Tag archives for Julia Hilton
Strategy to Halt Biodiversity Decline
PAUL McLAUGHLIN East Sussex County Council (ESCC) has published a pioneering Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) designed to reverse biodiversity decline across East Sussex, and Brighton & Hove. As the…
Protecting our Heritage
JULIA HILTON is Deputy Leader of Hastings Borough Council and the Portfolio Holder for Shaping Places and Regeneration. Here she replies to the recent article in HIP issue 304 headlined…
1066 Country Rides Again
KENT BARKER Hastings is expected to rejoin the 1066 Country marketing partnership in the near future. Deputy Council leader Julia Hilton told HIP that they had been in discussions with…
Tories Hand Council to Reform
KENT BARKER Reform UK has taken control of East Sussex County Council (ESCC) after receiving support from Conservative and Independent county councillors. Richard KellyEast Sussex County Hall While they do…
Film-makers of the Future
Toby Bula-Edge Local schools have been hard at work producing their entries for the Children’s International Film Festival (CIFF), which comes to Hastings on 18 June, helped by CIFF partners…
Eyesore on George Street
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN There is mounting frustration from local traders and residents over the developers’ failure to transform the site of a burnt-out nightclub at the entrance to George Street. In…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
A Rapidly Fading Jewel
St Mary in the Castle is the architectural crown jewel of Hastings. Built in 1828 as an Anglican church, the building features a distinctive white Ionic portico and a unique…
Hastings BC Councillors’ Reaction
Hastings Borough Councillors reacted to the news about Wealden DC and Brighton and Hove at the meeting of the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee last Thursday (18 September). The special…
Don’t Lose the Plot!
ANDREW COLQUHOUN has had an allotment at Lower Torfield in Hastings Old Town for about 20 years, but admits that his wife Stephanie still grows better veg than he does.…
Flower Power
‘Plants Make Places’, a new exhibition by artist and environmentalist Laura Ribbons, opens at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery on Saturday 23 August. This collaborative exhibition, created in partnership with…
Getting Greener
New Council Leader and Mayor Elected by Hastings Council At the Annual Full Council meeting of Hastings Borough Council last Wednesday (15 May), Julia Hilton stepped down as leader, to…
Council Reform is coming – and we want YOUR ideas
JULIA HILTON – Leader of Hastings Borough Council We’ve just seen some very sobering local election results. Kent County Council is now run by Reform, as are nine others, and…
HIGs to Oppose Reform Proposals
The Hastings Independent Group is to call on the Leader of Hastings BC, Julia Hilton, at next week’s Annual Council meeting, to commit to leading a campaign against the government’s…
Safe Havens is Coming to Hastings
The Refugee Buddy Project has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for a new community safety project for initiative was sparked by last summer’s far-right riots, when women at…
The Biggest Change in Local Government in Fifty Years
JULIA HILTON Last week our council debated the biggest change being proposed for local government in 50 years. According to the Labour government’s plans for “devolution and reorganisation of local…
County Cuts Slam Hastings
PAUL McLAUGHLIN East Sussex County Council has confirmed plans to cut almost £4m from Adult Social Care and Health services next year. Julia Hilton, the Leader of Hastings Borough Council,…
West Marina Development
Proposals for development of the old bathing pool site at West Marina are still awaited from West St Leonards Marina Limited (WSLML), the subsidiary of County Gate Properties which holds…
County Cuts Cost Hastings
PAUL McLAUGHLIN Hastings could be left to ‘pick up the pieces’ from the County’s massive Social Services budget cuts, according to Borough Council leader Julia Hilton. East Sussex County Council…
Council’s Energy Costs and Greenhouse Emissions
According to a survey published in The Times last week following Freedom of Information Requests, Hastings Borough Council (HBC) paid pence per kilowatt-hour for electricity in the year to March…
Politics Returns with End of Summer Truce
PAUL McLAUGHLIN The relationship between council leaders and the local MP can often be a tricky one, even when they are from the same political party. When there is harmony…
Transformation Boost
Council Unveils Partner for Castle Project and West Hill Café Ambitious plans to transform Hastings Castle and the West Hill Café are set to get a major boost next week…
Housing Targets ‘Ridiculous and Unrealistic’
Green-led council at odds with Labour MP over government plans PAUL McLAUGHLIN Government plans to tackle the housing crisis by overhauling the planning system and introducing mandatory targets for all…
Hastings Rejects Racism
Hastings rose to the nationwide challenge of violent anti-immigrant protest last week with three anti-racist gatherings. Dave Young In the week beginning 5 August a message was circulated on the…
Green Takeover, Independents Frozen Out
PAUL McLAUGHLIN The appointment of an all-Green Cabinet by Julia Hilton, the leader of Hastings BC, has sparked discontent among the Hastings Independents group of councillors. The Greens and the…
Mayor Margi Takes Labour Lead
Following the local election at the beginning of this month, as reported in HIP 251, the political parties now represented on Hastings Borough Council hold numbers of seats as follows:…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter Future of Jack-in-the-Green Dear HIP HIP 249 ran an article headlined Jack-in-the-Green Future ‘At Risk’. Those of you who, like me, love this festival will be relieved to hear…
Long Term Plan Fund: Meet the Board
HUGH SULLIVAN In addition to receipt of £20 million capital investments under DLUHC’s Levelling Up Partnership Scheme, Hastings has been selected as one of 75 towns to receive another £20m…
Jack-in-the-Green Future ‘At Risk’
PAUL McLAUGHLIN The future of the Hastings traditional Jack-in-the-Green festival has been put in doubt because of a lack of funding and commitment from Hastings Borough Council(HBC), according to founder and…
Old Roar Update
Hastings Borough Council’s insurers have agreed to fund the cost of an urgent geotechnical survey of the area of Old Roar Gill which suffered a severe landslip last month. The…
‘A Disgrace’ – Party Politicians Wade In
Views of what happened at the council meeting last Wednesday have divided sharply on party political lines Still from video footage inside the council chamber on 20 March Labour leader…
Beach Hut Owners Remain in Dispute with Council
At the cabinet meeting of Hastings Borough Council (HBC) on 29 January, a question was asked by a member of the public about the current condition of beach huts in…
BOORMAN’S BACK
Former council manager joins crisis response team at Old Roar PAUL McLAUGHLIN Hastings Borough Council (HBC) has set up a dedicated emergency response taskforce to coordinate efforts to help those…
The Chamberof Horrors
ELSPETH TIDDLYPUSH gives a personal view on the reasons for the malaise in local politics. A Wednesday morning a few weeks ago in January, I decided to attend a meeting…
Controversy over Council Cabinet – Carr Quits
On Monday (29 January) new Hastings Borough Council leader Julia Hilton presided over her first cabinet meeting since being voted in by the full council a fortnight ago. As reported…
BARNETT’S BLUE MONDAY TURNS GREEN
HUGH SULLIVAN and PAUL McLAUGHLIN The third Monday of January has come to be coined as Blue Monday – the most depressing day of the year in the UK measured…