a memorable evening of reflection, celebration and community spirit, all in support of local hospice care.

Participants can enjoy a magical 7km route along the Hastings and St Leonards seafront, illuminated by glow sticks, lanterns, fairy lights and live entertainment. The walk provides a unique opportunity to remember loved ones, celebrate special memories and connect with others who have experienced loss.

To help more people experience the event together, St Michael’s Hospice is offering a limited 4 for 3 ticket deal, making it the perfect opportunity to gather a group of friends, family members, colleagues or fellow dog walkers and get your glow on for local hospice care.

The evening begins and ends at The Stade, where participants can enjoy a lively event village featuring food stalls, refreshments and entertainment.

Many participants take part in memory of someone special, finding comfort in sharing the experience with others. Helen and Mark took part in the event last year for the first time, in memory of their brother Dave. Mark says: “It was surprising how many people we knew who had been through something similar… and were taking part too. We were all here together.”

Helen added: “The atmosphere was lovely. Everyone was there for their own reasons but all with something in common. Dave would not have wanted us to be sad. I’m pleased we all took part and I think Dave would have been pleased that we enjoyed the evening and took comfort in the companionship.”

Whether you’re walking to celebrate a loved one, remember someone you miss, support local hospice care or simply enjoy a meaningful evening with those closest to you, Moonlight Walk offers a chance to make memories together while making a difference.

To register, visit stmichaelshospice.com/moonlight or call 01424 456396.

29 August: Hastings & St Leonards Priory; Three Bridges rained off
5 September: Priory 251 for 8; Preston Nomads 249 for 9

HUGH SULLIVAN

In September 2024 the Hastings & St Leonards Priory team were relegated from the Sussex Premier League when, in fading light at Horntye Park, the last Horsham pair hit eight runs off the final over of the final match to defeat them by one wicket.

Fast forward two years to another season’s finale last Saturday evening at Fulkington on the fringes of Brighton. Home team Preston Nomads, needing 252 to win in their allotted 50 overs, are batting with apparent serenity towards a victory which will doom Priory to a repeat relegation after one topsy-turvy summer back in the Premiership.

At 215 for three in the 42nd over, the Nomads need only another 37 runs off 43 balls with seven wickets in hand. Their fourth wicket partnership has accumulated 128 runs with opener Zan Copleston 104 not out and his partner Rudy Northcott on 56. Priory skipper Harry Scowen has rotated seven bowlers to no avail.

But all season the Sussex Premier League has been a contest of fine margins and surprise turnarounds. Priory spinner Troy Henry, who has been bowling well without good fortune, finally has Copleston caught at the wicket by Joe Billings. Next ball, the start of the 43rd over, Adam Pye dismisses Northcott in the same manner. Unexpectedly the game is on again, with two new batsmen at the crease and bowlers with their tails up.

OVER AND OUT

Pye takes the sixth wicket in the 45th over, caught by Henry. But the seventh wicket pair Harry Eastman and Nav Patel scramble seven runs off the latter’s next over, so only 22 runs are now required off 24 balls. Pye limits them to a single run off his tenth and final over, which leaves 18 balls to be bowled – 12 by Henry, six by the dependable Adam Barton.

It’s actually another bowler who makes the breakthrough: Adam Page runs out Patel as he goes for a second run off Henry. Four balls later Henry clean bowls Eastman. And, with the first ball of the following over, Barton likewise hits the stumps.

Somehow Priory have gained the ascendancy. The batting side is now down to their last pair, needing 17 runs to win, or 16 to tie, off the last 11 balls.

Four runs come off the last five balls of Barton’s over, and just three singles off the first three of Henry’s last. Ten off the last three is surely too much. But the fourth ball is clouted to the boundary, and the next one adjudged a wide by the umpire, so there are still two more to bowl. The batsmen manage a single off each, but that’s not enough: Priory have won by two runs.

The drama of the ending has naturally eclipsed proceedings earlier in the day. Priory’s top order, sent in to bat by their hosts, started nervously, but were hugely indebted to opener Billings who carried his bat through the innings, reaching an unbeaten century (102 not out) in the final over. Scowen (23), Henry (23) and Caleb Laloo (34) all gave him useful support, and the final score of 251 for eight felt, if not a winning total, a competitive one. Just how competitive was soon to be revealed.

The final league table shows Priory ninth out of ten teams, which would have resulted in their relegation in previous seasons. They are beneficiaries of a somewhat dubious decision of the Sussex Cricket League made last autumn to limit promotion and relegation between the Premiership and Division 2 to just a single team. The aim, according to league chair Gary Stanley, was to improve the overall quality of the Premier division. That’s unconvincing, given that the team that came up in second place from Division 2 in 2025, West Chiltington and Thakeham, has just finished third in the Premier this year.

However, nobody at Priory will be arguing against the ruling right now. They have survived against the odds, and are entitled to celebrate their fortune. 2026 will surely be remembered here as the year of the Great Escape.

The De La Warr Pavilion stands as one of Britain’s most significant modernist landmarks, conceived in 1935 as a democratic space for culture, leisure and community. This programme of talks, Modernism Now: Culture and Community, explore how the ideals of modernism can be reimagined for the twenty-first century. Born from a belief that architecture, art and design could create a more open, equitable and optimistic society, modernism was never just about buildings; it was about improving everyday life.

As the Pavilion embarks on its next chapter, this programme of talks asks what modernism means today. How can this building, once celebrated as a monument to progress, become a catalyst for present-day connection, creativity and belonging? Through conversations with architects, artists, designers and community leaders, the talksexamine how the enduring values of this artistic movement can help shape more inclusive, resilient and vibrant places for the future. By embodying both the vision of its founders and the values of the town around it, the De La Warr Pavilion offers a model for how twentieth-century modernism can evolve to inspire openness, creativity, and civic imagination.

THE SCHEDULE

11.00am: Introduction: The People’s Palace Ideal. Stewart Drew, director and CEO of the De La Warr Pavilion Charitable Trust, will introduce the history and philosophy of 1930s Britain, which led to the Pavilion’s conception, and how the ethos of a democratic space for leisure and culture shaped the Pavilion’s design.

11.20: Modernism on Sea. Kathryn Ferry, seaside historian and author, discusses architects, culture and social change, and the influence and legacy of 20th-century civic architecture designed for community enrichment. She will also be signing copies of her book, Twentieth Century Seaside Architecture.

12.00pm: How Ideas Spread: international modernism through personal relationships. A screening of a 10-minute pre-recorded talk from Ray Neutra, based around a photo featuring his father, Richard Neutra with Frank Lloyd Wright and DLWP architect Erich Mendelsohn.

12.10pm: Saving the De La Warr Pavilion. Architect Patrick Theis tells the story of how a group of people, led by Jill Theis, recognised the importance of the building and fought for a Grade 1 listing and eventual renovation in the early 2000’s.

12.35pm: Questions and discussions

1.00pm: Lunch break. Food is not included in the ticket price, but you can enjoy lunch in the DWP Café-Bar. Or you could pre-order a lunch box to take on the beach by adding this to your ticket request.

2.30pm: Tracing the threads of modernism from the De La Warr Pavilion to today. Ab Rogers, founder of Ab Rogers Design, discusses the influence of Modernism and international style on architecture and how we live our lives today. The talk will consider the impact and influence of modernism across various important contemporary architecture projects. Ab will be signing copies of his book, Richard Rogers Talking Buildings at 4.30pm in the main foyer.

3.15pm: The De La Warr Pavilion – from modernism to a resilient future. A presentation delivered by Hannah Constantine from Haworth Tompkins, and James Stevenson from Price and Myers, on the upcoming renovation of the De La Warr Pavilion. They will address the challenge of balancing preservation with renewal, protecting the spirit of the Pavilion while adapting the function of the building for future generations, and supporting the organisation to thrive as a living cultural hub.

Saturday 12 September, 11.00am-4.30pm. £25, £10 students. Details and tickets: dlwp.com/event/being-modern-bexhill-talks-programme/. Additional events include model-making workshops and an architecture tour (sold out). 

Every year, thousands of volunteers and supporters organise events that allow us to discover hidden places and try out new experiences. Organised by the National Trust, supported by players of the Postcode Lottery, and run by thousands of local organisations and volunteers, Heritage Open Days give everyone free access to experiences and events across England, including access to many sites that usually charge for admission.

So from the iconic net huts to various maritime landmarks, and even a Norman Castle, Hastings’ own Heritage Open Days will offer a rare free-of-charge look behind doors that are usually locked, allowing visitors to take part in activities, guided walks and exclusive behind-the-scenes tours. And it’s not all about 1066! Among many other activities, you can discover an urban Commons with a tour of Gotham Alley, or listen to audio recordings of Hastings fishermen telling stories of a centuries-old way of life. Or you can take a ride on Happy Harold, Hastings’ own vintage operational trolleybus.

This unique series of events provides a direct opportunity for the community to discover the unique character of this special town, famous for its independent spirit, smuggling, adventure, art and culture, making local history accessible to everyone. All events are completely free, though selected tours and workshops require advance booking due to limited capacity.

Liam Montgomery, Heritage Open Days Marketing and Projects Manager, says, “There are so many brilliant stories that are celebrated through the festival each year, but this year I can’t wait to see all those everyday hidden-in-plain-sight stories centre stage in our programming through the ‘Everyday Histories’ theme. I’m so excited to see our community uncover new stories and delve deeper than ever before.”

Venue listings,
and booking details: heritageopendays.com and smitc-trust.org/heritage-open- days-2026, or instagram. 11-20 September 2026

Yates pub and sports bar, which straddles Robertson Street and Havelock Road in Hastings Town Centre will close permanently from this Sunday 13 September. The lease of the premises is being terminated by mutual agreement with the landlord. Over 20 staff are believed to be losing their jobs.

The pub was renowned as offering good value meals and drinks, multiple TV screens for watching live football and other sports, and karaoke evenings.

A spokesperson for the Stonegate Group, which owns the business, said that the hospitality sector “continues to face significant challenges. After careful consideration and despite our best efforts the site is no longer commercially viable… We would like to thank our hard-working team for their commitment and dedication. We would also like to thank our guests and the local community for their support over the years.”

The spokesperson made no comment on the suggestion that the Havelock pub, two doors down, which Stonegate also owns, is under threat of closure as well.

Cllr Batsford, who represents the St Helens ward, uncovered the “staggering figure” through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request, submitted to establish precisely how much revenue is generated by roadworks in the town.

Under the current system, utility firms can be charged up to £2,000 per day for occupying road space – a fee intended to encourage faster completion of works and minimise disruption to the public.

Cllr Batsford said he was “shocked” to learn that ESCC has collected £1,469,650 in lane rental income since the scheme began, with £948,100 of that total stemming specifically from works in the Hastings area.

He is now pressing for answers on where the money has gone and whether any portion is being reinvested in the town’s roads and infrastructure. Arguing that residents endure the full impact of closures and blockages with little tangible benefit, he said: “We all know the frustration caused when roads are dug up, traffic lights appear and journeys that should take minutes suddenly take much longer.”

The Councillor is calling on ESCC to publish a transparent breakdown of the income and to confirm whether the funds are ringfenced for local infrastructure. “Hastings residents have to put up with the congestion, delays and disruption caused by roadworks. If nearly £1 million has been generated from those works, they deserve to know where that money has gone,” he added. “You would like to think that money raised from the disruption caused by digging up our roads would be reinvested in improving them.”

Cllr Batsford is specifically urging ESCC to state whether any of the funds will be directed towards repairing the town’s notoriously poor roads and pavements, insisting: “If Hastings is generating the revenue, Hastings residents should see the benefit.”

Next Saturday the players and coaches of Hastings Pirates baseball club will wake up to some unfamiliar feelings. Nerves. Adrenalin. Excitement not just at playing a game, but at what it means.

That’s because at 12 noon the Pirates will play their first post-season game since the current version of the club was born in 2023, away to the Guildford Millers in the British Baseball Federation (BBF) Division 5 play-offs.

“I’m pumped up and nervous at the same time,” says star pitcher Uduak Victor Robert. “It’s the biggest game since I joined the club.”

“We started the season hoping to win more games than we lost, so to be in a play-off game is pretty amazing,” agrees second baseman Tim Whittlesea.

Post-season play represents uncharted waters for the Pirates, who have endured hard times in recent years, with a shortage of players and little success on the field. Three years ago they went an entire season without a win.

This year’s turnaround has been remarkable, with a 12-3 win away against Brighton Jets on 16 August clinching the Division 5 South division title. The win was led by another stellar pitching performance from Robert, who finished the season with an 8-0 record (in baseball a pitcher is credited with a win when his team is victorious), and some impressive hitting from Whittlesea, who knocked in four runs.

Although the Pirates lost the second game of their double-header against Brighton, they went on to sweep the Kent Mariners in their final two home fixtures of the season the following week. Those games were a terrific advert for British baseball, with strong pitching, sure-handed fielding, and crisp, timely hitting. Both victories came on ‘walk-off’ hits (when the home team bats in the final inning, a go-ahead run ends the game) – the first when veteran slugger Frank Cooper brought home third baseman Liam Drane, the second when shortstop Lloyd Knight scored Robert.

Those victories gave the Pirates a record of 13 wins and five losses for the season, well clear of nearest rivals Tonbridge Bobcats, and sent the club off to the play-offs with wind in its sails.

FAR BEYOND THE TARGET

“Winning the division was far beyond the target we set ourselves, but it wasn’t down to luck,” says Robert. “It’s a product of belief, determination and fighting spirit from every member of the team and management.”

“We have a really cohesive team that trusts each other in every aspect of the game,” adds Tim Whittlesea. “Everybody has contributed to being top of the table.”

Guildford, who finished the season with 20 wins and four losses on their way to the Division 5 Central title, will represent stiff opposition. The Pirates are confident, though, that if they play to their strengths, victory – and a place in the BBF semi-finals and finals weekend at the National Baseball & Softball Complex at Farnham Park later this month – is within their grasp.

“Guildford are a good team, but I fancy our chances,” says Robert. “We go into every game with the belief we can win.”

Set amid the dive bars and juke-joints of Soho, The Ronnie Scott’s Story traces the club’s remarkable journey, from the hand-to-mouth finances and frequent police raids of its early years through to its place at the heart of the international jazz-scene. 

Along the way come stories of old Soho, where musicians, celebrities and gangsters’ paths crossed. Audiences hear how Ronnie’s became neutral ground within fiercely contested gang territory, and of the club’s brushes with some of the era’s most notorious figures – including the Krays, who were rumoured to have taken Ronnie Scott for ‘a little drive’. 

Life at Ronnie’s is vividly reimagined through music, as well as stories of the extraordinary characters who passed through its doors: pop stars, film stars, politicians, and royalty – but, above all, the musicians who made the club what it is. 

Performed by The Ronnie Scott’s All Stars, directed by the Club’s artistic director and musical tour de force, James  Pearson, the show features classic music associated with the jazz greats who have graced the Ronnie Scott’s stage, woven together with Soho tales, wayward musicians, gangsters, police raids and the personalities behind the legend. 

The result is a critically acclaimed celebration of one of the world’s most famous jazz venues – its history, its  atmosphere, and the artists and music that shaped its story. 

Saturday 21 November 2026, 7.30pm, De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill

Hackney in East London (nowadays a boho-arty des-res area, affordable only to higher-paid professionals) had a bad reputation in 1997. A number of its 1960s-built tower blocks were structurally unsound, in addition to the associated widespread socio-economic issues in the area.

I first saw Tom Hunter’s work in about 1998 when a couple of tower blocks in Holly Street (off the Queensbridge Road, and quite incidentally, the childhood home of Idris Elba) were due for demolition. As the residents were moved out or moved on, the units were closed and barred with thick metal prison-type doors, and the blocks eventually demolished in 2001. His exhibition was held in one of these derelict units on the 19th floor: brilliant photographs of departing residents in situ, six feet high, were placed all around the walls, and the dilapidated bath was filled with bottles of Beck’s.

The work was telling, powerful, and familiar to any long-term resident of the area. I felt at the time how significant it was – I suppose the Beck’s helped a bit – and it does seem to me now to have taken place at a kind of sociological turning point, of which it formed a part. Charles Saatchi bought all of it. Subsequently Hunter posed people from his squatters’ community as echoes of old Masters, and his work Woman Reading a Possession Order, composed after a Vermeer painting, brought him national and international acclaim.

This September, seven years after his last visit, he is coming here under the auspices of PhotoHastings. Most of his show is currently under wraps, but one will be Tom Hunter – A Dialogue. This will consist of responses to his large piece, Greg: Powdermill, which was created in reference to a Victorian work in the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery Collection, Harmony Cattle Watering, Pevensey, East Sussex by Sidney Dennant Moss. Dr Hunter will give a talk about his work, chaired by photographer Alexander Brattell, and will also review the resulting exhibition.

The talk will be held at Electro Studios Seaside Road St Leonards Saturday on the 24 October. For full details check photohastings.com.

Hosted in the Stade Open Space, just a few steps from the sea, visitors will be able to taste an array of local catches, from fresh oysters to crispy fish rolls and seafood paella. Vendors from across Sussex and Kent will be offering up delicious artisan produce, including Judges Bakery, The Albion Pasty Shack and Oui Creperie.

Alongside the food stalls there will be a variety of local vineyards and breweries, showcasing spectacular English wines and craft beer. There will be an opportunity to learn more about local wine-making with a talk and demonstration happening on Sunday.

Over the course of the weekend 13 incredible live bands will perform, following a different musical theme each day, an exciting new addition to the 2026 festival!

The weekend will kick off with a Northern Soul themed night. The Hastings Northern Soul Club will deliver a fantastic DJ set, followed by Buddy Curtess and The Grasshoppers. This brilliant 10-piece band is guaranteed to get you dancing!

On Saturday, country music will take centre stage. Sister Suzie and local band, Wildflowers and Moonshine will offer up Bluegrass Americana and Country tunes to get your toes tapping.

Sunday will be all about jazz, blues and soul. Hastings’ very own world-class jazz musician, Lianne Carrol, will start the day with her Jazz Breakfast, which is bound to be one of the highlights of the weekend. To end with a bang, Bexhill-based band Ska-Per, will bring high-energy Ska and Reggae to The Stade, bringing the weekend to a fantastic close.

Stade Events CIC is offering Weekend Festival Passes free when you buy a ticket for either the Jazz Breakfast or Northern Soul Night.

For tickets and more information visit stadeevents.co.uk

Local foodbanks are calling for donations of everyday essentials as families face extra pressure during the school summer holidays.

To help shoppers support their local communities, supermarket Aldi is promoting the products charities say are needed most, making it easier for local customers to donate while doing their regular shop.

According to Aldi’s charity partner Neighbourly, the most in-demand items this summer are: tinned food, toiletries, tea/coffee, breakfast cereals, juices and soft drinks, UHT milk, laundry and cleaning products, rice and pasta, cooking sauces/oils/condiments, pet food and baby essentials.

Customers can donate any of these items at community collection points in Aldi stores, with all donations distributed to local foodbanks and charities.

Luke Emery, National Sustainability Director at Aldi UK, says: “The summer holidays can be a particularly difficult time for many families, with the cost of keeping children fed while they’re home from school putting extra pressure on household budgets.

“We know our customers are incredibly generous and want to support people in their local communities. Even adding just one extra everyday essential to your weekly shop can make a real difference.”

Steve Butterworth, CEO at Neighbourly, says: “When schools break up for summer, many families lose access to the support they rely on during term time, while household food costs often increase. That’s why donations of everyday essentials are so important.”

Alongside customer donations, Aldi expects to donate an estimated two million meals to charities, foodbanks and community organisations across the UK this summer, helping ensure good food reaches people instead of going to waste.

Donations can also be made at most branches of other major supermarkets.

The Supermums Business Hub will be available to women across the UK. But while the ambition is national, Heather believes meaningful change needs to start locally, which is why the first physical Supermums Business Hub will be opening in Hastings in November this year.

The Hub will be a place where female founders, freelancers and women returning to work can work alongside one another, learn practical AI and technology skills, access business support, coaching and consultancy, and build business relationships. They will also have the chance to connect with female freelance AI Champions and technology specialists who have graduated through the Supermums training programmes over the last 10 years – and to become those experts themselves.

AI is rapidly changing how small businesses operate – from marketing and administration to customer service, websites, CRM and business operations. Heather believes that, for many female entrepreneurs, the challenge isn’t whether they should embrace AI, it’s knowing where to start: they need to know which tools genuinely matter and who they can trust to help them implement them.

The organisation particularly focuses on mums returning to work, women looking to reskill or upskill and female freelancers whose existing roles are being transformed by AI. According to the International Labour Organisation, in high-income countries 9.6% of female employment is in occupations with the highest exposure to generative AI, compared with 3.5% of male employment.

For Heather, the mission is personal. She spent 25 years designing and delivering business support and employability programmes and 20 years running businesses of her own so has experienced firsthand how embracing technology could create opportunities for flexible, well-paid and meaningful work. After settling near Hastings to start a family, she decided to use that experience to help other women do the same and launched Supermums in 2016 following the birth of her second child.

Now she believes that AI represents the next major turning point for women. She says: “Ten years ago, technology changed the direction of my own career. I saw the opportunities it could create for women to build flexible, well-paid careers, and I wanted other mums to have access to those opportunities too.

“Now we’re standing at another turning point with AI. It’s transforming businesses and it’s transforming jobs. I don’t want women to be frightened of that change or left behind by it. I want women to be at the forefront of it.”

Visit supermumsbusinesshub.com

Would a stairlift or level-access shower make it easier for you or a family member to stay in your home? Did you know that the council can offer disabled facilities grants to eligible residents to make adaptations to their homes?

Applications can be made for multiple adaptations including creating downstairs bedrooms and bathrooms, kitchen adaptations, external access ramps, door widening, stair lifts, level access showers, and electronic door entry systems. To be eligible, you need to intend to live at the property for at least five years, whether you own your own home or rent privately or from a housing association. 

The first step to applying for a grant is to speak to your GP and get a referral to an occupational therapist who will carry out an assessment of your needs and recommend adaptations. A grants officer will then arrange a visit and explain the next stage of the process. The council’s Adaptations Support Service can help you to complete the grant application form and to prepare and draw up the proposed plans.

Between April and June this year, 34 disabled facilities grants and 40 adaptations were completed at a total cost to the council of £376,597.08.

Residents who have had work completed are delighted with the results. One resident said: “I love having a beautiful new bathroom, especially new tiles to the ceiling. The two bathroom fitters were very considerate, they left everything very clean and tidy each day. I have a lovely clean, hygienic bathroom.”

Another said: “Being able to have a shower and washer toilet has helped me so much and really made a difference to how I live. Absolutely amazing. And the front access to my home too. I’m so, so grateful, thank you.”

Cllr Glenn Haffenden, leader of the council and lead councillor for housing, says: “It’s great news that disabled facilities grants have made such positive differences to residents’ lives. The positive comments about the adaptations that have been done are lovely to hear. If you rent your home and think this isn’t for you, please talk to your landlord: they can apply for you, and in many cases, a financial contribution isn’t needed from residents.”