Tag archives for Helena Dollimore
The Future is being shaped in St Leonards and Hastings
DOMINIC O’REGANPrincipal, Mulberry West St Leonards Primary History is often something children read about in textbooks: distant, untouchable and confined to the past. But at Mulberry West St Leonards Primary,…
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…
Free School Meals Opt-in
As children across Hastings return to the classroom after the summer holidays, Local MP Helena Dollimore has urged all parents to check their eligibility for free school meals after the…
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…
A Very Special Moment
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Royalty and world leaders may have topped the guest list, but it was the schoolchildren from Hastings who stole the spotlight at last Wednesday’s historic unveiling of the…
Southern Water Stink
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN The unmistakable stench of raw sewage once again hung over Bulverhythe last Thursday morning (20 August), after Southern Water began discharging untreated wastewater from its Bexhill and Hastings…
Water Mess
PAUL McLAUGHLIN The Environment Agency (EA) has published its first comprehensive assessment of England’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters in six years. The findings reveal that only 15% of the…
Reform in Reverse
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Reform UK has withdrawn its threat to report Barry Ashley, the owner of the Grumpy Cook café in Robertson Street, to the police, along with local Labour MP…
Uproar as Council Scraps Food Vouchers for Kids
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Reform UK-led East Sussex County Council (ESCC) has scrapped the automatic allocation of supermarket food vouchers for struggling families over the summer holidays. The decision has provoked outrage…
Convent Arson
KENT BARKER The future of the former Convent of Holy Child Jesus in St Leonards is in serious doubt following a fire which destroyed a large area of buildings. Photos: Chris Ostwald…
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…
Taken for a Ride
Will Some School Children Miss Out? HUGH SULLIVAN Ever since the British Museum, backed by the national Government, persuaded authorities in France to loan the original Bayeux Tapestry for exhibition…
Education Update
Local secondary school teacher ARNOLD THOMAS begins an occasional column on Education in and around Hastings, bearing in mind Nelson Mandela’s view that “Education is the most powerful weapon you…
Renters’ Rights Act Comes into Force
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN A landmark new law strengthening renters' rights, which promises to transform the lives of tenants living in the 12,500 private rental homes across Hastings and St Leonards came…
More SEND Kids for Mainstream Schools
East Sussex County Council (ESCC) is gearing up for more children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) to attend mainstream schools. MP Helena Dollimore says that, following the government’s…
The Bridge: a Personal Reminiscence
ED BOXALL, local artist, writer, storyteller, and musician, recalls the days when he used to take his two sons to The Bridge Paul McLaughlinThe Bridge Community Centre Today The Bridge…
Young people on the brink as funding stalls
Hastings charity Eggtooth has supported over 900 young people experiencing mental health challenges in the last two years. Now it says it can’t take on any new clients because the…
No Dualling of A21
MARK SULLIVAN MP for Bexhill & Battle, Kieran Mullan, called in Parliament last week for dual carriageways to be built on further stretches of the A21. Hastings & Rye MP…
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…
Pothole Epidemic
Helena Dollimore has launched a scathing attack on Conservative-run East Sussex County Council (ESCC), accusing it of failing to address the “pothole epidemic” in Hastings, despite receiving a record £21 million…
MP Secures Free Bayeux Tapestry Tickets for Local Schoolchildren
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Schools in Hastings and 1066 Country will receive priority booking for free tickets to see the Bayeux Tapestry when it goes on display at the British Museum later…
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…
Local Mother’s Road Safety Campaign
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN A local mother’s campaign for tougher road safety laws following the death of her son has won the backing of the Government and led to the introduction of…
Empty Words: Dollimore’s Record on Gaza
GABRIEL CARLYLE asks how Helena Dollimore responded to the horrors unfolding in Gaza since becoming our MP in 2024 Helena Dollimore’s record as MP for Hastings & Rye tells a…
Random Reorganisation
Former Hastings Council leader PETER CHOWNEY says repeated waves of piecemeal changeshave wrought havoc on local government in England Kent BarkerRoquebrun, France, population 606, has its own council The way…
Hastings Bids for Cultural Prize
The Government has launched a new UK Town of Culture competition as part of efforts to renew the nation’s cultural landscape. The initiative is aimed at towns of all sizes…
Fare Fight?
MP, county council and campaigners clash on bus priorities HUGH SULLIVAN Photos: Jason Ellis In recent days, residents of Hastings and Rye have received a circular through their letterboxes from…
Bin the Beads – But Who Pays?
Scientists from King’s College London have tested some of the plastic ‘bio-beads’ washed up recently on Camber Sands and found they contain heavy metals, including lead, arsenic, and cadmium. The…
Hastings Residents Evacuated by Major Carbon Monoxide Leak
Emergency services evacuated homes in Robertson Terrace, Hastings on Tuesday (2 December) after high levels of CO from a diesel generator at commercial premises affected surrounding flats. Sixteen people required…
Ten-Year Plan to ‘Transform’ Hastings?
HUGH SULLIVAN Cleaner, greener and safer streets. Revitalised community spaces. Restored heritage assets. Modern sports, leisure and play facilities. These are the things which matter most to the people of…
Volunteers Praised in Plastic Pollution Cleanup
KENT BARKER and JAMES PRENTICE The scores of volunteers who helped tackle ‘catastrophic’ pollution at Camber Sands have been praised by a government minister. The clean-up operation got underway after…
Free Hana campaign in Old Town
Friends and supporters of Hana Al Bidaq, a Palestinian woman imprisoned by Israel, ran an all-day pop-up exhibition and ‘Free Hana’ campaign stall in Butlers Gap last Saturday. Hana helped…
Call to Restore International Services
MPs from across Kent and Sussex have launched a campaign to pressure the rail regulator to remove barriers preventing new international train services from stopping at Ashford International Station. The…
Pier Friends Call on MP
Members of Friends of Hastings Pier (FOHP), who campaign for a positive future for the landmark structure, met with MP Helena Dollimore a fortnight ago to discuss their concerns that…
MP Questions Nuns’ Exhumations in Hastings
Hastings MP Helena Dollimore has demanded urgent information about the 46 nuns from Holmhurst St. Mary whose remains were exhumed, cremated and then reburied as ashes. Ms Dollimore describes it…
Clean Water Action Update
The official bathing season ends on Sept 30 when volunteers from the Clean Water Action Group (CWAG) will be testing the local sea water again. CWAG will be taking weekly…
Dollimore on Israel and Palestine Action
KENT BARKER Does Hastings’ MP Helena Dollimore support arms sales to Israel? Our colleagues at the Hastings Online Times (HOT) allege that she does. In an article earlier this month…
Parties Clash over Allotment Sell-Off
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Relations between the Green-led Hastings Borough Council and the local Labour MP are becoming more fractious. Tensions flared up recently when Helena Dollimore accused the Council of being…
Old Town United
Paul McLaughlin Hastings Old Town residents and business owners packed the Stables Theatre on Thursday evening (7 August) for an urgent public meeting called by local Labour MP Helena Dollimore…
Ark School in Pupil Exodus
WARWICK MANSELL, founder and chief journalist for the investigative website Education Uncovered, writes exclusively for HIP on what he’s uncovered about Hastings’ controversial Ark Alexandra Academy Teachers at the Ark…