Tag archives for Observer Building
Cafes, Castles and Community: How Bunka transformed Hastings’ high-up spaces
ELLA LOWDEN In 2024 the Hastings Independent met with Josh Levy, Tad MacDonald and Celia Farrar to discuss the beginning of Bunka, a collaboration delivering restaurant pop-ups across Hastings and St Leonards.…
A Town Reshaped
HASTINGS PIER The period of striking and complex change that Hastings has undergone over the past twelve years is seen very clearly in the story of Hastings Pier. Jason Ellis…
Craft Fair Pulls in the Punters
Hastings Craft Weekend, part of Sussex Craft Week and sponsored by Tillingham Wines and ROSA Magazine, was launched with a packed private view on 23 May at the Observer Building.…
Living Rents
BETH BOORMAN Hastings Commons Community Land Trust (CLT) is one of over 300 CLTs in England and Wales. While CLT numbers have grown significantly in the past decade, less than…
Advertorial: Hastings Designer Maker Fair – Christmas Edition
On Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 November, the Observer Building is hosting a Designer Maker Fair curated by James ; Photo: Caitlin Lock James has worked within the retail and…
Town Deal boost for Hastings Commons
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Hastings BC has awarded the £1m Towns Fund grant for the Town Living Project funding to Hastings Commons, to support the delivery of 12 affordable, sustainable and energy…
No Place for Racial Divisionin Hastings
ROD WEBB The Hastings Is No Place for Hate event hosted by the Observer Building earlier this month was the second in a series of meetings to tackle issues connected…
Read all about it
Hastings Book Festival gets off to a stellar start: CHRIS CONNELLEY reviews Patrice Milway with attendees at the Children’s Library This year’s Hastings Book Festival got off to a blistering…
Collapse! but hope for rebuilding
SADIE PITCHER As part of the programme of events occurring across the Coastal Currents weekend in Hastings, an exhibition curated by Rowan Corkill and Sharon Wylde will be on show…
Coastal Currents Arts Festival
This year, this important South Coast Arts Festival has events stretching from Rye to Robertsbridge, having gained major support from a variety of local organisations, including Hastings Borough Council, and…
Hastings Commons Renovations On Track
Hastings Commons (HC) has released an up-to-date report on their major renovation works at three properties: 12 Claremont, Eagle House and the rooftop of the Observer Building (OB). Planning permission…
Frock up to Get Down
This Saturday, 3 February, the Observer building will host a Frock Up Friday market (). The market stalls will offer a whole range of glamorous frocks, hats, shoes, jewellery and…
Jess Steele, Community Entrepreneur
HUGH SULLIVAN In an era of squeezed public finances, soaring construction costs and wasting infrastructure, the renovation of buildings around Cambridge Road by the Hastings Commons (HC) group of trusts…
Book Festival Patrons Gather for Symposium
MERLIN BETTS Oli Spleen Or a soiree, a presentation, even just a poetry reading with Q+A to finish. On Wednesday June 14, Hastings Book Festival hosted its triumvirate of patrons…
Hastings, Are You Curious?
KATE WATTS There’s a new festival in town on a mission to put Hastings on the map as the world’s first ‘Curious Town’. New local social enterprise Curious Agenda CIC…
May Day Mayday – Public Services in Crisis
PAUL McLAUGHLIN Jeremy Corbyn, the MP for Islington North, was guest of honour at the annual Hastings May Day Workers’ Day March last Saturday (29 April). Several hundred marchers set…
Peering through the Butterfly Wheel
by MARK WALTERAs I entered the stately John’s Place, the home of The Hastings Museum since 1928, I was intrigued by what I was going to witness in the grand…
A Consultation for All the Community
On 25th March, community-led regeneration organisation Hastings Commons will host an open consultation alongside architects IF_DO and Purcell, regarding the future of two wonderful buildings in the White Rock area.…
Meet the OBX!
By Caf Fean, Neighbourhood Stories Coordinator, Hastings Commons Calling all technophiles, technophobes … and those of an inquisitive disposition. The Observer Building is hosting a series of Meet the OBX…
Portrait of a Town: the People of Hastings
The People of Hastings exhibition is the culmination of the four month XR22 creative technology community summer project: a digital, 3D mass-portrait of ; The portrait encompasses the town, its…
Booming Sonics
By Ben Thompson Starting in 2015 as Thee Sunday Sonics – the spontaneous, ad hoc brainchild of artist Danny Pockets – the event now known simply as Sonics has blazed…
Observe the Observer!
Restored building set for viewings, leases offered from August After nearly three years of renovation works the Observer Building on Cambridge Road will begin to reopen in August this year. Hastings…
Heritage Stewards: Maintaining a Historical Record
The Trinity Triangle High Street Heritage Action Zone is a four-year regeneration programme supported by Historic England to breathe new life into a historic part of Hastings town centre: the…
Want to try something different? Take a tour of a derelict building
Starting on Thursday 29th October, the Observer Building will be hosting small groups for guided tours. Rod Webb from HIP went along for a preview. Artist’s impression We met outside…
Trinity Triangle: In On The Action
The Trinity Triangle Heritage Action in Hastings is a four-year regeneration programme supported by Historic England and administered by community company Heart of Hastings (HoH). As HIP reported last September,…
New Loan For Observer Building
Following a strategic board meeting on 12th June, SELEP (the South East Local Enterprise Partnership) have publicised an agreement to lend £ out of their Growing Places Fund for development…
Isolation Station Hastings
Live Streaming & Good Vibes By Fiona McGarry At the beginning of lockdown, Dan Matthews was concerned that there was “nothing to connect people”. He got together with Andrew Davies,…
Observer Fervour
OB plans to be launched at public forum this month White Rock Neighbourhood Ventures Limited (WRNV), the local development company which completed its purchase of the derelict Observer Building on…
Changing Hastings
Town Meeting Addresses Housing Issues By Poppy Prescott Last Thursday evening (21st November), 130 local townspeople met at the Hastings & St Leonards Angling Club to hear presentations, research, talks,…
Observer Building Opening Its Doors With ‘People and Place’ Exhibition
The landmark Observer Building (OB) is set to open its doors to the town for the first time since its closure in 2016 as a proud partner of the prestigious…
Heart Of Hastings Takes On The Trinity Triangle
Although many in the local community are aware of the name ‘Heart of Hastings’, there probably aren’t so many who know what the Heart of Hastings Community Land Trust actually…
Something Concrete Is Happening In The Observer Building
By Sarah Jackman The Observer Building was purchased by local developer White Rock Neighbourhood Ventures (WRNV) on 14th February and, just over 4 weeks later, renovation work began – the…
Exciting Developments At Emmaus Hastings & Rother
Emmaus, the charity which provides the homeless with accommodation and a route back to independent life has ambitious plans for upgrading their main site and superstore in St Leonards. A…
The Freedom To Get Organised
By Emma Harwood Sixty one people from around the borough, many of whom have previously faced barriers to employment, have come together at the Observer Building (OB) in Cambridge Road…
On Life, Peril, Community And Photography
A conversation with Cathy Teesdale By Caf Fean I cheated death in the summer of my second year while studying English Literature at Exeter. I was trying to scramble down…
The Observer Building: A New Future Unveiled
White Rock Neighbourhood Ventures (WRNV) have announced they have exchanged contracts to purchase the Observer Building at 53 Cambridge Road for a total price of £ ; WRNV is a…
Becky Beasley Tells It Like It Is – Part 3
A three-part interview with Hastings-based Paul Hamlyn Foundation, winner of the Award for Artists 2018 By Caf Fean Becky draws our attention to some pressing personal and local concerns –…
Stifling Community Action?
In the last issue HIP reported that Hastings Borough Council had rejected a proposal to designate The Observer Building as a Community Asset. Here, council leader PETER CHOWNEY, argues that…
Darning the Town Fabric
Last Thursday Hastings Green Party, as represented by Julia Hilton, hosted the first of what will be regular monthly or bi-monthly talks on matters of community importance to the town.…
Council Versus Community
Observer Building Rejected As Community Asset. By Emma Harwood An application by a local charity to register the former Observer building as an asset of community value has been turned…