Archives for News
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…
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 –…
Huge boost to Tackle Hastings Homelessness
Local homelessness charity Seaview has been awarded a £200k funding boost to support their vital work in getting people off the streets. The funding, from the government’s £ million Ending…
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…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
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…
Town Centre to Lose Yates Pub
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…
A Very Special Moment
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Royalty and world leaders may have topped the guest list, but it was the schoolchildren from Hastings who stole the spotlight at last Wednesday’s historic unveiling of the…
East Sussex Highways Robbery
The Independent Hastings Borough Councillor, Andy Batsford, has launched a campaign calling for East Sussex County Council (ESCC) to disclose how it allocates the nearly £1 million in lane rental…
Shoplifting: some further responses
A spokesperson for the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Katy Bourne: “PCC Bourne has encouraged the Chief Constable to really grip retail crime. Now Sussex Police have an…
Gulzar Pleads Old Age as Defence to £1.3m Debt Claim
HUGH SULLIVAN On 12 August, Sheikh Abid Gulzar, owner of Hastings Pier, attended a High Court hearing in London to defend his company, Golden (Lions) Eastbourne Limited (‘Golden Lions’), against…
Southern Water Stink
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN The unmistakable stench of raw sewage once again hung over Bulverhythe last Thursday morning (20 August), after Southern Water began discharging untreated wastewater from its Bexhill and Hastings…
NEWS IN BRIEF
Wages up, Jobs down Workers in East Sussex have received an average wage increase over the past 12 months to July, according to news wire platform Wagesight. Median gross pay…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter Whose Free Speech? Dear HIP Helena Dollimore MP and Grumpy Cook owner Barry Ashley are right to criticise the Reform-run East Sussex County Council (ESCC) for ending holiday meal…
Exam Results: Pluses & Minuses
Figures published by exams regulator Ofqual show that school pupils in Hastings have scored the least number of Grade 7 or above GCSE results this summer of anywhere in the…
‘Best Seaside Town in England’, Says National Survey
The citizens of Hastings and St Leonards are accustomed to claim extreme highs and lows for their town – most sunshine hours, most creative activity and, at the same time, ‘most deprivation’.…
Crime Rise, or Better Reporting?
HUGH SULLIVAN A survey of police records has revealed the borough of Hastings has the highest crime rate out of 64 local authority districts in the South East of England.…
Pride in Place
PAUL McLAUGHLIN The Hastings Pride in Place Board has appointed eight new community members to oversee how £ of government funding for the town’s regeneration programme will be spent. Backed…
Swimmers Raise Jet Ski Concerns
PAUL McLAUGHLIN Swimmers and paddleboarders in Hastings have voiced growing concern over the proliferation of jet skis and paragliders along the shoreline during the recent heatwave. There have been several…
Hastings Creative College in Town Centre
ROBERT BOUCNIK Hastings Creative College (HCC) will take over the second floor of the old Debenham’s building from September. The college, formerly DV8 Sussex, Bexhill, provides vocational qualifications at Levels…
St Leonards Rocks
JAMES ARNOLD-HO A white sloop met a rocky end on the shoreline of St Leonards beach in the early hours of Wednesday (5 August), despite a frantic rescue effort launched the night…
Norman Heritage Banner Competition
Hastings Borough Council invites residents, families, and local groups to participate in the Norman Heritage Banner Competition, which seeks creative designs inspired by the town’s unique Norman history, landmarks, and…
Water Mess
PAUL McLAUGHLIN The Environment Agency (EA) has published its first comprehensive assessment of England’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters in six years. The findings reveal that only 15% of the…
Strategy to Halt Biodiversity Decline
PAUL McLAUGHLIN East Sussex County Council (ESCC) has published a pioneering Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) designed to reverse biodiversity decline across East Sussex, and Brighton & Hove. As the…
Local Skipper Homelessness Once Again
PAUL McLAUGHLIN The skipper of the stricken sloop, Maranatha, which ran aground off the Sussex coast, is locally born sailor, Justyn. After becoming homeless in Hastings two years ago, he has…
Local Pensioners Face 14-Year Prison Sentences
FERDUSARA ALI Two local pensioners, Nina Heaton from Hastings and Mary Law from Rother were arrested outside Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday (30 July), under Section 12 of the Terrorism…
Reform in Reverse
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Reform UK has withdrawn its threat to report Barry Ashley, the owner of the Grumpy Cook café in Robertson Street, to the police, along with local Labour MP…
Pier Owner Gulzar Faces Triple Court Reckoning
HUGH SULLIVAN Sheikh Abid Gulzar, 80-year-old owner of Hastings Pier, is set to make three court appearances, each at a different venue, over the next four months. On 12 August,…
News In Brief
National Emergency Briefing A group of local and community activists have come together to organise a viewing of the National Emergency Briefing film to highlight the need for the town…
Greens and Reform Clash over Al Mawasi Link
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN The simmering tensions between the Green-led Hastings Borough Council (HBC) and Reform UK, the main opposition group, burst to the surface at a prickly meeting of the Full…
Fraud Charges to Proceed against ex-Southern Water Staff
JAMES ARNOLD-HO Former Southern Water boss Matthew Wright and three other former employees are facing prosecution over allegations that they manipulated wastewater test results. A High Court ruling on 22…
Convent Preservation is ‘Council Priority’
Following the fire at the former Convent of the Holy Child Jesus in Magdalen Road earlier this month reported in HIP 306, Hastings Borough Council issued a press release highlighting…
Water Bill Boycott
KENT BARKER A campaign is growing for Hastings residents to join a boycott of payments to Southern Water. Organisations like Boycott Water Bills, Don’t Pay for Dirty Water and Extinction…
Cinque or Swim?
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN The government has confirmed it will proceed with plans to abolish Hastings Borough Council (HBC), four other neighbouring district and borough councils, and East Sussex County Council, replacing…
Senior Council Appointments
Hastings Borough Council (HBC) has appointed Rob Cottrill as its permanent Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service. The appointment was confirmed at the meeting of the Full Council on…
Shock Closure of Source Park
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN The Source Park, one of the world's largest underground skateparks, has been forced to close its doors with immediate effect due to urgent health and safety concerns. The…
World Upside Down
In the space of just over a week, thousands of struggling families across Hastings and St Leonards have learned that the automatic allocation of supermarket food vouchers issued to them…
Uproar as Council Scraps Food Vouchers for Kids
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Reform UK-led East Sussex County Council (ESCC) has scrapped the automatic allocation of supermarket food vouchers for struggling families over the summer holidays. The decision has provoked outrage…
News in Brief
Homes for Hastings Hastings Council leader Glenn Haffenden has welcomed new affordable houses coming on stream with the first residents moving into new homes at Orbit’s Levett View development in…