Archives for News - Page 4
William the Composter
William the Composter has been chosen as the name for the new food waste collection vehicles in Hastings, Rother and Wealden after a competition across local schools to name the…
Landslides Grant
Hastings Borough Council has announced £20,000 in grant funding to help the community tackle the growing challenge of landslides. The new Landslides Grant invites applications from local organisations for projects…
Hastings in Eye of Political Storm
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN The political whirlwind engulfing the government swept through Hastings last Thursday morning (5 February) as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer arrived at a wet and windy Horntye Park…
Local Elections Postponed – Maybe
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN The Government has sparked anger in Westminster by officially postponing this year’s council elections across Hastings and East Sussex. The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local…
Potholes– More or Less?
JAMES PRENTICE Last year during my travels through the town, I began to notice fewer potholes. Also whilst walking around, I’ve noticed more road maintenance teams filling in potholes that…
Uber Eats Scam Reported in St Leonards
JOEL CHESHIRE Local residents have raised concerns over what appears to be a fake restaurant operating on Uber Eats, after a Hastings customer reported being left without food and unable…
Frozen Assets – Would a Town Council do Better?
HUGH SULLIVAN Following intended local government reorganisation, a future unitary council – whether it administers the whole of East Sussex or some other territory – will assume responsibility for the…
Hastings Bids for Cultural Prize
The Government has launched a new UK Town of Culture competition as part of efforts to renew the nation’s cultural landscape. The initiative is aimed at towns of all sizes…
Fare Fight?
MP, county council and campaigners clash on bus priorities HUGH SULLIVAN Photos: Jason Ellis In recent days, residents of Hastings and Rye have received a circular through their letterboxes from…
NEWS IN BRIEF
Supermarket Giveaway The supermarket chain Aldi says it provided more than 37,000 meals to people in Hastings and Sussex over the Christmas and New Year period by donating surplus food…
Reputational Water Damage
KENT BARKER considers what Southern Water can do to improve its image - and its services - in 2026. 2025 was a pretty bad year for Southern Water and its…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter Community Resilience in Practice Dear HIP What a pleasure to read about the formation of HASTE - Hydraulic Activity Stabilisation Training Enterprise CIC - and the co-operation between experts,…
New Year Council Offensive
KENT BARKER Hastings Borough Council has begun 2026 with resolute plans to improve the look and amenities of the town. The initiatives centre on the vacant site at the western…
Police in Christmas crackdown on drink and drug-drivers
Sussex Police have made 63 arrests for drink and drug driving in the first week of its Christmas crackdown on drink and drug drivers. With the festive party season in…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter Palestine Action Ban Dear HIP, We the undersigned, residents of Hastings, Rye and St Leonards, have all been arrested under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act, for publicly displaying signs bearing…
Hastings Residents Affected by Major Gas Leak
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Emergency services evacuated residents from the Queens Apartments in Robertson Terrace, Hastings on 2 December after detecting dangerous levels of carbon monoxide (CO) in first-floor flats. The incident,…
Whose Haven?
Caravan Expansion Threatens Wildlife Access, Say Objectors Combe Haven has operated as a holiday park in West St Leonards for over 60 years, an institution which has brought several generations of tourists…
Landslip Concerns at Conqueror Road
Hugh Sullivan Residents of Conqueror Road in West St Leonards, which runs off Harley Shute Road, are currently opposing proposed development of a steeply sloped woodland plot at its eastern end, claiming…
Council Reform Chaos
Paul McLaughlin The government’s plans for the most radical shake-up of local government structures in a generation appear to be descending into chaos after last week’s announcement that the upcoming…
Hastings Housing Company to Close
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Plans to wind down the Hastings Housing Company (HHC) Ltd and transfer its assets back to the council moved a step closer last week, following a decision by…
Town Deal Projects Slippage
HUGH SULLIVAN There has been further delay in undertaking two principal development projects in Hastings funded by the government’s Town ; Under the £ million Public Realm and Green Connections…
Landslides Action Plan
Rod Webb and Paul McLaughlin The threat of landslides in Hastings and St Leonards is real and persistent (see page 5), with 24 recorded events in recent years. The most recent landslides…
Ambitious New Housing Strategy
Paul McLaughlin Hastings Borough Council has launched its first housing strategy since 2019. The 2025-2030 plan makes confronting the town’s “severe and worsening affordability crisis” its top priority. Council Leader…
Bin the Beads – But Who Pays?
Scientists from King’s College London have tested some of the plastic ‘bio-beads’ washed up recently on Camber Sands and found they contain heavy metals, including lead, arsenic, and cadmium. The…
Reform UK Tops the East Sussex Poll
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Reform UK won the East Sussex County Council (ESCC) by-election held in Ashdown and Conquest last Thursday (20 November). Ben FisherAidan Fisher, elected as councillor Aidan Fisher topped…
Warne Apology Still Awaited
Back in August, formal complaints were made both to the Green party and to Hastings Borough Council (HBC) in respect of the conduct of Gensing ward councillor Paula Warne. The…
Hat-trick Award for Lightning Fibre
Lightning Fibre, the full fibre broadband network operator and internet service provider (ISP) based in East Sussex, has won consumer awards for the third year in succession from the national…
NEWS IN BRIEF
DOG-FOULING IN HASTINGS A pet agency Bubblegum Search has reported the results of Freedom of Information (FOI) research into data of dog-fouling across the UK. It reveals that 347 complaints of dog-fouling were…
Mayoral Elections
Reform UK has selected West Sussex County councillor Paul Linehan as its candidate for the inaugural Mayor of Sussex. The military veteran, who served in the 7th Parachute Regiment Royal…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter More of the Deprivation Story Dear HIP I have been involved in the Hastings area for 55 years as a GP, psychiatrist and medical homeopath. I spent some of my traineeship in…
Housing Developer Ignores Community
KENT BARKER A developer applying for planning permission for a new housing estate at Holmhurst Gardens is under fire for failing to consult the local community. KENT BARKER Foreman Homes…
Hastings Residents Evacuated by Major Carbon Monoxide Leak
Emergency services evacuated homes in Robertson Terrace, Hastings on Tuesday (2 December) after high levels of CO from a diesel generator at commercial premises affected surrounding flats. Sixteen people required…
Ten-Year Plan to ‘Transform’ Hastings?
HUGH SULLIVAN Cleaner, greener and safer streets. Revitalised community spaces. Restored heritage assets. Modern sports, leisure and play facilities. These are the things which matter most to the people of…
More Palestine Action Arrests
Seven more residents of Hastings and Bexhill have been arrested under the Terrorism Act for carrying placards supporting the banned protest organisation Palestine Action. Five – including two over the…
Town Hall Set to Lose Registry Functions
HUGH SULLIVAN A decision taken by East Sussex County Council (ESCC) to move the functions of the Hastings Register Office from the Town Hall on Queens Road to the Library…
Decades of Neglect
Hearing his Baird Ward is ranked the seventh most deprived neighbourhood in England is upsetting, says Hastings Green Councillor YUNIS SMITH, but confirms what residents have lived with for years…
Battle Lost to Save Heritage Church
KENT BARKER Campaigners fighting to prevent St Anne’s Mission Church in Hollington from demolition appear finally to have been defeated. In overturning Hastings Borough Council’s refusal to grant planning permission…
No Bulldozers – Yet
EDWARD LOFTS tells HIP why he wants to redevelop St Anne’s Mission Church VFGymEd Lofts I was born in Hastings in the Buchanan hospital in 1982. I ended up winning…
Not Without Hope
Barry Ashley (the Grumpy Cook) No child should grow up hungry or without hope. The data on child poverty isn’t just numbers on a page – it’s the daily reality…
News in Brief
Town Centre Snail’s Progress Plans to improve Hastings town centre have taken a small step forward, with East Sussex County Council (ESCC) agreeing to advertise Traffic Regulation Orders and delegate…