Tag archives for Hastings Borough Council
The End is Near
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN After much uncertainty and a large dollop of incompetence, it now looks as if Hastings Borough Council will be abolished in 2029, after all. Jason Ellis The Minister…
Emergency Closure of West Hill Lift
The West Hill Lift has been closed for essential surveys and repairs. Hastings Borough Council could not provide a timeline for when it will reopen, due to the nature of…
Can the Local Plan go Further?
JAMES PRENTICE Hastings’ housing crisis is well-known, with temporary accommodation use more than doubling in five years from 240 to 631. A primary cause is the rapid rise in housing…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter Town Deal Interest Black Hole Dear HIP, I write in response to the article Town Deal Interest Black Hole, published on 8 October. The funding received by Hastings Borough…
TENNIS/PADEL: Rackets for Bowls at White Rock Gardens
HUGH SULLIVAN Hastings Borough Council has announced that it is in line to receive £ investment funds to construct a new covered tennis and padel centre at White Rock Gardens.…
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…
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…
Council Housing Partners Go Bust (Again)
HUGH SULLIVAN Another private property company working with Hastings Borough Council to identify, acquire and manage housing stock for letting to homeless households has gone into liquidation – the third…
Consultations – Are they Worth the Effort?
JAMES PRENTICE Over the last five years, Hastings Borough Council has conducted 38 consultations on issues from the local plan to the culture strategy. But do people want so many?…
Town Deal Interest Black Hole
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Hastings Borough Council has admitted it does not know how much interest has been earned on £10 million of unspent Town Deal funding sitting in its bank account.…
Cabinet votes to Extend Dog Control Order
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Hastings Borough Council’s Cabinet has agreed to renew its controversial Dog Control Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) for another three years. The order bans dogs from some beaches…
Huge boost to Tackle Hastings Homelessness
Local homelessness charity Seaview has been awarded a £200k funding boost to support their vital work in getting people off the streets. The funding, from the government’s £ million Ending…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter Food Waste Rollout Dear HIP I welcomed Hastings Borough Council’s food waste rollout with open arms and the earnest hope of a true eco-warrior. I was ready to save…
Swimmers Raise Jet Ski Concerns
PAUL McLAUGHLIN Swimmers and paddleboarders in Hastings have voiced growing concern over the proliferation of jet skis and paragliders along the shoreline during the recent heatwave. There have been several…
Community News in Brief
Walk for Al-Mawasi Hastings has had links with Al-Mawasi, a fishing community in Gaza, for several years. Last year, Hastings Borough Council agreed to make it one of our Friendship…
Norman Heritage Banner Competition
Hastings Borough Council invites residents, families, and local groups to participate in the Norman Heritage Banner Competition, which seeks creative designs inspired by the town’s unique Norman history, landmarks, and…
Greens and Reform Clash over Al Mawasi Link
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN The simmering tensions between the Green-led Hastings Borough Council (HBC) and Reform UK, the main opposition group, burst to the surface at a prickly meeting of the Full…
Cinque or Swim?
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN The government has confirmed it will proceed with plans to abolish Hastings Borough Council (HBC), four other neighbouring district and borough councils, and East Sussex County Council, replacing…
Senior Council Appointments
Hastings Borough Council (HBC) has appointed Rob Cottrill as its permanent Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service. The appointment was confirmed at the meeting of the Full Council on…
World Upside Down
In the space of just over a week, thousands of struggling families across Hastings and St Leonards have learned that the automatic allocation of supermarket food vouchers issued to them…
Town Plans and Money Plans
The 410 pages of Hastings Council’s Draft Local Plan on the future of the town till 2041 attracted many criticisms earlier this year, and the Council meeting on 23 September…
Pride in Place Applications Invited
HUGH SULLIVAN The Hastings Neighbourhood Board (HNB), charged with allocating £20 million of government money over the next ten years to boost community amenities and activities in the town, is…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
From our website We Need Defence In response to We Won’t Be Silenced (HIP 303), I’m not for any war. However, we need defence, right? Or should we have no…
Bringing Generations Together
Generational conflict is an eternal battle where peace can seem ever distant. But that hasn’t stopped people trying to bring an end to it. The Intergenerational Grants Programme is a…
Enforcement Threat over Convent Vandalism
KENT BARKER Following repeated incursions and vandalism in recent weeks at the former Convent of the Holy Child Jesus in St Leonards, lead member for heritage issues at Hastings Borough Council (HBC)…
Hastings Heritage in Peril
KENT BARKER Conservation campaigners have castigated Hastings Borough Council (HBC) for failing to protect the numerous heritage sites in the town. One said Hastings had a “sorry record of failing…
Council Tax: Thousands Prosecuted
Council Tax arrears have risen sharply in Hastings, and more households face court action as JAMES PRENTICE and KENT BARKER report Council tax debts in the Hastings Borough Council area…
News in Brief
In with the New Hastings Borough Council has announced the make-up of its new administration following the May elections in which the Green Party won an overall majority. Glenn Haffenden…
We Won’t Be Silenced
JOHN ENFER An award-winning journalist and film-maker will visit Hastings in June for the screening of a film which documents the extraordinary efforts of ordinary people to confront companies in…
Tories Toppled From County Hall
Now it’s Deal or No Deal with Reform HUGH SULLIVAN Prior to the election on 7 May, the Cabinet of East Sussex County Council consisted of seven Conservative members. Their…
St Mary Future Tied to Repairs to Pelham Arcade
HUGH SULLIVAN In October last year, Hastings Borough Council started what it called an Expression of Interest (EOI) process to identify a new partner, operator or consortium to take over…
Council Launches New Sports and Leisure Funding Grants
Hastings Borough Council has unveiled a £700,000 grants scheme to help community groups, sports clubs, charities and CICs upgrade leisure and physical activity facilities across the town. The two-year funding…
Homes or Community?
Council and MP Challenge Developers of Ashdown House HUGH SULLIVAN The housing estate recently built on the site of Ashdown House, the former Department of Work & Pensions office block…
Three Key Takeaways from the Recent Local Elections
James Prentice analyses the results for Hastings Independent Press The local election held within the Hastings borough produced significant shifts. Reform emerged as a competitive party for the first time,…
East Sussex Decides, 2026. Reform UK Leading Party after Local Elections in East Sussex
Reform UK Leading Party after Local Elections in East Sussex The 2026 East Sussex county council election has delivered a seismic shift, with Reform UK winning 22 seats to become…
Shingle All the Way
PAUL McLAUGHLIN People walking along the Hastings seafront in recent weeks will have noticed the massive buildup of shingle gathered up by the Harbour Arm in front of the RNLI…
The Last Call
Battlelines drawn for local elections Paul McLaughlin Voters across Hastings and St Leonards will go to the polls on 7 May for what are likely to be the final local…
Candidate list
EAST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL Ashdown & Conquest Louise Chantal Labour and Cooperative Aidan Fisher Reform UK Stewart Rayment Liberal Democrat Roger Streeten Conservative Paula Warne Green Baird & Ore Liam…
Why I’m Standing:
Individual candidates make their pitch HASTINGS INDEPENDENT John CannanWishing Tree (HBC) I’m born and bred in ; My passion is ;I was lucky enough to be born in a council house.…
Gulzar Eyes 6,500% Profit
HUGH SULLIVAN Friends of Hastings Pier (FoHP), the group seeking return of the landmark asset to community ownership, have been told by owner Sheikh Gulzar that he wants £4m for…