Residents of Ore are being invited to a public meeting to show support for Vicky Wilson, who is planning to stand as an Independent Community candidate in the upcoming May council elections – if there is local support for her to do so.

Ms Wilson is a Southern Housing tenant and helped establish a tenants’ association to fight for better conditions, drawing on her own experiences dealing with damp, mould, and protracted battles for basic repairs and respect. She is also a full-time carer for her severely disabled son and says she “knows firsthand what it’s like struggling to be heard – whether it’s dealing with the Council, the DWP, a landlord or their job. I meet people facing crises like domestic violence, mental health issues, or addiction. I’ve lived these struggles, and I want to help because that’s what community is about.”

She acknowledged that local councillors hold limited power but pledged to use the role to help residents stand up for their rights. If elected, she has promised to hold a monthly community meeting to remain accountable to voters.

The meeting will take place on Tuesday, 17 March from 6.30-7.30 pm at the Ore Community Centre on Old London Road.The discussion will centre on crucial local matters such as affordable housing, safeguarding green spaces and enhancing disabled access.

Two members of Hastings Housing Rebellion have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass following the group’s occupation of a house in Battle.

After the death of a great aunt, Cheryl Smart applied to the owners, Southern Housing, to move into her three-bed family home in Wellington Gardens.

Cheryl has been in temporary accommodation for the past two-and-a-half years, with her two children – one with special needs. “It’s so mentally draining living in temporary housing with two young children, and it would be life-changing to be able to keep this home in our family and raise my children in the area I grew up.”

Cheryl said she was “shocked” to learn that the house was to be sold by auction rather than being rented again. Housing Rebellion attended an open viewing and occupied the house, in  a ‘peaceful and proportionate’ protest.

The Wellington Gardens estate was built by the council in 1922 as part of the post war ‘Homes for Heroes’ initiative. In 1998, Rother Council handed it to a housing association with a covenant stipulating the properties could not be sold without the permission of the Secretary of State. Protesters are calling on the council to enforce this covenant and stop the sale.

One of the two arrested, Grace Lally of Housing Rebellion, has now been released under investigation. She says: “We know there are thousands of people living in temporary accommodation or who are in overcrowded flats, desperate for a family home like this, and we’re not prepared to stand by and let Southern Housing sell our social housing from under our feet.” 

Through a series of mergers, Southern Housing Group now owns all the property which was previously Hastings and Rother Council’s housing stock.

Southern Housing told HIP: ‘This particular home is currently empty and, following a detailed assessment, we found it would require a very high level of investment to meet current and future safety and sustainability standards. We routinely review our homes and identify a very small number that no longer meet the standards. Selling these homes allows us to reinvest in improving and maintaining thousands of others, including homes in this area.” 

Housing Rebellion has set up a petition calling on the housing group to stop selling off social housing. 

For more information and petition go to: change.org/p/southern-housing-stop-selling-off-our-social-housing. 

A developer applying for planning permission for a new housing estate at Holmhurst Gardens is under fire for failing to consult the local community.

Foreman Homes has submitted a planning application for 31 new houses to the south of The Ridge, near to where Southern Housing is currently constructing 208 homes. It has told Hastings Borough Council (HBC): “For many planning applications, engaging with the local community is a fundamental part of the planning process and allows local residents to have their say … However for this application we have made the conscious decision not to go down this route.”

The housing company argues that the development will help HBC towards its Government-imposed annual housing target, which was increased from 490 to 722 dwellings a year ago. HBC has described the government’s new figure as “completely out of reach given that the town is built with the sea on one side and protected landscapes to the west, north and east.”

The latest proposal at Holmhurst is for a mix of 42% affordable and 58% open market housing, with four first homes, seven rentals and two shared ownership units. Supporting their planning application Foreman Homes say “The increase in Hastings’ annual housing requirement coupled with the site being part of an emerging allocation demonstrates the site’s suitability to accommodate additional housing numbers.”

Local residents have expressed concern about the application. Stephen Wallis told the planning authority: “What a shame that Foreman Homes do not think it’s necessary to hold any community involvement processes! …  The amount of development that has taken place in this area and upper Harrow Lane in the last couple of years has been huge. I will once again mention the lack of local services, i.e. doctors, dentists and school places, but no doubt this will be ignored, as it has been in previous applications.”

Local campaigner Bob Hart told HIP that the lack of community involvement “reveals the desire to get it done without public involvement. HBC is so eager, before they disappear, to have more homes they will do very little to delay them.”

Mr Hart has been in the forefront of exposing the destruction of a graveyard on land in the middle of the Southern Housing estate with the exhumation of the bodies of 46 nuns from the former Holmhurst St Mary Convent school. That was blamed on badgers, displaced by the construction work, digging up their bones. Mr Hart notes that the current application from Foreman Homes also fails to mention any plan for the welfare of badgers.

Other residents have suggested that the developer’s decision not to involve the community might have been influenced by the vociferous campaign to ‘save’ Sandrock Bends – another proposed housing development further east along The Ridge. Objectors have mounted a widespread online and media campaign opposing plans for 65 new homes there which will, they say, destroy a vital wildlife corridor between St Helen’s Woods and open countryside to the North. And there remains public anger at the removal of a community centre from plans for a 151-house development off Harrow Lane, as reported by HIP in March. 

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” by local residents.

The nuns had been teachers at the convent school of St Mary Holmhurst which closed in 1981. The area surrounding their graveyard is now a major housing development of 208 units from Southern Housing. However, at the end of last year it was alleged that body parts including a human skull had been unearthed. The owner of the graveyard, The Mother St Agnes Trust, applied to the Consistory Court of the Diocese of Chichester, which last September authorised the exhumations, cremation of the remains and the burial of the ashes. In December, an Environmental Health officer from Hastings Borough Council visited the site to supervise the project.

Presence of Badgers

A council spokesperson told HIP: “This decision was made by the landowners, The Mother Agnes Trust, following specialist advice concerning the presence of badgers. The badgers, which are protected by law, had extended their setts into the graveyard and disturbed some of the burial sites.”

HIP contacted the Badgers Trust who told us: “We are both surprised and saddened that the planning permission for the nearby housing development did not include provisions for badgers, which could have prevented this predictable outcome.” Trust Chief Executive, Nigel Palmer, said that it was likely that the nearby construction had disrupted their habitat, forcing them to seek new foraging grounds or to build setts in the graveyard.

Bob Hart, local historian and co-ordinator of the ‘Bohemia Brisco’ website recalls seeing an undertaker’s van visiting the site of the woodland containing the nuns’ graveyard before Christmas and surmised that exhumations were taking place. “I feel strongly that this site was an important little piece of history and undertakings that the graveyard would not be disturbed had been ignored,” he said.

To uncover the full story Mr Hart instigated a freedom of information request (FOI). The documents he received, though heavily redacted, threw up interesting information – some at variance with official statements. The unnamed council Environmental Health officer commented: ‘Due to restrictions on disturbing badgers there is now a rush to exhume these 46 remains.’ On 23 October 2024 he visited the site: ‘witnessed a test exhumation … container for kit and H&S welfare unit for staff not as agreed. Voiced my concerns. One set of remains removed for cremation.’ On his next visit, on November 4, he noted ‘Visited to see first full day going ahead, site still not ready, have provided advice and left them to it. They are hopeful of completing one exhumation today which would leave 44 more to do.”

Dignity and Respect

There is no record in the FOI of any further visits, and the phrase ‘left them to it’ does not accord with HBC’s statement that: ‘an environmental health officer must be present at the exhumation and supervise the event to ensure that dignity and respect for the deceased person is maintained and that public health is protected.’

Furthermore on 2 December HBC’s Environment Health team emailed Rowland Brothers Funeral Directors asking if the exhumations had been completed or ‘are you still working on it?’ Again providing evidence that the operation was not being directly supervised.

Rowland Brothers, who conducted the exhumations, replied just half an hour later: ‘we have indeed finish (sic) … the last graves were exhumed on Monday 18th and the site handed back to the construction company … it was a mixed bag in the end …some complete graves with enough remains to justify a full-sized coffin, some with only a small amount of remains, six graves where the remains were completely jumbled up and [redacted name] was unable to define which remains were from which grave, and a number where no remains were found at all.’

When HIP put this information from the FOI to Hastings Borough Council, they modified their original statement, saying: ‘The Environmental Health team checked the risk assessments and the method statement before any work took place. The initial set up was inspected to ensure the remains were dealt with safely and with dignity, and then spot checks were carried out during the process.’

Storm of Protest

A brief TV report about the exhumations on Meridian earlier this month led to a storm of protest on social media. Marion Little said: ’.“I hope this isn’t true! The graves were in a small piece of land and could easily have been spared”. Andrew Gardner said: ‘All the crosses with all of the nuns’ names have been removed. As has all the brickwork that formed the nuns’ garden.’ While Alison Pelling wrote: “Surely not, this is horrendous if they have gone; how utterly disrespectful”. Other posts described it as ‘absolutely disgusting behavior’.

Southern Housing told HIP: ‘The land where the nuns were historically laid to rest … is owned by The Mother Agnes Trust (who) made the decision to relocate the nuns’ remains. The relocation was conducted properly through all appropriate channels and in full collaboration with the Trust. A memorial will be erected on the site to celebrate the lives of the nuns who lived at the convent.’

They confirmed that all houses on their site would be ‘100% affordable’ and that as part of the project they were undertaking a major restoration of a statue of Queen Anne dating from 1713 which was later bought and installed in Holmhurst St Mary by Victorian writer Augustus Hare. It had fallen into serious disrepair and is now being repaired by a London stonemason and will return to ‘specially landscaped grounds near the Conquest Hospital.’

Exhume the Sisters

The Mother Agnes trust told HIP that ‘the trustees took advice as to what options there would be to ensure the sanctity of the graveyard, whilst respecting the needs of residents and the protection of the badgers… the trustees resolved to seek permission to exhume the sisters and, following cremation, to reinter their ashes involving a suitable and appropriate service of interment and the provision of an appropriate large memorial stone – which is currently being prepared by local stonemasons.’

The trust spokesperson would not confirm how much the operation had cost nor who had paid for it. And when asked why the wall and gates at the graveyard had been removed, they declined to answer.

Bob Hart remains concerned that the undertaking given by Hastings Council’s Conservation Officer had been simply ignored. In his report the officer said: ‘The applicant has confirmed that the nuns’ graveyard will remain untouched but the old gardens will be remodelled in order to deliver the development.’ Mr Hart said “I asked HBC what had changed, but I got no response.”

In general he feels the housing development is welcome and that the restoration of Queen Anne’s statue is a positive move. But whether the nuns’ remains needed to be disturbed is another matter. “I’m extremely sceptical whether badgers really had dug up human remains,” he said, “and anyway there must have been other ways of protecting the graves.” Certainly Nigel Palmer of the Badger Trust believes it would have been quite unnecessary had proper measures been adopted to protect the badgers in the first place. It would have meant the nuns could have been left to rest in peace despite the nearby construction.

How the Nuns were Exhumed

The exhumations were carried out by a specialist contractor Rowland Brothers Ltd of Croydon, a family firm that has been in the business since 1873.

Their Special Projects Manager Michael Gill who oversaw the Holmhurst operation told HIP how it worked.

“Once all the surveys had been carried out and badger escapes placed to ensure they had actually left the site, we screened it off and erected gazebos. A mechanical digger removed the topsoil and then each grave was uncovered by hand by one of our team of four. It’s a bit like an archaeological dig. We were on site for two weeks so it was a lengthy operation. Normally we might do 20-30 exhumations a year. Here we were doing 46 all at once.

The remains were collected and put in coffins we provided. We worked with a local funeral director who arranged for the subsequent hearses and cremations.

It must have been frustrating – and expensive–for the Mother Agnes trust. They had a representative on site for part of the time, and the council’s Environmental Health Officer monitored the work to ensure it was being done competently and sensitively. I estimate it could have cost around the £150,000 mark. It was a big operation. Exhumations are not something you carry out lightly.”

Some time in the near future, the Four Courts in Stonehouse Drive will be demolished. This is an important event in terms of the culture and heritage of Hastings and St Leonards.

But why should we care ?

These tower blocks, providing nearly 400 households, stand sixteen stories high and ‘can be seen for miles’ as the saying goes. They were built in 1963 and were originally referred to locally as ‘The Wimpey Towers’, presumably after the housebuilder of the same name. They went on to be named after four 20th century leading politicians, two British and two American, perhaps signifying this country’s obsession with a perceived ‘special relationship’ with the US: Bevin, Churchill, Roosevelt and Kennedy.

The tower blocks are owned by Southern Housing, a social housing provider, who have not yet applied to the local authority, Hastings Borough Council, for permission to demolish, but are already consulting local residents about the intended process.

It is not known yet what will replace these towers. They sit on a sizable parcel of land with a lot of green amenity space, car parking and community buildings. The parcel of land is much larger of course than the footprint occupied by the towers themselves, so you might be forgiven for assuming that much higher density housing will occupy the site in the future. Indeed, if you look at some Inner London boroughs such as Lewisham, this process has been happening for the best part of a decade.

The tragedy of this is that communities can sometimes be erased, and if, like me, you feel that part of us ‘becomes’ forever connected to the places we lived in for any appreciable amount of time, a quiet tragedy seems to occur.

The first and most obvious concern is the potential loss of amenity space. There is pressure on housing supply, and this must be addressed, but do we miss something by replacing grass, community play spaces, small wooded copses and community halls with more housing? Is the overall effect negative? I simply ask the question so that we can consider it.

At the time of writing, there are a number of community organisations, such as ‘four courts connect’ who do outstanding work with residents, and there is a question about what will become of these community organisations. The issue of utmost importance, however, in my view, is what will become of those families, extended families and social networks once the built environment which facilitated them is gone. Wherever these families and networks go, there must be a tangible record made of their existence, function and achievement. Imagine the life stories, the shared experiences of joy, pain, sorrow and fulfilment deposited in the bricks and steel of the towers. Psychogeographers must be incentivised to make films and take photographs, and writers and journalists must put on record the stories of over half a century of life in these Hollington towers.

Most importantly, people must be looked after, and their stories heard and listened to. Their hopes and fears for the future and their feelings about legacy have to be engaged with, acted upon and remembered.

John Rankin is the Labour councillor for Conquest Ward on Hastings Borough Council.

Hollington tower blocks to be bulldozed, residents relocated

HUGH SULLIVAN

Southern Housing, the largest provider of social housing in Hastings, last week announced plans to demolish four tower blocks on Stonehouse Drive, Hollington in which over 400 households currently reside.

Southern’s intention is to replace the blocks with new-build, low-rise social housing by the time that construction is concluded five or more years from now, the site is expected to accommodate a greater number of homes overall.

The high-rise buildings – Bevin Court, Roosevelt Court, Kennedy Court and Churchill Court, known collectively as the Four Courts – were erected in the 1960s. Two of the four blocks, Bevin and Roosevelt, are dedicated to housing over-65s and/or disabled residents, many of whom have severe mobility problems.

In the words of Southern’s own press release, the buildings “no longer reflect the standards of modern living and don’t meet today’s design and accessibility requirements”.

A spokesperson added that, even with significant investment, it would not be practicable to adapt the existing buildings to provide satisfactory future facilities: “For example, essential upgrades such as lifts that stop on all floors – as they currently don’t – and are large enough to enable ambulance crews to exit residents are not feasible within the current buildings.

“The render at Bevin Court has detached, and attaching new cladding, given the construction methodology from the 1960s, presents significant challenges. Each block has only one staircase, which impacts accessibility and mobility. In short, the design and layout of flats don’t meet modern mobility standards, and the physical constraints of the buildings restrict the opportunities to modernise these blocks to the standards residents expect.” 

Southern has made it clear that all residents will be offered re-housing, either within the replacement estate as it comes into being or elsewhere. A spokesperson said that the housing provider is “committed to supporting every Four Courts Resident into a new suitable home, close to their support network”.

The proposed timetable involves all residents of Bevin Court moving out by March 2026, those of Roosevelt Court by March 2027, and those of Kennedy Court and Churchill Court following on.

SHOCK ANNOUNCEMENT

The announcement came, however, as a shock to many of the Four Courts residents, who were unaware that Southern had any such plans afoot. They heard of the intended demolitions for the first time last week when housing officers knocked on individual doors and invited them to attend presentations in the respective ground-floor lounges of Bevin Court and Roosevelt Court and in the local community centre.

Residents who have lived there for upwards of 20 years were understandably upset at the prospect of wholesale removals, even though Southern have said that every household will be assigned a dedicated Resettlement Officer “who will work with them and support them through the moving process”. All residents will receive a one-off home loss payment, and the normal costs associated with moving home, including removals, would be covered.

“I don’t like it but I understand it,” said one resident of Roosevelt Court who has terminal cancer and a severely disabled wife.

Other residents seemed similarly resigned to the move, though several said on enquiry that they were personally quite content with existing conditions within their block. There was a general consensus that relocation to Bexhill (particularly to existing Southern estates on the seafront) or to Battle would be more acceptable than remaining in St Leonards or Hastings.

COUNCIL RESPONSE

The housing department of Hastings Borough Council has clearly been in the know about Southern’s plans for some time, and is supportive. A council spokesperson said: “We have had several conversations with Southern Housing about their plans to improve the housing at Four Courts. We know that moving will be unsettling for some residents who have lived in their homes for many years, but there is a dedicated resettlement team and a clear plan in place to support them and their families through the change and ensure everyone who wants to can be rehoused locally.

“The redevelopment of the site will provide more affordable social housing with a mix of house types that are environmentally sustainable and that meet current mobility standards.”

Local councillors John Cannan (Wishing Tree ward) and Paul Barnett (Hollington ward), both members of the Hastings (ex-Labour) Independents Group, have also welcomed Southern’s redevelopment scheme.

Cllr Cannan said: “Having campaigned since being elected in Wishing Tree to get Southern Housing to properly address the significant number of problems at the Four Courts, I welcome the news that they are finally planning to regenerate the area and provide modern and safe homes for all their residents.” He was concerned, however, that the process of moving residents should be done “sensitively, acknowledging that…these are people’s homes, where people have brought up families and memories have been made.”

Three Labour councillors, Helen Kay, Danuta Kean and Phil Scott, have met with Southern executives since the announcement. Cllr Kean reported on Facebook that they asked at the meeting how the Four Courts residents could be rehoused in the face of the current shortage of housing in the area. They were told that the real logjam is in family homes, single and small households, the majority in the Four Courts, will be moved first.

Southern has been asked to recognise the recently established independent tenants’ association HASHTA (Hastings Area Southern Housing Tenants Association) as representing the residents.

Residents of Ashford Way and Ashford Road in St Helens are pressing the town’s driving instructors to take their pupils elsewhere when they’re practising reverse parking, three-point turns and other manoeuvres. Ward councillor Andy Batsford has claimed that many cars and garden walls of local residents have been damaged with no responsibility taken, while on dark evenings intrusive headlights beam constantly into front rooms. 

“All residents understand that these roads are part of the driving test route,” Cllr Batsford said, “but just driving [students] around these roads not only causes the local residents distress and worry, but also teaches the students nothing about real-life driving situations and safety.”

Terry Cummins, chairman of the local branch of the Motor Schools Association which represents many Hastings instructors, says that there are several alternative test drive routes, only one of which involves the roads in question. He confirms that they are regarded as suitable for practice, but at a recent branch meeting both he and the Chief Test Examiner requested that members avoid excessive instruction on or around them.

Cllr Batsford has also posted a leaflet at the Ivyhouse Lane test centre asking instructors to think of alternative routes.

Clean-up for Oaktree Mews

Social housing provider Southern Housing (SH) has undertaken a comprehensive improvement programme in the neighbourhood of Oaktree Mews off Linley Drive.

Hastings Borough Council’s Community Safety Manager and Baird ward local councillors Mike Turner and Yunis Smith had identified problems of fly-tipping in the communal bin area, regular anti-social behaviour and criminal damage. They met with SH management earlier this summer to urge some action.

Following that meeting, SH have cut the hedge at the entrance to the alley to the Mews, removed flytips, had a street light repaired and further security lighting installed, and were getting an abandoned van removed.

Cllr Glenn Haffenden, who holds the council’s Community Wellbeing portfolio, said: “We want Oaktree Mews residents to feel proud of their neighbourhood and safe in their homes, that’s why it is important that we attend areas where issues have been raised to help identify appropriate improvements.” He thanked Southern Housing for their quick response.

Swinging in the Rain

The Adventure Golf park at Pelham Place on Hastings seafront is offering free rounds on all three of its courses for the next two weeks (up to 25 October) on any day when there’s more than 3ml of rain. The seafront office has fitted a ‘rain-o-meter’: when the gauge accumulates more than this aggregate rainfall for any day, and will send you an alert if you sign up to a computer app in advance so you can get down there to take advantage. 

Simon Tompkins, the park’s director said: “As an attraction that is open 364 days of the year, we know that no matter how bad the weather gets, people will always come out to play on our courses. That’s why we want to reward the hardiest of crazy golf fans for the month of October with this unique offer.”

As I walk through the mud of Church Wood on my way to Tilekiln Community Centre, that cool evening air paying no attention to the sun’s beating rays, Paul Hackett is at his desk. Or maybe he’s just getting out of his car, firing off some quick emails, extending a magic hand and the car squeaks and locks. And maybe, as he heads up to his office, he’s reflecting on what Gustave Flaubert once wrote, “I have always tried to live in an ivory tower, but a tide of shit is beating at its walls, threatening to undermine it.”

It’s 24 April and Southern Housing’s executives – including their chief Paul Hackett – have agreed to meet with a number of Hastings residents, on Zoom. For those who would struggle to Zoom at home, Southern Housing Action are setting up a projector at Tilekiln, to give access to as many people as possible.

Southern Housing proudly proclaims, “We’re one of the largest housing providers in the UK… [housing] over 167,000 people.” When the bosses decided to stoop down and video call with the people of Hastings – a blip on their map of Sussex – they had no idea how ill-informed and negligent they have been, or maybe they didn’t care. A damning report from the Housing Ombudsman on 14 May will say their complaints-handling procedures, amongst other things, are utterly inadequate, giving an overall maladministration rate of 79% for cases examined, and 92% for cases regarding complaints-handling.

Paul comes on screen at Tilekiln. The connection is a bit shaky. Cllr Maya Evans (now former Cllr) sits on my left. Around 15 people are in the hall, and despite the centre’s warm name, we haven’t managed to get the heating on. For residents who’ve been forcibly acclimatised to damp, mould, sewage water leaking into their homes, and doors that won’t lock… a bit of chill isn’t going to stop them. About 50 tenants will join the Zoom call. Some of them are about to get their first substantial response to a complaint from Southern Housing in years.

As the connection issues resolve we see Paul, looking dead at the screen like a newsreader, speaking like it’s a script. From 2022 to 2024, he says, their maintenance and repair budget has increased by £64million.

Microphone off, Maya on my left says that can’t be enough – since 2022 the merger between Optivo and Southern Housing has happened, bringing about 44,000 new homes into the fold. And they weren’t spending enough pre-merger either. Meanwhile Paul’s going, “that’s a 31% increase, we’ve never seen such a big increase.” 

‘NEW’ COMPLAINTS HANDLING

We get to tenants’ questions. An orderly queue is formed for those who’ll speak on the Zoom call, but the chat section is a flurry of constant activity, stretching Director of External Relations Chris Middleton’s ability to keep up. He tries to tell as many as he can – “Send your complaint to this new email address, don’t worry, we will listen this time, this address is special”.

While the tenants on the microphone give endless gut-wrenching accounts of longstanding problems, the executives sit pale-faced. Many issues are referred to Yvette Carter, Executive Director for Contract Services, responsible for repairs and maintenance. Very quickly she resorts to blanket apologies – she has no excuses to offer, real or make-believe. She can, however, promise that Sussex will now be treated as East Sussex and West Sussex, each area with its own contract manager. And more people are being hired – the Sussex team has expanded from nine to 20 staff, plus there will be a new damp and mould team of about 15 staff.

It’s hard for tenants (or anyone) to qualify these numbers. And it’s hard for them to trust the head of the service that’s been telling them the mould that killed two-year-old Ayaab Ishak in Rochdale, and recently hospitalised Obie Wilson in Hastings, is ‘NOT a danger to health’.

RESIDENT CONSULTATION

The local Hastings office that used to deal with tenant complaints has recently been shut, with no apparent plans to reopen. Southern Housing will only talk to tenants by phone, email and – it seems – Zoom call. They’re given no direct personal engagement, and meanwhile Yvette is telling them don’t worry, the Sussex team is expanding. Jane Porter, Chief Operating Officer, is saying that the new East Sussex Anti-Social Behaviour and Lettings teams will have “more local knowledge”.

The executives attempt a coup: ‘Ah! We’ve made mistakes, yes, and we are sorry, but our new plans have been approved by the Sussex Regional Resident Panel, and our national Resident Governance Structure. So, you see, your concerns are being represented.’

None of the 50 tenants in the call have even heard of these panels, been invited to join them, or heard from a Hastings representative on any such panel. It looks very likely that there are no Hastings tenants in any part of the Resident Governance Structure, supposing those structures even have a meaningful say on Southern Housing policy.

After the call ends, people seem just as frustrated as when it started. Another hoop had been jumped through, while nothing’s done.

Postscript:

At the start of this week the Facebook group Southern Housing Action was gathering signatories to an intended letter to Paul Hackett inviting him to attend a public meeting with tenants in Hastings. The letter points out that there is now no office for Southern Housing in Hastings, and that tenants are tired of having their phone calls, emails, and even letters from health professionals and political representatives, repeatedly ignored. They say they want to hear from him directly, and in person, that he be taking responsibility for changing how Southern Housing deals with damp and mould. The full text of the letter can be found at t.ly/bWsdV

In December 2022 the Southern Housing Group took over Optivo, at that point Hastings’ largest provider of social housing. It’s one of the largest housing associations in the UK with a portfolio of more than 78,000 homes. 

On 17 May Southern Housing issued the following Media Statement headed Homes in Hastings:

“We’re committed to listening to our residents and ensuring they live in safe, comfortable and affordable homes. It’s why our Executive Team held an open meeting with residents last month to hear their concerns and explain the action we’ve been taking. 

“Our priority is investing in our existing homes, despite the challenges of the current economic climate. This year, we’ve approved the largest-ever budget increase for repairs and maintenance, a 31% increase from £204m to £268m. In the past five years, 87% of homes in Hastings have received home condition surveys and 397 of the 750 homes, which are rated below EPC C, have been retrofitted. In the next five years, around 2,000 homes will receive investment. 

“We’ve formed a new dedicated damp and mould team who are focusing on permanent solutions and working closely with our Resident Scrutiny Panel. 

“Of our 4,264 homes in Hastings, we currently have 14 homes in temporary accommodation. The Housing Ombudsman recommends moving residents into temporary accommodation if work in a resident’s home is likely to be disruptive. Alternative options are explored first, with considerable compensation offered to residents if they’re able to stay with family or friends. 

“We would urge any resident who needs our support to contact us, so we can address any concerns.”

The Hastings Citadel branch of the church and charity held a community fair at St Andrew’s Square in the town to mark Employability Day, an event designed to raise awareness of the issues confronting job seekers and help them break down the barriers that can lead to meaningful employment. Organisations that set up stalls included East Sussex College, Southern Housing, the town branch of the Job Centre Plus.

Lieutenant Debbie-Anne Hogarth, Hastings Citadel leader, said: “We have had such positive feedback from people and would like to do the same again next year. Partnership working is incredibly important in order to serve our community the best way we can.”

Jack Cox is project coordinator for i-Rock, a support service for 14-to-25-year-olds. He added: “We were warmly welcomed and made to feel at home […] Essentially, the young person I attended with arrived nervous and unsure, and an hour later he left happy, hopeful and with a new sense of purpose for the future.”

The Salvation Army believes that better access to employment support is the key to tackling poverty and in the past 12 months has helped 35,000 people across the UK and Ireland with job support. 10,000 of those have received more substantial support towards employment, with 42.9% of that group gaining employment.