Tag archives for Kent Barker
Water Bill Boycott
KENT BARKER A campaign is growing for Hastings residents to join a boycott of payments to Southern Water. Organisations like Boycott Water Bills, Don’t Pay for Dirty Water and Extinction…
Not Lost but Gone Before
KENT BARKER There is endless fascination in using real historical figures as the inspiration for works of fiction. Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell and Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet are just two distinguished…
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…
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…
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)…
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…
Nuns’ Memorial Criticised
KENT BARKER The erection of a new memorial to the 46 nuns whose bodies were exhumed from the centre of a St Leonards Housing estate has been criticised over lack of consultation…
Development Special: Refurbish Don’t Demolish
KENT BARKER A growing movement in Hastings is opposing demolition of existing buildings, arguing that refurbishment is more cost effective and environmentally sound. Despite opposition from house builders and housing…
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…
Reputational Water Damage
KENT BARKER considers what Southern Water can do to improve its image - and its services - in 2026. 2025 was a pretty bad year for Southern Water and its…
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…
Flash of a Neon Light
This year’s Christmas tree in the town centre has proved extraordinarily controversial. Hundreds of posts on different social media sites have either praised or condemned it. Here Your Voice editor…
Checkmate by the Sea: the Battle of Minds Returns to Hastings
Schach. Шахи. Sjakk. Fichille. Tàileasg. Schaken. Şah. Échecs. Skak. Satranç. Call it what you will - it’s still Chess in any language - and as TOBY BULA-EDGE and KENT BARKER…
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…
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…
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…
New Protest over Nuns’ Exhumations
KENT BARKER Alumni of the former convent of Holmhurst St Mary have called for a public apology over the handling of the exhumations of the bodies of 46 nuns who…
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…
Badgers Blamed for Nuns’ Exhumation
KENT BARKER The exhumation of the bodies of 46 nuns from a graveyard at Holmhurst St Mary near the Ridge at Baldslow has been dubbed “utterly disrespectful” and “absolutely disgusting”…
Hastings Gaza Protesters Arrested
KENT BARKER A childminder has been arrested for alleged criminal damage with a rock after writing in chalk on the road during a protest, while a St Leonards man is…
The Way the Money Goes
As the Chancellor announces an extra £29 billion a year for the NHS, KENT BARKER asks whether any of that money should be spent on hefty salary increases for heads…
Hastings Decides on Housing
KENT BARKER Residents of Hastings are being consulted on their views about at least three important areas over the next few weeks and months. The most contentious is likely to…
New Moves to Save St Mary
KENT BARKER A new steering group has been formed to seek fresh and sustainable uses for St Mary in the Castle. The iconic Hastings building and concert venue has been…
Crime and Punishment in Hastings
Few would disagree that Britain’s criminal justice system is in crisis. Prisons so overcrowded that inmates are released early, courts so backlogged that defendants wait up to two years for…
Vehicle Sleeping Ban Proposal Withdrawn
KENT BARKER Hastings Borough Council has staged an about-turn over plans to make sleeping in vehicles illegal in the town. The move follows swingeing criticism from the Independents group on…
‘Hastings Three’ Acquitted
KENT BARKER Three men prosecuted for taking part in a peaceful protest at arms manufacturer General Dynamics have been acquitted of all charges at Brighton Law Courts. Laurie Holden, 72,…
‘Victory’For Hastings Academies
KENT BARKER Eight Hastings schools and six others across Sussex are to be removed from control of the University of Brighton Academies Trust (UBAT). In a brief statement on 20…
Desperately Trying to Keep Warm
KENT BARKER The government may have scrapped the Winter Fuel Allowance, but there are other schemes out there that can help with gas and electricity bills and they are desperately…
Recycling Scheme Booking ‘Bonkers’
KENT BARKER HIP Readers have condemned Council proposals to introduce a booking system at recycling sites. Dave Young East Sussex County Council is considering introducing a booking system for its…
New Nuclear for Dungeness?
KAYLA POWER AND KENT BARKER Nuclear power generation could restart at Dungeness under plans being considered by the new Labour government. Both the outgoing MP for Folkestone and Hythe, Damian…
Winning the Peace
KENT BARKER urges Labour to adopt manifesto policies from the party’s famous 1945 victory Keir Starmer’s task on 4 July is being widely compared to Tony Blair’s in 1997, but…
Power to the People
KENT BARKER Will Hastings become part of the growing campaign to turn its streets and rooftops into mini renewable power stations? A number of local people have started to circulate…
Prehistoric Graffiti
KENT BARKER You might think that the use of stencils by street artists is a relatively modern phenomenon. Just look around Hastings and see our Banksys or Stewys, or the…
Environmental Vandalism
KENT BARKER reveals a new post-Brexit threat to honeybees, looks at polluted rivers in Kent and Sussex, and considers the international reaction to Rishi Sunak’s net zero reduction and oil…
Simple Sword of Truth
KENT BARKER The Hastings Independent has published a couple of pieces recently that have come in for comment or criticism. On this Opinion page, Tin Foil Hatter, was about conspiracy…
Abandoning Climate Hope
Kent barker Has the UK Government given up on Climate Change? The 2008 Climate Change Act commits the UK government to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 100% of…
Conspiracy Debate – Readers Respond
In issue 231 we ran an Opinion piece questioning to what extent conspiracy theories were real or whether they might be simply someone’s honestly held belief. A belief that was…
Just Stop Protests
Given the scale of the climate crisis as outlined on this page, KENT BARKER asks what we can and what we should do to combat it. Let’s be quite clear,…