Tag archives for Peter Chowney
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…
Our Town, Our Council
Former Council Leader PETER CHOWNEY says that more than a millennia of devolved local government administration in Hastings is about to be abolished, concealed within a disingenuous wrapper called ‘local…
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…
72 flats proposed for Ocean House
The freehold owners of Ocean House, the 13-floor office block which towers over Warrior Square railway station, have submitted plans to Hastings Borough Council to convert all but the bottom…
Council to take £1.6m from reserves
Last Friday Hastings Borough Council issued its draft corporate plan and budget proposals for the next financial year (April 2021 to March 2022). It involves taking nearly £ million from…
New Council grant scheme for local businesses
Hastings Borough Council has finalised its Additional Restrictions Grant scheme for businesses, and applications are now open. This scheme is a discretionary scheme, which means that although the funding has…
Breaking Our Word?
Last Monday (14th September) Sally-Ann Hart, MP for Hastings and Rye, voted with the Conservative majority in the House of Commons to approve the government’s Internal Market Bill, despite admission…
Sea Change: More of the Same
North Queensway site set for another £ splash On 8th July SELEP (the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, which channels both public and private funds into economic development in Essex,…
No Dissent
Labour Council Leader Removes Tories From Cabinet On Monday 8th June Hastings Borough Council leader Kim Forward announced a reshuffle of cabinet portfolio holders. The new list is set out…
Kim Forward Becomes Leader Elect of Hastings Council
At a meeting of Labour party councillors on 17th February Cllr Kim Forward was elected by them to take over as their leader in the wake of Peter Chowney’s resignation.…
West Marina – Lease Still Under Wraps
At the full meeting of Hastings Borough Council on 23rd October, Leader Peter Chowney said, in response to a question raised by Cllr Karl Beaney, that a lease to developers…
Hastings Hustings – A Sketch
By Max Power It started awkwardly. A soft opening question on which fictional character the candidates would like to switch lives with led to several excruciating seconds of dead air…
Disability And The Minimum Wage
What Was Actually Said The following exchanges – extracted and distorted across the national media – took place at the HIP Hastings Hustings at East Sussex College last Thursday evening…
GE2019: Question Time
Many weeks of national as well as local focus on voters in the marginal constituency of Hastings & Rye (Conservative majority 346 in 2017) should come to a head next…
GE2019
As the General Election approaches, the hustings are bustling, sleigh-bells ring in the distance, and spectres of Christmas past, present and future loom long over the upcoming winter - the…
GE2019: Under Starter’s Orders
Tory Candidate Named As Campaign Rother councillor Sally-Ann Hart has been selected by the Hastings & Rye Conservative Association to represent them in the general election scheduled for 12th December.…
GE2019: Paul Crosland
Targeting 365 Votes Amber Rudd’s majority over Labour candidate Peter Chowney at the 2017 general election was just 346. The three other candidates, Nick Perry of the Liberal Democrats, Michael…
White Poppy Remembrance
By John Enefer, Hastings Against War Last Saturday Hastings Against War (HAW) held its annual remembrance for all victims of war at the war memorial in Alexandra Park. Local people, including…
Tight Schedule For Potential £25m Towns Fund Boost
Hastings is one of just three towns in Kent and East Sussex – the others are Margate and Newhaven – that have been selected to bid for up to £25m…
Perry Sauce
If you’ve paid close attention to the past elections in Hastings and Rye you may have noticed the recurring appearance of Liberal Democrat candidate Nick Perry. He’s the one that…
West Marina Awaits Its Fate
But councillor calls for “ideas and creativity” Hastings Borough Council (HBC) is about to complete the grant of a long lease of the former bathing pool site at West Marina…
Chowney Appears In Perry’s Scope As The First Pre-Election Torpedoes Are Fired
In an article printed in Hastings in Focus, Hastings and Rye Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate, Nick Perry, cited indices where areas of Hastings are highlighted as suffering from deprivation. He…
Council Meeting Opposes Modern Slavery
By Bernard McGinley At a full meeting of Hastings Borough Council on 23rd October, councillors debated a detailed motion proposed by leader Peter Chowney on modern slavery, made immediately topical…
Ore Valley: Latest Moves
As anticipated in HIP Issue 135, rival bids for the development of the former power station site at Ore Valley are now being reviewed by estate agents Savills on behalf…
Clearing The Electoral Field
Fight For Amber Rudd’s Seat Reduced To Three-Way Contest The local Green Party issued a statement last Sunday that it has decided not to field a general election candidate in…
Little Gate Farm Creating Jobs In Partnership With HBC
Little Gate Farm has already clocked up five years’ experience in improving the lives of learning disabled, autistic, and vulnerable children and adults in East Sussex, supporting over 40 people…
Historic High Streets: Another Regeneration Fund For Hastings Town Centre
With considerable media fanfare the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced last Saturday that a £95m regeneration fund is being released to “revitalise” historic high streets in…
Ruddiculous
Amber Rudd quit the government late on a Saturday evening, in a dramatic and carefully choreographed move with an exclusive for the Sunday Times. Rudd said, “I no longer believe…
CUT OFF! Ore Post Office Shuts; Rail Service To Be Cut
Ore village, already suffering from the closure of its library, has lost, at least temporarily, its post office. Southeastern rail services to its station are also planned to be cut.…
Regime Change at Rother: The First Hundred Days
Doug Oliver has enjoyed his first hundred days as leader of Rother District Council. The previous Conservative administration, ousted in elections across the board in May, had been, in his…
Wanted: Renewal Of Planned Public Investment – But “No Sign” Of It From Current Government, Says Chowney
Hastings Borough Council leader Peter Chowney has used the August holiday period to post a website report on the history of “regeneration” of the town over the past two decades…
Plaza Victory? Not So Fast
Rick Dillon, press officer for Hastings & Rye Labour Party, posted a triumphant “We Did It!” headline on its website last week claiming that NHS leaders were about to confirm…
Ore Valley On The Market
The acre freehold site of the former power station at Ore Valley, allocated in the Hastings Local Plan for up to 50 units of housing and now vacant after the…
HBC Hears Local Concerns over 5G
By Dave Young and Susan McFie On June 24th over 70 members of the public packed into Hastings District Council chamber to hear the leader, Peter Chowney, answer questions on the…
Flood Money Spurs Council Development
On 8 July the cabinet of Hastings Borough Council (HBC) approved proposals for the first new housing development to be carried out in its own name for more than 20…
Council Horrified At ‘Slum’ Housing Proposal
By Emma Harwood Hastings Borough Council has called for an end to legislation which could see a developer convert a seven-storey office block in St Leonards into ‘slum’ housing -…
‘Bouncing & Smiling’ Kissmet Headline At St Leonards Festival
By Rod Webb Crowds of around 10,000 are expected at the 14th annual St Leonards Festival this Saturday 29 June. The festival, starting at noon and finishing at 10 pm, centres…
What’s Next For Hastings Pier?
A look back over the twelve months since its sale. By Emma Harwood When the historic landmark was refurbished with £14 million of public, Heritage Lottery and shareholders money, it…
£25M Bid For Town Centre Funding
But Council Leader Queries Competitive Process At a meeting of the Hastings and St Leonards Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) held at the chambers of Hastings Borough Council on Monday, Director…
RISING TIDE – Youth Climate Protest in Hastings
By Mima Bone “What does democracy look like? This is what democracy looks like!” So went one of the vocal and impassioned chants at Hastings’ second Youth Strike for Climate…