PAUL MCLAUGHLIN

The arcades in Pelham Crescent at the front of St Mary in the Castle sustained significant damage on Saturday (27 September) after sections of the original roof lantern structure collapsed. The breach left the underlying wooden structural beams fully exposed. The damage occurred to units 9, 10, and 11, the former premises of the Ocean Catch Fish and Chip Restaurant.

Local Castle Ward Councillor Becca Horn was alerted to what had happened by local resident Penny Beale, on Sunday morning. She immediately called the emergency services to alert them to the incident.

A Fire Service Silver Command Officer warned the hazard presented a clear danger to public safety and ordered the area to be sealed off with heras fencing. Hastings BC’s Building Control Service provided by Wealden Council was also notified.

The arcade units were bought by Ankit Rana in 2019. In March 2025, his plans to transform the premises into a food hall, with eateries offering a diverse range of menus and cuisines from around the world, were approved by the council. Shortly afterwards, the contractors, Sidhu Construction Ltd., began the renovations with the aim of opening the new venture by summer 2026.

Mr Rana explained to HIP that his contractors had been working on the premises when the condition of the roof became “unstable because of extensive damp”. He denied that the roof had collapsed and insisted that parts of the old structure needed to be replaced for safety reasons.

However, in granting planning consent, Hastings BC stipulated that the proposed works “should not harm the designated heritage asset”. In a structural report prepared by Sheppard Structural Engineers, it was noted that there were “significant concerns regarding the condition and stability of the original existing roof lantern”. The report went on to say: “Whilst works to the roof lantern do not form part of this consent, the owner is encouraged to heed the advice of the consultant structural engineer and to put in place such temporary supports as are recommended by the engineer to stabilise the roof, at the earliest opportunity.”

No temporary supports were put in place and the roof subsequently collapsed.

Mr. Rana insisted that Sidhu Construction Ltd. had “worked closely” with Hastings BC Building Control Unit and had followed their advice “at all times”. He blamed the problem on the rapid deterioration in the condition of the roof because of damp and water penetration.

A spokesperson for Hastings BC said the council “is aware of the situation with a section of the roof at Pelham Arcade in Pelham Crescent. This is not part of a council-owned building, but, due to the public safety concerns, a council officer attended the site on Sunday. As a result, the council installed temporary fencing to ensure public safety. It has been reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and as a dangerous structure to Building Control, who will ensure that the owners fulfil their responsibilities and make the site safe.”

Mr Rana said his company would undertake emergency remedial works to fix the problems and replace parts of the old structure to ensure it meets safety standards.

A female supporter of Hastings Friends of Al-Mawasi (HFOAM) was physically attacked outside the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill on Sunday 20 July as she waited to greet the arrival of fundraising walkers from Hastings. An unidentified man approached her without warning, grabbed at the keffiyah (traditional Palestinian scarf) she was wearing, called her a “terrorist”, and a violent assault ensued, which police are investigating.

The attack was condemned by Hastings Women’s Voice and by Hastings Mosque, both of which issued statements deploring the assault, and by Hastings mayor Cllr Becca Horn, who said that she personally hoped to attend the next HFOAM fundraising walk planned for Sunday 10 August.

A number of local business owners have also reported being targeted with stickers accusing them of Hamas sympathies and of anti-semitism in response to their advertising of community events such as the Oh Big Blue poetry exhibition by children in Gaza. One of them, Steph Warren, owner of the Stella Dore gallery, said: “I hope many more people will join me on the fundraising walk on the 10th, and show that these cowardly bullies are the minority who will never silence the vast majority of our town who stand for peace and justice.”

On the other side, Hastings Jewish Community (HJC), which represents local Jews who are broadly supportive of Israel’s actions in Gaza, complain of what they see as a disturbing increase in antisemitic behaviour in Hastings, particularly among younger age groups. “Most of our members live in a constant state of unease and fear, with parts of town, businesses and people they avoid, while we all search out safe spaces in our daily lives. Many are reluctant to openly express that they are Jewish”, said Dany Louise, HJC director.

One correspondent on the HJC Facebook page wrote recently that he has encountered Holocaust deniers, seen Hitler glorified in casual conversation, been verbally and physically threatened in public, and had to cut off friendships due to overt antisemitic comments. On one occasion, “after a brief mention of Israel”, he says he was heckled with chants of “Free Palestine” and, later that evening, his hair was deliberately set on fire in a pub, which had to be evacuated. On another occasion he says he was threatened with being thrown over a wall and had to leave a public space for his own safety. HJC blames “constant anti-Israel activity by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and their associated groups, including Friends of Al Mawasi”.

Jeremy Godden, managing director of Godden Gaming, who runs this and many other venues throughout the southeast, said: “The event was very popular, we’ve had good customer feedback, it’s like I’ve delivered Xmas. Bingo is a social activity – two hours of putting the phone down; it’s been lovely to see groups of friends attending.”

He estimated that customers, who can play on either a traditional card or online screen five days a week, excluding Tuesdays and Wednesdays, are “80% local, 20% tourists.” Downstairs from the bingo is an amusement arcade.

The premises began life in Edwardian times as the Hippodrome Theatre (with Marie Lloyd topping the opening bill) and later became the Royal Cinema Deluxe.

When you picture a Mayor, what comes to mind? Until recently, I wouldn’t have imagined myself in the role – but some roles you grow into once you’ve donned the costume. In my case, that meant adjusting the Mayoral Chain (or ‘Bling’, as I call it) to fit!

You might wonder what our civic Mayor actually does. A month in, I’ve got the gist: I chair full council meetings and uphold the Constitution. I help decide which motions can be brought (alongside the Council Leader, CEO and Monitoring Officer), set the agenda and, in the event of a tie, cast the deciding vote.

Beyond the council chamber I get invited to hundreds of events – and what better town than Hastings to be asked to show up and celebrate it? So far, the Bling and I have swung on a tyre in a hand-built adventure playground at Hatton’s Yard, ridden the wooden train at the new Ore Station Community Garden, drunk tea with the Lord Lieutenant, taken the stage at White Rock Theatre, played drums at the Clifton Centre’s new music room and laughed, danced and ‘hoicked’ at The Stables in an interactive performance about human connection.

Hastings is bursting with inclusive, grassroots community initiatives that enrich our town. This Refugee Week’s theme is ‘Community As A Superpower’ and I intend to use my Mayoral year to champion that spirit. In an increasingly divided and fearful world, we must nurture relationships with our neighbours and build a more resilient, hopeful future.

There’s also power in connecting with our past. As this year’s Speaker of the Cinque Ports, I’ll help host September’s Speakership Ceremony, welcoming civic leaders from across our ancient confederation. Hastings’ history is rich, and I’m eager to help uncover and share the lesser-known stories that shaped it.

So here’s an invitation: are you planning an event that makes Hastings proud? Are you helping bring our community together? Do you have something weird, wonderful or worthwhile to show off? Get in touch at MayorsOffice@Hastings.gov.uk – the Bling and I would love to attend.

Follow my journey: scan the QRcode on the left or visit Facebook/Instagram – @mayorofhastings.

At the Annual Full Council meeting of Hastings Borough Council last Wednesday (15 May), Julia Hilton stepped down as leader, to be replaced by Glenn Haffenden. She will remain in the cabinet as his deputy.

Becca Horn, their Green party colleague, was elected mayor for the next 12 months, replacing Labour’s Judy Rogers.

Both Cllrs Haffenden and Horn were each elected to their respective posts at the meeting without challenge, even though the Green party councillors remain a minority in the chamber – only 12 out of 32. The five Conservative members and six Hastings Independents Group (HIG) all joined them in voting for Cllr Horn as mayor; ten of the same eleven also voted in favour of the appointment of Cllr Haffenden as leader – only Cllr Batsford (HIG) voted against.

The Labour party, who have appointed Helen Kay as their leader in place of Margi O’Callaghan, abstained en bloc in both votes.

Becca Horn’s election as mayor is significant, since past convention has been for the previous year’s deputy mayor to step up to the role. No public statement was issued by last year’s deputy David Whitehill or by his party, Labour, as to whether he had wanted to be elevated (or not). But, since the conduct of Cllr Margi O’Callaghan as mayor in 2023-24, the position has clearly been recognised for its potential political power as well as its ceremonial function. Both in her influence on the agenda of council meetings and in her delivery of some crucial casting votes on issues where the chamber was equally divided, Cllr O’Callaghan had shown how the political power of the mayoralty could be exercised. A year ago, the Greens accepted her deputy Judy Rogers, also Labour, as heir to the role in an effort to reach out across the political spectrum. This time round they put forward Cllr Horn, knowing that none of the other parties would be likely to combine in supporting an alternative candidate, and both she and others of her party spoke of their great pride in her appointment as Hastings’ “first Green Mayor”.

Following her election, Cllr Horn, dressed in a yellow jumpsuit that seemed to mark a very conscious departure in style from any of her recent predecessors, took over the chairing of the meeting. While assisted in the formal process by Chief Legal Officer Mary Kilner seated alongside, she was quick to assert her authority on proceedings. She reprimanded Cllr Mike Edwards, who has taken on the leadership of the Conservative group of councillors – again without any public statement from his party–for making apparently discriminatory remarks in the chamber about “people who don’t have English as their mother tongue”. She also told Cllr Batsford that his criticisms of Cllr Haffenden’s speech introducing his programme for the forthcoming year were “really verging on the personal – once I get more comfortable in this seat, I can assure you that I won’t be putting up with any of those personal [attacks].”

Cllr Haffenden informed the meeting that the cabinet would continue to consist of the same eight members, all Greens, as had served under Cllr Hilton, though with some reorganisation of roles. In particular, Cllr Hilton will focus on the anticipated local government reorganisation that involves the election of a county-wide mayor in 2026 and thereafter the probability of amalgamation of existing district and borough councils (including of Hastings) into a new unitary authority. Cllr Haffenden will retain his existing housing portfolio.

There was then an appointment process for representation on council committees. Most of the committee places had already been allocated by a prior negotiation between the four political parties, based on proportionate seats held. However, in a further significant vote, Green councillor Yunis Smith was elected as chair of the planning committee by a majority over Conservative Matthew Beaver to extend his party’s dominance further.

Cllr Haffenden went on to set out a very generalised programme for the year, emphasising the stability which Cllr Hilton’s administration had brought to the Council’s finances and covering the range of council services, with particular focus on housing and homelessness.

Cllr Kay, for Labour, accepted that these were core challenges but referred to the town’s poor education provision, to the environmental degradation of the town centre, to its “appalling roads and pavements” and to other service failures – she urged the adoption of her party’s proposal for a unitary coastal authority to address these problems.

Former council leader Paul Barnett, for the HIG group, congratulated Cllr Haffenden on his election but pointed to the diminishing terms of office served by successive Council leaders over the past two decades. Jeremy Birch had been leader for ten years, Peter Chowney for five, Kim Forward for a little over two, he himself for less than two, Julia Hilton just over a year. He described the debate hitherto as “depressing…fiddling while Rome burns”, and wondered how long the new incumbent would last, as the threat of takeover by a unitary Sussex authority loomed. He described the Greens’ response to the prospective reorganisation hitherto as “too timid, too slow and too polite”. This was the only issue, he argued, that mattered for the sake of the future of the town and its residents.

Nevertheless, when Cllr Haffenden’s programme came to be voted upon, it was supported universally by the Green, Conservative and (with some show of hesitation) HIG blocs. Labour councillors again abstained.

Following the meeting, Cllr Hilton issued a statement: “True leadership is about enabling others to step up into leadership roles and find their own style of leadership. Glenn [Haffenden] and I have worked closely together in a co-leadership style over the last year and I look forward to supporting him as he takes on this new role. In a few years’ time, with a new council structure on the horizon, it is even more important that as many people as possible have the opportunity to take on leadership roles so the new council has a strong team to call on to face the challenges ahead.” 

 Cllr Haffenden said: “I am delighted to carry on the great work Julia [Hilton] has done establishing new ways of collaborative working right across the council and honoured to have the opportunity to lead the council over the coming year.” 

In the week beginning 5 August a message was circulated on the encrypted messaging platform Telegram naming the addresses of 39 offices of immigration lawyers across the country at which protest demonstrations were to be organised on the evening of Wednesday 7th. These included an address in Cambridge Road in Hastings. Attendees were advised to “mask up” and “be there or be cowed”.

Given the intimidatory violence of recent anti-immigration protests in Southport, Sunderland and elsewhere, an appeal was issued by Helena Dollimore MP, Hastings Borough Council leader Julia Hilton, and faith leaders for any objectors to this protest not to come out. Some businesses took no chances and closed early on the day. However, several hundred local people attended a rally organised by Hastings Stand Up To Racism (SUTR), gathering outside ESK on Cambridge Road in a celebratory party atmosphere. Community activists chanted and sang for almost two hours, hearing speeches from former deputy council leader Maya Evans, current councillors Paul Barnett, Yunis Smith and Becca Horn, and from James Ellis of the National Education Union (NEU).

In the event no anti-immigration demonstrators emerged.

Simon Hester, SUTR secretary and chief steward for the event, said: “We rejected the appeal for us to call the protest off. It would be utterly irresponsible of us to cancel it at the last minute… Many people would turn up anyway, putting them at real risk. More importantly, the way to defeat the fascists is to isolate them with ever larger numbers. There was no way we could stay at home. 

“Frankly, it’s a bit rich for the police and national politicians to urge passivity in the face of far-right thuggery. Our community was under threat. Racism and Islamophobia spouted in parliament led to racism and Islamophobia on the streets. There has been a relentless campaign to scapegoat refugees, migrants and Muslims for years. We cannot rely on the politicians or police to defeat the racists. The only way to do it is to stand up as a united community, face down the small groups of fascists and challenge the wider racist narrative.”

The counter-protest on Wednesday followed another display of solidarity on Sunday 4 August when Hastings Mosque received an email threatening an attack that afternoon. They contacted SUTR and 60 people quickly mobilised to defend the mosque if necessary. Councillor Yunis Smith, a member of the mosque committee, said: “I wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who came in solidarity with us today. It was truly amazing to see so many people come out to stand with us.” 

Maya Evans, chair of Hastings SUTR said: “Our movement must challenge racism and promote a fairer society for everyone. We need hope, not despair.”

On Saturday 10 August, over 200 people rallied in Hastings to mark a National Day of Protest called by SUTR to “stop the far right”, protest recent “right-wing violence” and show solidarity with marginalised groups. The Kid Kapichi drummers began an event which included speeches from, among others, Jenny Sutton of the NEU and local singer and activist Lily Kim. With many families in attendance, there was again a carnival atmosphere.

Helena Dollimore is the new Member of Parliament for Hastings and Rye. The Labour and Co-operative Party candidate topped the poll in the General Election with 19,134 votes to defeat the incumbent Conservative, Sally-Ann Hart, to win the seat with a decisive majority of 8,653. It was the largest winning margin achieved by any party in this traditional bell-weather seat in over 40 years.

Lucian Fernando of Reform UK came in third, ahead of Becca Horn of the Greens and Guy Harris of the Liberal Democrats, with the three other candidates: Phil Colley (Workers Party – For Britain, For Gaza), Nicholas Davies (Communist Party of Britain) and Paul Crosland (Independent) all failing to secure the 5% of votes needed to save their £500 deposits.

Voter turnout of 60.8% was broadly in line with the national average of 59.9% but was markedly down on the two previous elections here where 67.4% of people voted in 2019 and with 71.6% voting in 2017.

The full result of the election was as follows:

The result of the election was declared at 4.21am after a long and exhausting night at the Horntye Park Sports Complex, off Bohemia Road. In her victory speech, Helena Dollimore said it was “the privilege of my life to be elected as the Labour member of parliament for Hastings and Rye.” She paid tribute to her predecessor, Sally-Ann Hart and, in particular, to her commitment to support the victims of domestic abuse. Looking to the future, she said she would “focus on the priorities of all her constituents and work to deliver the change the people across the country had voted for.”

Ms Dollimore headed off to Westminster the following week for a series of inductions and introductions, security briefings and party meetings. She was formally sworn in as a Member of Parliament on Wednesday (10 July) after standing in a seemingly endless line before finally taking the Oath of Allegiance to the Crown.

The new MP is in the process of setting up her team in Westminster. She is also establishing an office in Hastings and Rye to use as a local base for her staff to address the concerns and problems of constituents.

Earlier this week, members of the National Education Union (NEU) went on strike at five schools across Sussex, four of them in Hastings. The union’s principal point of contention is that the University of Brighton Academies Trust (UBAT), which runs them, has been removing already scarce funds from several schools in order to change central admin services. Meanwhile cuts and restructuring at local academies have left staff complaining of crushing workloads, and many parents have agreed that this is putting the education and even safety of their children at risk. 

Teachers went on strike Monday and Tuesday, 1 and 2 July. They picketed their respective schools from 7.30-9.30am. All but one of the five Academies closed for the duration – Baird remained partially open. The nursery at Robsack Wood Primary Academy also remained open while the primary closed.

Staff and parents picketing at Baird Primary Academy on Monday were joined by Green Councillor for Castle Ward (and prospective parliamentary candidate) Becca Horn. While many teachers at the school didn’t go on strike, the picket was well attended. NEU District Secretary Jenny Sutton, who was also present, reported: 

“Parents and staff were dismayed by the actions of Baird management at this morning’s picket line. The head teacher had clearly pre-arranged to meet non-striking staff in advance and lead a convoy of cars through the picket line, the inference being that they would have faced intimidation had they come in alone. Strikers and parents were insulted by this unnecessarily provocative, and indeed passive-aggressive, behaviour – staff could easily have entered through the back gate had they wanted to avoid pickets. 

“We are all united in the campaign for better funding and staffing for our schools, and you would have hoped that a head teacher would welcome such commitment from the school community.” 

The most extreme individual funding case in the UBAT dispute is St Leonards Academy, where the trust has been shown to retain 26% (almost £3million) of its allocated funding. In the same period, support staff were leaving and not being replaced, the joint finance and health and safety officer was being axed, and many teachers were taking sickness leave for stress and mental health concerns.

NEGOTIATIONS 

The NEU had called off a strike scheduled for Wednesday 26 June, and later said that “negotiations since the strike was announced have resulted in the Trust agreeing to radically change the funding model for its schools.” 

But Phil Clarke, NEU East Sussex Branch Secretary and Vice-President, argues that “to resolve this dispute the Trust not only need to change their funding model, which they have agreed to, they need to guarantee that school budgets will not pay for the change. We cannot accept further job cuts and workload increases as a price for putting this right. They have chosen to fund their own central Trust at the expense of schools. It is the central Trust that needs to pay and the CEO who needs to start trying to win back the trust of the staff.” 

When asked for comment, UBAT spokesperson Alex Brewer replied, “The Trust remains committed to ongoing negotiations with the NEU to prevent future industrial action and to resolve the dispute.”

Emily Ellis, a parent at one of the schools affected stated, “I fully support the strike. I am appalled that a CEO on a six-figure salary has made decisions to take money from our children’s schools to fund marketing teams instead of teachers and teaching assistants. The funding crisis caused by the government is already unacceptable. To make that even worse at a trust level cannot be justified. Special Educational Needs provision, teaching assistants and classroom resources should have been put before executive salaries and corporate branding.”

STRIKE DEMANDS

Jenny Sutton, NEU District Secretary, summarises the staff demands as: 

• Provision of a clear guarantee that all savings to reach target contribution rates will come from the central trust, not school budgets, and that charges won’t be made on schools to claw back money for the central trust. 
• Reduction of the percentage for schools contributing over 9% of their budget next academic year quicker than is currently planned, so they can address class size and TA [Teaching Assistant] provision issues sooner.
• An immediate increase in TA provision for Blackthorns Community Primary Academy in Haywards Heath. 
• That any restructuring keeps individual schools’ business managers in those schools.
• That curriculum planning time prior to September off timetable is built in for schools dealing with PAN (Public Admission Number) reduction.

In addition to this, she states: “while not specifically part of the trade dispute, there is a clear breakdown in trust and confidence in the senior leadership among our members.”

Adele Bates (Central St Leonards, Green) was galvanised by local service cuts that she sees having a terrible effect upon the most vulnerable. She works in education, supporting schools and local authorities with disadvantaged young people. 

Mark Etherington (Braybrooke, Green) spent six years in the British Army, and a further 30 years working for the British government on conflict issues. His last posting was in Kyiv, Ukraine. He aims to tackle the challenges of flooding, sewage, fly-tipping, litter-dumping and anti-social behaviour. 

Natalie Gaimster (Tressell, Green) took almost 65% of the vote in what was previously a solid Labour ward. She is a former police officer with extensive experience in working with vulnerable people and has highlighted issues of anti-social behaviour and street cleaning.

Becca Horn(Castle, Green) – pictured at the election count on page 1 – was her party’s campaign coordinator. She is also their parliamentary candidate for the next general election in the Hastings & Rye constituency. As a founding member of the Clean Water Action Group, she says she will continue to campaign against Southern Water and to raise awareness of the persistent dumping of raw sewage into the sea. It’s ironic that, on the day of her election, water supplies were again cut off for thousands of people across the town.

Helen Kay (Wishing Tree, Labour) replaces the veteran Alan Roberts, achieving her party’s best result in taking over 50% of the ward vote. Her working background is in children’s services and formerly in the housing and mental health sector at Shelter, with first hand experience of the impact of cuts to local services on the most vulnerable. For her, core issues are housing needs and helping to deliver wider improvements to public services. 

Danuta Kean (Hollington, Labour) defeated Independent incumbent Maya Evans in a tight contest. She used to be a journalist on national newspapers including The Guardian, but now works at Robertsbridge Community College as a local history teacher.

Darren MacKenzie (Maze Hill, Green) is a finance director at St Michael’s Hospice. As a chartered accountant he says he will offer an objective and astute audit of the town’s financial health.

Yunis Smith (Baird, Green) won his seat with just 29% of the vote with Labour, Conservative and Independent contestants all close behind: he seemed amazed that he had emerged victorious. He will be representing the area where he grew up, and cites anti-social behaviour and lack of youth provision as key challenges.

Jo Walker (Ore, Green) defeated Labour leader Heather Bishop by a large margin. She lives and works locally. She is a trustee of the Ore Community Land Trust and says she is determined to champion the hopes and concerns of local people. 

Paula Warne (Gensing, Green) worked for East Sussex Highways as an inspector for eight years. She says she is passionate about improving local transport and will campaign as councillor for a vastly improved and robust bus service throughout the town. She is also keen to promote tourism, support business and help the local economy.

David Whitehill (St Helens, Labour) ousted Conservative incumbent Peter Pragnell in a close contest. He has extensive business experience in international marketing, but says he is determined to improve local services.

Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner

Katy Bourne, standing as a Conservative, has been re-elected as the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner for a fourth successive term, having held the post since it was first created in 2012. She received 122,495 votes. Labour’s Paul Richards polled 99,502, with Jonathan Kent of the Greens securing 43,105 votes. The turn-out across the county was less than 25%, reflecting the fact that in many areas (including Rother) there were no council elections alongside.

Labour leader in the council Heather Bishop, who is also Deputy Mayor, has strongly supported the actions of the Mayor, her party colleague. She said that the scenes in the council chamber were a “disgrace” which “undermined democracy” and left those present feeling “unsafe and threatened.” She said “the right of individuals to protest was a vital part of our democracy, but when such protests prevent the ability of democratically elected councillors to meet to discuss and make decisions on important issues that matter to local residents, they move beyond legitimate protest and into mob rule.”

Labour candidate for the Hastings & Rye constituency at the next general election, Helena Dollimore, was not present at the meeting but tweeted on the social platform X: “On Wednesday night, Hastings Council meeting had to be abandoned after a small number of people sought to undermine our local democracy. We cannot allow that to happen. Democracy is the most fundamental of British values. The right to protest is at the heart of that. But when those protests descend into bullying and intimidation then a line has been crossed.

Labour will continue to stand up for those who want their politicians to be able to represent them without fear or intimidation.”

By contrast, Becca Horn, prospective parliamentary candidate for the Green Party, was present in the council chambers throughout, and said that the decision to adjourn the meeting altogether was “ridiculous” and “unnecessary”. The majority of the councillors wanted to continue, she said, adding that the Mayor didn’t give a reason at the time for refusing to restart it.

The Leader of the Hastings Independent Group of councillors, Paul Barnett, said that in his almost 40 years in local government he had “never seen a meeting abandoned like this before. The lifeblood of local democracy is engaging residents who we are there to represent. When I became council leader, I introduced open public questions at Cabinet meetings and believe that, if the public care enough to attend council meetings, they should be listened to. What happened was unacceptable and Hastings Independents will campaign for changes to ensure that Hastings Council doesn’t behave like this again.”

His fellow Hastings Independent, Cllr Batsford, agreed, branding the events of the evening as a “disgrace”. He said the motion on Gaza “needed to be heard”, adding that “the rest of the business needed to be heard as well.” He blamed the “Labour Mayor” for adjourning the meeting. He said the “people that came and made their points clearly but succinctly should be commended, and the meeting should have carried on.”

Green party leader of the council, Julia Hilton, who has since her appointment in January sought to adopt a more collaborative approach between the parties spoke more in sorrow than in anger. “I am disappointed”, she said. “The protestors had agreed to leave so as to allow the meeting to continue. An amendment to the constitution would have allowed the motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza to come to a later meeting…The Mayor removed any possibility of that happening. 

“There were a number of important items on the agenda for tonight, including debating a motion to support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill and a change to our constitution to embed opposition chairs and vice chairs in our scrutiny committee. These will now have to wait until the next full council in June.”

If central casting had been tasked with finding the quintessential Green Party candidate for Hastings and Rye they would have been hard pressed to find one more suitable than Becca Horn, the recently selected PPC. She is smart, erudite, passionate, and fully committed to protecting the natural environment and improving the lives of people in Hastings.

Born in Surrey, Becca grew up in Dorset and went to college in Stratford-upon-Avon before gaining a place at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), the higher education institution in Liverpool founded by Paul McCartney. 

She then moved to London seeking fame and fortune. The odd acting stint was supplemented by various temping jobs, and like many 20-somethings new to the capital she was forced to take on multiple employment, working long hours to make enough money just to cover living expenses. It was an exhausting experience, she recalls, which left her with no quality of life. She thought about a law conversion course but decided instead to go travelling to India, SE Asia and Australia. It was a life-changing experience, opening her eyes to other cultures and countries and a new-found appreciation of our shared world.

On returning to the UK, she trained in a Pilates school in London specialising in the lower back. When she moved to Hastings in 2017, she took up a job as a yoga teacher with Active Hastings. 

JOINING THE GREENS

The move to the south coast also coincided with her first involvement in local politics. She joined the Green Party and campaigned for Julia Hilton in the local elections in 2018, but it was in 2021 that she really became active. Outraged by the Bulverhythe sewage leak, she became a founding member of the Clean Water Action Group (CWAG).

CWAG has waged a relentless campaign against Southern Water ever since, raising awareness of the continued dumping of raw sewage into the sea and protesting at the government’s lack of action in holding the company to account.

Emboldened by the success of the campaign, Becca stood in the Castle ward in the Hastings Borough Council local elections in 2022. She came within five votes of defeating Labour’s Judy Rogers in what had been considered a no-hope seat.

THE POLITICS OF WATER

Southern Water’s record of poor performance in recent years has had a major impact on the lives of people living in Hastings and Rye. The seemingly never-ending dumping of raw sewage into the sea, the flooding of Hastings town centre and the numerous misconnections and pollution of the waters in Alexandra Park are also shaping a new politics in the town, and now politicians of all stripes are determined to hold the privatised water company to account.

Becca is adamant that Southern Water and the rest of the privatised water companies should be renationalised. Indeed, she believes all public utilities should be publicly owned with local communities having stakes in power, transport, water and sewage providers. She argues that the privatised utilities have become cash cows for international asset management companies, and points to Macquarie Asset Management’s substantial stake in Southern Water’s parent company, Greensands Holdings, as an example of the poor practice.

She seems less certain, however, when she is challenged on how these businesses will be renationalised or where the money would be found to bring the utilities back into public ownership. Becca admits that there would need to be something of a revolution in the public finances with a fundamental change in the tax system, including a new wealth tax, an end to tax avoidance, and the closing of tax loopholes to bring this about. 

She also admits that renationalisation would constitute a huge gamble with the nation’s finances, something akin to what Liz Truss tried in her infamous mini-budget. But, Becca insists, it’s a risk worth taking, as “to do nothing would be to gamble with the future of the planet”.

WHAT HAPPENED IN BRIGHTON?

Inevitably, at this point our conversation turned to the Green Party’s record in nearby Brighton, where the party lost more than a dozen council seats. Was this down to failed gambles and mismanagement?

Becca said her party’s defeat was due to a “combination of certain hyper-local factors”, including problems with the bin collection, the closure of public toilets and a series of unpopular traffic measures. She was also of the view, however, that winning control of the council in 2020 did her party no favours as it allowed Labour to pin a whole litany of council failings on the Greens rather than be blamed for their own failures. Nevertheless, she said that what happened in Brighton was “unfortunate” and that her party would “learn from the experience”.

She identifies herself as a progressive, echoing Sally-Ann Hart, who also insists that she is not a tribal politician. Like the incumbent Tory MP, she says she is prepared to listen to all shades of opinion and that she wants to work collaboratively with other parties for the good of the community. She said she welcomed the short-lived alliance that was forged after the last local election between Labour and the Greens and was “disappointed” when the national Labour Party forced council leader Paul Barnett to end the alliance, under which the Greens were given two cabinet portfolios.

TWO-PARTY CHOICE

This experience reinforced Becca’s support for proportional representation as a means of forcing politicians to work together. She says the first-past-the-post voting system reduces democracy to a narrow two-party choice between “alright and worse” and it actively excludes nuance, leaving millions of voters unrepresented. She is also an advocate of people’s assemblies as a radical way of involving people in the whole democratic process.

One of the key motivations for her standing in Castle ward once again in the next May’s local elections is to play a part in the rejuvenation of Hastings town centre. Becca says she is excited at the prospect of using the substantial funds from the Town Deal, the levelling up money, and up to £20 million from the new endowment-style funds announced by the Prime Minister in September to invest in key priorities in the town. She is equally keen to ensure that the funds are properly managed and that the structure of the new town board is both open and transparent.

She accepts that she starts as an underdog in both the local and parliamentary elections. The general election, in particular, will be “very difficult”, she says, as her campaign will not be getting much support from the national party, which will be focussing resources on retaining the Brighton Pavilion seat. Becca also acknowledges that there will be many people who will not want to split the anti-Tory vote so as to allow Sally-Ann Hart to win. “What would be wonderful”, she says, “would be to build a solid Green vote in Hastings and Rye to challenge the two-party system – if not next year, then certainly in the future.”

The Pumphouse in Alexandra Park was packed last week (14 July) for a meeting to discuss the recent sewage pollution of the Old Roar Gill. There was a strong turn-out too from Hastings Borough councillors: six from Labour and three Greens were in attendance. 

Myriam Lengliné from the local activist group, Sewage Contamination in Alexandra Park & Old Roar Gill, spoke with passion about the sewage leaks which, she said, had turned the stream that flows into the Buckshole Reservoir into a “giant open sewer”. She claimed that the most recent leaks, which date back to mid-May, had “poisoned wildlife and left pet dogs suffering bouts of vomiting, diarrhoea and seizures.”

There was palpable anger from many of those in attendance at the lack of communication from both Southern Water, who are responsible for the sewage network within the park, and from the council, which owns the park. Both faced stinging criticism for their failure to act in an open and transparent manner in the face of what a number of people described as an “environmental and ecological disaster” with serious health and safety risks to children and animals. There were complaints that there were still no warning signs around the park and woods to warn visitors of the dangers.

Council leader Paul Barnett acknowledged the scale of the sewage leaks. He proposed setting up an on-going group to protect the Gill and called on local residents to join in and help the council to gather detailed information which could then be properly assessed to “discover who did what, when, and how this has impacted local ecology since May.” 

Pointing to the number of local councillors present, he said the protection of the Gill was a major priority for the council and added that he and his colleagues “were all determined to hold Southern Water and the Environment Agency to account.” 

Damning results

As if right on cue, Becca Horn from the Hastings and St Leonards Clean Water Action Group read out damning results of water samples taken from the Old Roar Gill which appear to contradict information presented by Sue Cobb, Southern Water’s head of Stakeholder Engagement.  

In an email dated 11 July, Sue Cobb stated: “Following a report of a possible pollution in the Buckshole Reservoir area, a team attended on site last night. We tested in three different places including two surface water outfalls. A sample was also collected from the downstream watercourse and there were no issues found in any of the samples”. 

However, water quality samples taken by the Clean Water Action Group on 12 July and tested at the Envirochem Analytical Laboratories Ltd in Fareham and paid for by local people, found “extremely high levels of E-Coli.” There were 8,800 cfu/100 ml (colony-forming units per 100 ml of water) against a bathing water standard set by the Environment Agency of up to 500 cfu/100 ml.

The Group believes the quantity levels of bacteria were the result of sewage pollution and they have urged the Environment Agency to “undertake a full, independent investigation to determine the source.” 

The Environment Agency publish a water quality data archive. The sampling figures for the “East Confluence by Tennis Courts” in the park taken on 29 June 2023 show extremely high levels for E-Coli and intestinal enterococci. There were 6,900 cfu/100 ml against a bathing water standard up to 185 cfu/100 ml. This suggests that there has been a serious discharge or, more likely, an on-going misconnection into the water course which joins through the culvert running under St Helens Road between the junctions at Ashford Road and at Dordrecht Way.

In the wake of these new figures, Cllr Heather Bishop has called for signage to be put up by the council to warn people to keep their dogs away from the water. She has also called on Southern Water to investigate another misconnection in the park.

It will be of interest to Paul Barnett and local residents to know that the detailed water quality information he wants help in gathering is freely available through the DEFRA data services platform on the Environment Agency Water Quality Archive.

To date, Southern Water have still not released any detailed water sampling data. 

Beaches at Bexhill and Normans Bay were closed for around 48  hours on 18 and 19 August after over 3.3 million litres of water, which included untreated liquid sewage, had poured into the sea the previous afternoon from a failed water treatment pumping station. Beach-goers at Hastings and St Leonards were also advised against bathing due to pollution risks. 

Southern Water, whose Galley Hill pumping station had suffered electrical failures for several hours in both its primary power supply and back-up system, issued a statement that it was “deeply sorry”, understood the “distress” caused and maintained that protecting the environment was a “priority”. It subsequently claimed that the “faulty asset” was the responsibility of UK Power Networks. However, given Southern’s track record – fined an unprecedented £90m at Canterbury Crown Court last year after admitting nearly 7,000 illegal spills from 17 sites in Hampshire, West Sussex and Kent between 2010 and 2015, and presiding over a major spillage across the beach huts of Bulverhythe just a year ago – it is hardly surprising that local business associations, pressure groups and politicians have queued up since to demand wholesale changes in its culture and performance.

CREDIT: Robin Holtom

On 18 August, MPs across Sussex, including Conservatives Sally Ann Hart representing Hastings & Rye and Huw Merriman for Battle and Bexhill, wrote an open letter to both Southern Water and the Environment Agency, demanding that the county’s waterways and coast “are respected and protected” and pointing out that “in addition to the obvious environmental and community impact, the closure of popular beaches and restrictions on inland waterways causes financial loss to the numerous businesses who rely on our beaches and rivers”.

Howard Martin, president of Bexhill Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, followed up with a letter to Mr Merriman saying that the sewage incident  was destroying the town’s reputation as a “clean and friendly tourism destination”. He wrote: “At the height of summer and coming up to a Bank Holiday the outpourings are potentially destroying our struggling hospitality sector. Bexhill desperately needs compensating for the fiasco that has been going on for the whole summer. We want real hard cash compensation for our businesses and community.”

Labour attack

On 25 August, the Rye News published an article by prospective Labour candidate for Hastings & Rye, Helena Dollimore, putting the boot in on her political opponents. She described as “abysmal” the record of Liz Truss, heir apparent as Prime Minister, when she was Environment Secretary between 2014 and 2016, having imposed millions of pounds of cuts on the Environment Agency while, according to figures obtained by the Labour Party, there were 74,450 spill events between 2016 and 2021 into seas and rivers for which Southern Water were responsible. “For too long, water companies have been allowed to get away with it”, Ms Dollimore wrote. “In the last five years, water bosses have received ‘performance related’ bonuses while overseeing a 27,000% increase in the number of “monitored discharge hours” (sewage dumps), and failing to invest profits back into outdated infrastructure”. 

The Conservative party “have been in power for 12 years and the problem is only getting worse”, she concluded. “There is no plan, and the very tool we have to crack down on this outrageous conduct, our regulator, has been cut to the bone.” Labour would, however, “do whatever it takes” to put a stop to the sewage discharges, including enforcing unlimited fines and “holding water company bosses legally and financially accountable”.

On the following day a crowd of around 400 attended a demonstration on St Leonards beach organised by the local Clean Water Action Group (CWAG) led by Green party leaders Cllr Amanda Jobson and Becca Horn. Cllr Jobson told her audience – “We want tougher regulations, and for the government to come down harder on Ofwat. …People have been getting very sick, including children and the elderly. We will not tolerate or accept this, enough is enough.”

Conservative defence

Mrs Hart also spoke at the demonstration but defended the government’s record. On 25 August, it had published a Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan (SODRP) which she welcomed in a subsequent press release as “the largest infrastructure programme in water company history to tackle sewage pollution”.  She portrayed the plan as meaning “that water companies will face strict targets and must completely eliminate the harm any sewage discharge causes to the environment”.

CREDIT: Robin Holtom

However, the timescale for the companies to comply with these targets turns out to be rather less stringent than critics are seeking. They have been given until 2035 to improve all storm overflows discharging into or near designated bathing waters, while improving a minimum of 75% of overflows discharging to high-priority nature sites. Only by 2050 will the requirement apply to all remaining storm overflows regardless of location. Learning of this, the pressure group WildFish, which seeks to protect the quality of natural waterways for the health of fishing stock, has immediately threatened a judicial review of the plan, pointing out that in effect it will allow 100% of storm overflows to continue to cause harm without penalty for the next 13 years in breach of existing environmental laws.

The European Commission also warned last week that if there was a continuation of what it referred to as “massive levels of raw sewage being dumped in the Channel”, it would be treated as a breach of the post-Brexit trade deal between the EU and the UK, under which both sides committed not to weaken environmental standards. A Commission spokes-person welcomed the SODRP in principle but described the proposed timescale for implementation as “very long”.