Archives for Top Stories
BFI Film Training Goes Live
CHRIS CONNELLEY Last week, most school and college students were on a well-earned halfterm break, but for a group of young people with an interest in a creative career, all…
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…
Leigh Dyer at Sea
VICTORIA KINGHAM Having seen and appreciated Bev Harling’s memory tree, it was interesting to discover a little more about Leigh Dyer, the sculptor whose metal works are so much part…
Home Education Special: Huge Rise in Home Education
This HIP Special Report examines the factors fuelling the rapid growth in Elective Home Education and asks whether parents are given sufficient support when the school system is failing increasing…
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…
The Viking Victory Feast
On Saturday 14 November, a unique immersive historical experience is coming to East Sussex. The Great Raid of the River Rother Victory Feast at 15 Harold Mews, St Leonards. Itwill…
Wacky Dog Show at the Pumphouse
ANITA KELSEY For the past two years, the Pumphouse Café in Alexandra Park has teamed up with local charity The Sara Lee Trust to bring Hastings an alternative dog show…
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…
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…
FOOTBALL: United Back on Top
10 October: Sheppey Utd 1, Hastings Utd 213 October: Margate 2, Hastings Utd 217 October: Hastings Utd 2, Erith Town 0 HUGH SULLIVAN Hastings United returned to the top of…
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…
Old Town Cider Festival 2026
Hastings Old Town Cider festival will return from 7-15 November, with pubs across the Old Town offering a broad selection of the UK’s best ciders, perries and apple juices. ELLA…
Scaffolding, Struggle and St Leonards Post Office
ROD WEBB For newcomers to Hastings and St Leonards, the fact that yet another building in the town has been covered in scaffolding is unlikely to mean anything – and…
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…
Blue Humans
DAVID MILTON takes a well-defined view of Edge at Hastings Contemporary Exhibition In Situ, Courtesy of Hastings ContemporaryGeorge Rouy, The Witness Cool college kids chew the fat about it. Ambitious…
I’ll Swim to France!
SARAH MILNE There are some things you say as a child that disappear completely. Others, for reasons you can’t quite explain, stay with you. I was born in Hastings, although…
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…
Come together for Unity Parade
A broad coalition of Hastings community organisations, faith groups, trade unions, equality campaigns and political groups is calling on people across the town to join a Unity Parade on Saturday…
RIP to a Local Legend
JUDE MONTAGUE Andy Neate died suddenly, sending a shock through the Hastings music community. A regular at the Jenny Lind pub with his Balearic chill band, Los Twangueros, and more…
Who Pays the Costs of War?
Ahead of a public meeting organised by Hastings Stop the War, RICHARD WISTREICH considers the dangers of armed conflict and invites us to participate in the debate Our leaders would…
Hastings RNLI – A Highly Qualified Crew
Hastings RNLI lifeboat station celebrated a wonderful weekend recently, with seven crew receiving new qualifications. Kevin Boorman Paul, already the coxswain of the station’s all weather Shannon lifeboat, qualified as…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Ronnie Scott’s Story comes to Hastings
Direct from London’s world-famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, The Ronnie Scott’s All Stars – led by the club’s artistic director - take audiences behind the scenes of one of the …
BASEBALL: Pirates Play-off Bound
JAMES YOUNG 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…
Tom Hunter: From Squat to Saatchi
VICTORIA KINGHAM 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…
FOOTBALL: Top of the League
15 August: Hastings Utd 2; AFC Croydon 1 18 August: Eastbourne Town 0; Hastings Utd 2 22 August: Ashford Utd 1; Hastings Utd 3 HUGH SULLIVAN Hastings United have made…
Twins, Cancer, and Comedy
People are often quite curious about what it’s like to be an identical twin. Local sisters Anna and Georgina Lewis have been asked this question many, many times, and decided…
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’.…
Shrek The Musical
SARAH MILNE AND OUR ROVING REPORTERS The Summer Youth Project at White Rock has become one of the highlights of my theatrical year. I am always amazed by what can be…
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.…
Skinny Sunday Youth Fest
HANNAH DEEBLE A fresh wave of emerging talent will take over Studio 27 at Hastings White Rock Theatre on 23 August, as Skinny Sunday – the one‑day festival curated, produced and…
Contemporary up for Award?
NICK PELLING Something extraordinary has happened. Hastings Old Town has reached the last six of a European competition. To be more precise, Hastings Contemporary is the only UK gallery selected…
Dutch toTake the VOC Amsterdam Home?
DAVID EP DENNIS An ever-present reminder of the power of storm and tide for the last 277 years, something sits at St Leonards. At the lowest tides of the year, when the…
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…