Tag archives for Hastings Borough Council - Page 2
Development Special: Local Plan Tribulations
Hastings Borough Council Leader GLENN HAFFENDEN outlines the severe complexities of drafting a Local Plan that will be acceptable to residents as well as to Government HIP: What is the…
News in Brief
Dynamic Obfuscation A freedom of Information request has failed to clarify whether arms manufacturer General Dynamics produced weapons at its Hastings factory which have been used by Israel in the…
Vacant Possession
Genuinely radical new powers to tackle Hastings’ empty shops removes a landlord’s ability to delay action indefinitely and will force owners to ‘use it or lose it’ says local building…
DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL: Local Plan at Tipping Point?
KENT BARKER It may be a long, complex and dry document, but no one should doubt that Hastings Draft Plan is vital for the town’s future. As lead council member…
Home Stretch
Council Turns ‘Temporary’ Housing into Long-Term Provision Homeless families re-housed by Hastings Borough Council on a temporary basis are being encouraged, where appropriate, to regard their new accommodation as long…
Council Responds to Government on Planning Policy
HUGH SULLIVAN Hastings Borough Council has submitted its formal response to the government’s consultation on the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 2025. The full text of this response has…
NEWS IN BRIEF
Teenage Educational Centre at Former Debenhams Building Planning permission has been granted by Hastings Borough Council for an area on the first and second floor of the former Debenhams store…
Hastings Town of Culture Bid Update
Groups across Hastings are starting work on the Town of Culture bid, supported and managed by Hastings Borough Council and Arts Hastings CIC. The new Town of Culture government competition…
Council Secures Funding to build New Homes for Those in Need
Hastings Borough Council has been allocated more than £ million from the government’s Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) to provide homes for vulnerable residents over the next four years. The…
Town Says No to Casinos
Hastings Borough Council Leader Cllr Glenn Haffenden and Deputy Leader Cllr Julia Hilton have joined over 35 other councils in signing a letter calling on the government to reform gambling…
Support for families living in temporary accommodation
Families with children currently living in temporary accommodation in Hastings are set to receive a financial boost thanks to a government grant of over £55,000. Hastings Borough Council has confirmed…
New Owner Found for The Bridge
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN The future of The Bridge Community Centre in Hastings has been secured after current owners, the Parchment Trust, announced they have found a new buyer for the building…
Green Light for £3m Hastings Castle Visitor Centre Project
Plans to transform Hastings Castle and the West Hill Café have taken a major step forward, with Hastings Borough Council’s Cabinet backing the project despite a single objection received during…
News in brief
TERRORISM SUSPECTS WELCOME COURT RULING The High Court ruling over the legality of banning Palestine Action has been welcomed by local protestors. Gabriel Carlyle, arrested in Parliament Square in July…
Democracy Delayed is Democracy Denied
LEAH LEVANE It seems that many of our politicians thought that if elections were too inconvenient or expensive then they could just dispense with them. Thankfully this rather blasé approach…
Council Tax Bills Set to Rise
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Hastings Borough Council’s Cabinet has approved draft budget plans, including a council tax increase for residents from April. This is the maximum rise allowed by the government without…
Help Create a New Local Plan
CLLR MARK ETHERINGTON, Lead councillor for strategic planning and climateadaptation, Hastings Borough Council We need your help to create our new Local Plan which will guide the development and future…
Why Hastings’ New Local Plan Matters
HELEN KAY, Leader of the Labour Group Hastings BC Hastings council has launched a consultation on its proposed local plan. Why is this important? A local plan is one of…
Landslides Grant
Hastings Borough Council has announced £20,000 in grant funding to help the community tackle the growing challenge of landslides. The new Landslides Grant invites applications from local organisations for projects…
Local Elections Postponed – Maybe
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN The Government has sparked anger in Westminster by officially postponing this year’s council elections across Hastings and East Sussex. The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local…
Food Waste Collection, Starting Soon!
From March 2026, every council in England will be carrying out weekly household collection of food waste, a new legal requirement by the government. This new service will play an…
Frozen Assets – Would a Town Council do Better?
HUGH SULLIVAN Following intended local government reorganisation, a future unitary council – whether it administers the whole of East Sussex or some other territory – will assume responsibility for the…
NEWS IN BRIEF
Supermarket Giveaway The supermarket chain Aldi says it provided more than 37,000 meals to people in Hastings and Sussex over the Christmas and New Year period by donating surplus food…
New Year Council Offensive
KENT BARKER Hastings Borough Council has begun 2026 with resolute plans to improve the look and amenities of the town. The initiatives centre on the vacant site at the western…
Whose Haven?
Caravan Expansion Threatens Wildlife Access, Say Objectors Combe Haven has operated as a holiday park in West St Leonards for over 60 years, an institution which has brought several generations of tourists…
Council Reform Chaos
Paul McLaughlin The government’s plans for the most radical shake-up of local government structures in a generation appear to be descending into chaos after last week’s announcement that the upcoming…
Hastings Housing Company to Close
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Plans to wind down the Hastings Housing Company (HHC) Ltd and transfer its assets back to the council moved a step closer last week, following a decision by…
Landslides Action Plan
Rod Webb and Paul McLaughlin The threat of landslides in Hastings and St Leonards is real and persistent (see page 5), with 24 recorded events in recent years. The most recent landslides…
Ambitious New Housing Strategy
Paul McLaughlin Hastings Borough Council has launched its first housing strategy since 2019. The 2025-2030 plan makes confronting the town’s “severe and worsening affordability crisis” its top priority. Council Leader…
NEWS IN BRIEF
DOG-FOULING IN HASTINGS A pet agency Bubblegum Search has reported the results of Freedom of Information (FOI) research into data of dog-fouling across the UK. It reveals that 347 complaints of dog-fouling were…
Battle Lost to Save Heritage Church
KENT BARKER Campaigners fighting to prevent St Anne’s Mission Church in Hollington from demolition appear finally to have been defeated. In overturning Hastings Borough Council’s refusal to grant planning permission…
News in Brief
Town Centre Snail’s Progress Plans to improve Hastings town centre have taken a small step forward, with East Sussex County Council (ESCC) agreeing to advertise Traffic Regulation Orders and delegate…
‘We’re still owed a seven-figure sum’
Sea Change wrangles with Council over Queensway issues HUGH SULLIVAN Relations between East Sussex County Council (ESCC) and Sea Change Sussex, their former partners in delivering the Queensway Gateway link Rd,…
INDOOR SPORT: Former Debenhams Building to Host New Sports Bar
A licensing sub-committee of Hastings Borough Council has approved a premises licence for a new sports bar in part of the former Debenhams building. It will be accessed from Robertson…
Friends of Pier Set Up Potential Bid
KENT BARKER A seasonal mist seems to have settled over the future of Hastings Pier following the news that its owner Sheikh Abid Gulzar wants to ‘dispose’ of it (Pier…
Deprivation Town Again
HUGH SULLIVAN One neighbourhood of Hastings – East Baird, centred around Malvern Way – was identified in a government survey released last week as being amongst the ten “most deprived”…
Moves on St Mary
Within weeks of the collapse of the roof of Pelham Arcade, Hastings Borough Council (HBC) has announced new moves to try to save the adjacent St Mary in the Castle.…
Shock and Dismayat Nuns’ Exhumation
KENT BARKER A Hastings Borough councillor told a senior council officer he was “shocked and dismayed” when he heard that the graves of 46 nuns at Holmhurst St Mary had…
Boutique Collapse
KENT BARKER Hastings Borough Council is seeking urgent information on the apparent collapse of their council housing partner Boutique Design. The modular homes manufacturer and builder has filed to enter…
Pier For Sale Again
KENT BARKER The Friends of Hastings Pier are urgently seeking ways to bring the landmark attraction back under community control, following news that the pier’s owner Sheikh Abid Gulzar notified…