Archives for News
Hastings Castle Gets Urgent Repairs Boost
Hastings Borough Council (HBC) has been awarded £288,500 from Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Capital Fund to carry out urgent conservation work at Hastings Castle. The funding, combined with £200,000…
The End is Near
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN After much uncertainty and a large dollop of incompetence, it now looks as if Hastings Borough Council will be abolished in 2029, after all. Jason Ellis The Minister…
Emergency Closure of West Hill Lift
The West Hill Lift has been closed for essential surveys and repairs. Hastings Borough Council could not provide a timeline for when it will reopen, due to the nature of…
Can the Local Plan go Further?
JAMES PRENTICE Hastings’ housing crisis is well-known, with temporary accommodation use more than doubling in five years from 240 to 631. A primary cause is the rapid rise in housing…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter Town Deal Interest Black Hole Dear HIP, I write in response to the article Town Deal Interest Black Hole, published on 8 October. The funding received by Hastings Borough…
A Hastings Community of Resilience
DR REBECCA SINKER “This is the least extreme climate you will experience in your lifetime.” That was the warning from Prof. Hayley Fowler, delivered in the People’s Emergency Briefing (PEB)…
Eyesore Plans Finally Approved
Plans to redevelop 39-41 George Street in the Old Town have finally been approved by Hastings Borough Council. The former nightclub and amusement arcade was destroyed by fire in January…
When the Tide Turns
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Storms Austen and Boelo stripped away large sections of Pett Level’s shingle beach defences last week, exposing for the first time in decades the old 1940s stepped concrete…
Southern Water Drop-In
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Southern Water will host a “Your Water Matters” drop-in event at the Stade Hall on Wednesday 4 November, giving residents a chance to ask questions and learn about…
Marina Pavilion Bidders Seek Further Works
The future of the Marina Pavilion (formerly the Azur) on St Leonards seafront remains clouded as potential bidders seek further works by regeneration company Sea Change Sussex, who have a…
Council Turf War now Legal Challenge
East Sussex County Council’s objection to the government proposal to transfer part of its territory to Brighton and Hove has been backed by a formal legal application for judicial review.…
Council lead member claims turnaround of recycling rates
JAMES PRENTICE & HUGH SULLIVAN Defra (the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) has released last year’s recycling performance data. It shows that Hastings has been recycling less of…
Old Roar Gill Property to be Auctioned without Reserve
Photos: Hugh Sullivan A detached four-bedroomed extensively modernised property in St Leonards, 24 Foxcote, is to be auctioned next week with a nil reserve price. The reason: it has been…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter Time and Motion Dear HIP There’s a wonderful silliness in our rail managers and local MP combining to knock an aggregate half an hour off the times of one…
Transport Secretary to ‘Look Into’ Ashford Rail Come-Back
BBC South-East reported last week that Prime Minister Andy Burnham gave a boost to the return of international trains to Ashford. In a debate in Parliament on international affairs Helena…
West Hill Lift Gets Lottery Boost
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has offered ‘Round One development funding’ of £531,000 to assist Hastings Borough Council in preparing detailed proposals to secure the long-term future of the West…
Lots Vacant
Council Stalls on Auction Powers to Re-Let Town Centre Units HUGH SULLIVAN Earlier this year, Rother District Council commissioned an audit of vacant commercial premises in Bexhill town centre. Of…
Hastings Greens in Firing Line After National Zionism Vote
HUGH SULLIVAN The chair of Hastings Greens Justin Lee Wynne resigned his position and cancelled his membership of the party last Friday citing two “main reasons”. The first related to…
Council Housing Partners Go Bust (Again)
HUGH SULLIVAN Another private property company working with Hastings Borough Council to identify, acquire and manage housing stock for letting to homeless households has gone into liquidation – the third…
Consultations – Are they Worth the Effort?
JAMES PRENTICE Over the last five years, Hastings Borough Council has conducted 38 consultations on issues from the local plan to the culture strategy. But do people want so many?…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter Local Plan Dear HIP, Most residents of Hastings will not be aware or interested in the Regulation 19 stage of adoption of the proposed new local plan and yet…
More Misery on A21
East Sussex Highways has begun works to stabilise the western embankment of the A21 at Sedlescombe Road North and Whitworth Road. The works are expected to cause more misery for…
Bid for Designated Bathing Water Status
The Clean Water Action Group (CWAG), the local, volunteer-led grassroots organisation focused on ending sewage pollution and protecting local coastal waters, is applying to the Department for Environment, Food and…
Eagle House Wins Award
Eagle House in Hastings has been named Retrofit of the Year at the 2026 AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards. The project also won the Adaptive Reuse into Mixed Use category…
Hastings RNLI Mourns Loss of Crew Member
A member of the Hastings RNLI lifeboat crew died last Tuesday evening (30 September) following an incident at the station on The Stade, in Hastings Old Town. Emergency services were…
Town Deal Interest Black Hole
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Hastings Borough Council has admitted it does not know how much interest has been earned on £10 million of unspent Town Deal funding sitting in its bank account.…
Unity over Fear
PAUL McLAUGHLIN The past few weeks have exposed some uncomfortable divisions within the town. Volunteer lifeboat crews in Hastings and Pett Level have faced disruption and hostile encounters amid anti-migrant…
Concerns Over Future of Hollington Community Centre
The future of Hollington Community Centre remains uncertain after an East Sussex County Council (ESCC) report warned the building requires “significant capital investment” to ensure its long-term sustainability. Paul McLaughlinA…
Demonstration To Challenge Palantir Tie-Up With NHS
HUGH SULLIVAN A group demonstration outside the Conquest Hospital next Thursday (1 October) will demand that the NHS terminate their data processing contract with US tech company Palantir. The demo…
‘High-spec’ Office Space Renewed at Havelock Place
HUGH SULLIVAN Havelock Place, the six-storey office building in Havelock Street which suffered a major fire in July 2023, has been refurbished and is available for let to fresh commercial…
Cabinet votes to Extend Dog Control Order
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Hastings Borough Council’s Cabinet has agreed to renew its controversial Dog Control Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) for another three years. The order bans dogs from some beaches…
High Demand for Pride in Place Funding
More than 270 applications have been submitted by individual residents, community groups and organisations across Hastings in the first round of Pride in Place (PiP) funding. The PiP Board has…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter Food Bins of the Past Dear HIP In reference to Dr Keogh’s great letter in HIP 310 (Food Waste Roll-out), the compostable bags for lining individual caddies are £…
Source Park Future Under Wraps as BMX Company Crashes
HUGH SULLIVAN In July, Hastings Borough Council announced that the Source Park skatepark on the seafront was closed “until further notice” due to health and safety concerns following water ingress…
Express Rail Service Gets Peak Time Pricing
HUGH SULLIVAN South Eastern Railway (SER) announced with considerable fanfare earlier this month a new weekday express service between Hastings and London Charing Cross. From 14 December one train per…
Government Pauses Council Reform
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Government plans for the reform of local government across Sussex have been put on hold. Angela Rayner, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, told…
The Future is being shaped in St Leonards and Hastings
DOMINIC O’REGANPrincipal, Mulberry West St Leonards Primary History is often something children read about in textbooks: distant, untouchable and confined to the past. But at Mulberry West St Leonards Primary,…
Gridlock misery for The Ridge until 2028
Drivers have been warned to expect more than two years of gridlock along The Ridge, as SGN (formerly Scotia Gas Networks) begins a marathon gas-pipe replacement project. The work –…
Gulzar Acquitted of Knife Crime
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…
Free School Meals Opt-in
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…