The Hastings Pride in Place Board has appointed eight new community members to oversee how £21.5m of government funding for the town’s regeneration programme will be spent. Backed by long-term government investment, the initiative places community involvement at its heart, channelling funding into improvements across education, health, employment, and other vital local services.

The new community board members are: Tony Davis; Darryl Telles; Frenchie (Alex Justin-French); Holly Paramor; Isaac Solomon; Lewis Daden; Malaika Scotney and Yasmin Ornsby. 

Kevin Boorman, the Chair of the Hastings Pride in Place Board, said the call for community board members earlier this year had attracted more than 120 applicants and the eight successful candidates were selected after a rigorous recruitment process.

He said: “Throughout this programme, we have been committed to ensuring that local people are at the heart of decision-making. These appointments represent an important step in that journey and will help ensure that the voices of Hastings residents continue to shape how this investment is delivered in our town.”

The appointment of the new community board members is designed to strengthen the community-led approach at the heart of the Pride in Place initiative. They will work alongside existing board members, including local MP Helena Dollimore and Julia Hilton, the Deputy Leader of Hastings Borough Council, and partners to help oversee the delivery of projects, ensuring residents have a direct say in how the additional £21.5m of government funding is spent over the next decade.

The appointees bring a wealth of lived experience and professional expertise directly to the decision-making table and exemplify the community-first ethos that sits at the heart of the Pride in Place programme. They include: 

Tony Davis, a retired Ministry of Justice civil servant, lives in the Alexandra Park area and believes Hastings has enormous potential to be unlocked. He says: “We need to create something lasting, especially for the young people of the town.”

Malaika Scotney works as a Senior Mental Health Practitioner providing mental health and wellbeing support to children aged seven to 17 within Hastings and East Rother schools. She has joined the board as a community member wanting to represent children, young people, families and visitors as people who deserve permanent spaces and experiences that reflect the town’s independence, uniqueness and potential.

Lewis Daden was born and raised in Hastings and grew up in the Clive Vale area and went to primary and secondary school in Ore. He owns Fatboy’s Barbershop on the High Street in the Old Town where he provides specialised services for children with SEN. As a local, as a parent and as a business owner he says he has a good insight as to what people want to see improved in the town.