HUGH SULLIVAN

Like the Town Deal, under which Hastings was awarded £24.3m in 2021, the LTPT investment plan is to be put together by a local Board rather than by Hastings Borough Council (HBC), though the council’s officers will staff its administration. Government guidance stated that this Board must be chaired by “an independent local community leader or local businessperson”. After a consultation involving local MP Sally-Ann Hart and DLUHC, Rebecca Conroy, CEO of East Sussex College, has been selected in this capacity.

Ms Conroy has in turn appointed other “interim” Board members including Mrs Hart; the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne; local business executive Simon Mansbridge; Tracey Rose and Steve Manwaring from the voluntary sector; Cllr Keith Glazier, leader of East Sussex County Council; Cllr Julia Hilton, leader of Hastings Borough Council; “culture leaders”, Adam Daly, founder of Fat Tuesday, and Dr Mandy Curtis, director of 18 Hours Ltd; Sean Dennis, director of Hastings Chamber of Commerce, and Andrew Harvey, chair of Love Hastings Ltd; Andrew Doyle, CEO of the integrated Care Board of NHS Sussex; and Lorraine Clarke, Regional Director of Ark Academies. 

Does this selection of the great and the good of Hastings fairly represent the town’s community? 

‘THE USUAL SUSPECTS’

In January 2020, then HBC leader Peter Chowney explained in a cabinet meeting that, because of the very short time allowed by the government for appointment of the Town Deal Board, he had approached “the usual suspects – the people who’ve got time on their hands and can come along to meetings and go to presentations and so on”. The new LTPT Board would no doubt hope that isn’t the basis of their selection this time round.

But a further groundswell of complaint in relation to the 2020 Board appointments came from those who felt that it was centred on Hastings, largely ignoring St Leonards and its surrounds. This issue has resurfaced in relation to the announcement of the interim LTPT Board. Bryan Fisher, vice-chair of West St Leonards Neighbourhood Forum, wrote to the council on 19 March suggesting that one of the Forum’s committee members, Anna Sabin, be invited to represent them on the Board.

In response, an LTPT spokesperson replied that the council “currently works with over 60 external partners and boards, and it would be impossible to represent all of them on the Board.” The intention was, however, to set up thematic working groups… Plans will shortly be made to undertake community engagement over the summer”..

Cllr Hilton has replied to Mr Fisher in similar terms, explaining that the Board needs to be kept relatively small, but that she herself would be pushing for town-wide involvement in the working groups to ensure that areas like West St Leonards are not forgotten. He remains sceptical that working groups will be given sufficient remit to research and promote potential projects so as to influence the Board. 

There was a first meeting of the interim Board on 20 March. A public record of the minutes has been promised, but has not yet appeared, nearly three weeks later.

The Government’s Flood Recovery Framework gives power to DLUHC (the Department of Levelling Up. Communities and Housing) to allocate grants and business relief to residents and business owners impacted by flooding related to severe weather. Hastings was probably the worst-flooded town in the UK last month. 

Yet Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, has apparently decreed that only damage sustained during the onset of Storm Babet between 18 and 21 October will be treated as coming within the scheme. The severe storm which hit Hastings the following weekend and submerged the town centre in water overflows for the second time in ten months has so far been overlooked.

The scheme, if applicable, would offer flooded households up to £500 each and affected small-to-medium sized business up to £2,500 each towards recovery costs, with further grants of up to £5,000 available by way of Property Flood Resilience repair grants for increasing protection against future flooding. 

John Bownas, manager of Love Hastings, which represents businesses in the town centre, said he hopes the exclusion of Hastings from the scheme has been “a simple oversight”. He has written to Mr Gove asking him to extend the eligibility dates.