Archives for News - Page 9
How Many Die On Our Streets?
The most visible manifestations of homelessness in Hastings are from those who have been sleeping rough – piles of blankets and sleeping bags left in seafront shelters or makeshift tents…
Unitary Authority Will Bigger be Better?
Hastings Borough Council (HBC) will lose its responsibility for helping the homeless under the current plans to replace it with a Unitary Authority in around two years’ time. So far…
New Corporate Plan For Hastings
PAUL McLAUGHLIN The Green-led Hasting Borough Council has agreed a new Corporate Plan for 2025-2030 setting out a vision for Hastings “where residents are proud of their town and feel…
Bring Eurostar Services Back to Ashford!
Hastings & Rye MP Helena Dollimore has joined a group of fellow-Labour South East region MPs campaigning to restore railway services to Europe from Ashford International station. Earlier this month…
Residents’ Objections Fail to Block Waste Booking System
East Sussex County Council is to introduce a booking system at all 10 of the county’s household waste and recycling centres. Cllr Claire Dowling, lead member for Transport and Environment,…
Ark Schools Challenge Behaviour Claims
In HIP 270 we published an article, Why Won’t They Behave?, reporting on disciplinary issues at Ark Alexandra Academy. It referred to complaints made in social media posts that a member…
No Housing on High Weald Site
A planning inspector has upheld a decision of Rother District Council to refuse permission to build housing on the site of a former plant nursery at Whatlington which is adjacent…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter ‘So-called Victory’ Dear HIP, Re your article about Southern Water, and the so-called victory of receiving a bit of compensation: No, of course Southern Water hasn’t “rebuilt trust” with…
DEMOLITION JOB
Hollington tower blocks to be bulldozed, residents relocated HUGH SULLIVAN Southern Housing, the largest provider of social housing in Hastings, last week announced plans to demolish four tower blocks on…
Council Tax set to increase again
PAUL McLAUGHLIN Most local council taxpayers will see bills increase in April by over £100 after East Sussex County Councillors and Hastings Borough Councillors agreed their respective budget plans for…
Consultation over Castle and Café Project
HUGH SULLIVAN Plans for the development of a £3m plus ‘interpretation centre’ and café/restaurant at Hastings Castle will be presented to local residents at West Hill Community Centre next Thursday…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter Inside UBAT Dear HIP As a former primary school leader with over 14 years of experience in Hastings, I am deeply concerned by the decisions currently being made regarding…
West Marina Development
Proposals for development of the old bathing pool site at West Marina are still awaited from West St Leonards Marina Limited (WSLML), the subsidiary of County Gate Properties which holds…
No End Date for A21 Chaos
East Sussex County Council still cannot provide an estimated completion date for the massively delayed Queensway Gateway link road off the A21 out of Hastings. A spokesperson could only say…
Water Compensation Victory
PAUL McLAUGHLIN Southern Water has agreed to pay £ million in compensation to its customers in Hastings who were left without water for several days last May. The incident, which…
Council Changes Fast-Tracked
PAUL McLAUGHLIN The Government has confirmed plans to cancel elections to the East Sussex County Council due in May 2025 and to fast-track Sussex as one of its priority areas…
Why Won’tThey Behave?
HUGH SULLIVAN Ark Alexandra Academy, the biggest secondary school in Hastings, is in the firing line as parents, teachers and local MP Helena Dollimore trade accusations and demands over disciplinary…
Alright Jack
Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green has been awarded £23,572 through Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants. The money will contribute to the costs of this year’s festival on 5…
Hastings Commons Wins Housing Prize
CHRIS CONNELLEY Hastings Commons, the cluster of community businesses behind the refurbishment of Rock House and the Observer Building, and the lead organisation for the Hastings Heritage Action Zone in…
Water Compensation Reviewed
PAUL McLAUGHLIN In a bruising exchange with local Labour MP Helena Dollimore in Parliament, the CEO of Southern Water, Lawrence Gosden, pledged to review the decision not to pay compensation to…
HBC Housing Partner Bust
HUGH SULLIVAN Two private housing companies contracted by Hastings Borough Council (HBC) have ceased to trade following a winding-up petition brought by HM Revenue & Customs. Phi Capital Investments Limited…
News in Brief
Council Draft Plan Hastings Borough Council (HBC) is inviting responses to its draft 2025-2030 Corporate Plan. The draft plan aims “to make a Hastings where residents are proud of their…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter In Defence of Gaza Thank you for publishing Mr Bennett’s letter, In Defence of Israel (HIP 268) albeit with a disclaimer. If nothing else, it does present an opportunity…
‘Hastings Three’ Acquitted
KENT BARKER Three men prosecuted for taking part in a peaceful protest at arms manufacturer General Dynamics have been acquitted of all charges at Brighton Law Courts. Laurie Holden, 72,…
‘Victory’For Hastings Academies
KENT BARKER Eight Hastings schools and six others across Sussex are to be removed from control of the University of Brighton Academies Trust (UBAT). In a brief statement on 20…
West Marina Consultation Jump-started
HUGH SULLIVAN A coalition of design and community groups has unveiled proposals for the future of the ex-bathing pool and holiday camp at West Marina. At a recent exhibition and…
UBAT to Go: Schools to be Transferred to Other Academy Chains
In dramatic news for Hastings schools, The University of Brighton Academies Trust (UBAT) is to cease running eight Hastings schools and has asked the Department for Education to assign them…
Clive Vale Church ‘Under Offer’
All Souls Church in Clive Vale, a prominent red-brick church built in the late Victorian era and serving as an Anglican place of worship for the local community for 161…
Bookshop Goes Out On A High
CHRIS CONNELLEY The New Year’s Day post from Hastings Bookshop owner, Charlie Crabbe, that he would cease trading just a few days later, has generated much interest, affection and upset.…
Renters Rights Bill: Less Housing, Higher Rents
HUGH SULLIVAN The Renters Rights Bill (RRB), which is intended to revolutionise the respective rights and obligations of landlords and tenants of private housing, was due to be debated further…
Social Housing at Blackfriars Site
Rother District Council Housing Company (RDCHC) has announced a partnership with national social enterprise company, Places for People, to enable 130 out of an estate of 200 new homes being…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter Gaza: Decades of Atrocities Dear HIP Palestine Solidarity Campaign In the article Waiting for Answers by Rod Webb (HIP 267) you published a reply by our MP Helena Dollimore…
End Game For Local Councils
PAUL McLAUGHLIN The Councils of Hastings Borough, Rother District and East Sussex County are set to be to be abolished. Taking their place, probably by 2028, will be a new…
Tax Hike on Farms: A Local Perspective
HUGH SULLIVAN Frank Langrish’s grandfather first came to farm in the Tilling Valley to the north of Udimore over a century ago. Frank eventually inherited, and has worked on the…
Bus Fares Rise
Bus fares rose across England from 1 January as the government raised the nationwide cap for individual journeys from £2 to £3. However, a system of subsidies awarded by East…
Waiting for Answers
ROD WEBB reacts to open letter written to local MP by Hastings & District Palestinian Solidarity Campaign As the Gaza conflict approaches the New Year after nearly 14 months of…
A View from the Streets
PENNY BEALE While many people are looking forward to spending Christmas with family and friends, a shocking number of people in Hastings and across the country will be homeless over…
Be Bold to Deliver More Council Housing
ANDY BATSFORD In November 2021, I was the Cabinet lead for Housing at Hastings Borough Council when we unveiled an ambitious plan to tackle the town’s worsening housing crisis. The…
A Personal Vision for More & Better Quality Housing
KEN DAVIS The greatest mistake made with the provision of public housing by successive governments has been to concentrate on numbers rather than balancing numbers with quality. Thus, a policy…
A time for Hope and Joy
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN The collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime in Syria earlier this month was greeted with celebrations across a country fractured by 13 years of civil war. The Assad…