Three speakers explain the challenges our coastline faces and explore some of the solutions. The Common Room (Opposite ESK) in Cambridge Road – TN34 1DJ. 15 April, 1600 to 1800. 

There’s a lot of talk in the Hastings and St. Leonards area about the state of the sea and the beaches. From surfers to sea swimmers to environmental campaigners right through to Joe public and their toddlers on the beach; concerns have been raised about sewage spills, filth and pollution on the beaches and in the sea. What are the real effects on bathers and wildlife? 

An extensive year-long study done on behalf of Surfers Against Sewage documents the number of illnesses caused by sea swimming in areas that Southern Water has declared as safe. Southern Water ranks as one of the top perpetrators of pollution, as recently highlighted on BBC news. Thankfully, a high profile local campaign continues to highlight Southern Water’s continued release of sewage onto local beaches. 

With hugely disruptive flooding in the town continuing to affect local businesses, Extinction Rebellion Hastings and St Leonards, Clean Water Action Group, and Strandliners invite you to take a deeper look at what’s really going on in our sea: three speakers will be responding to the question “What’s spoiling our seas?” at the Common Room, on 15 April. 

The Science of Water Pollution 

Hastings resident, former water pollution chemist, and now science lecturer, Jane Ripley, will address the impact that any changes in the local and global water cycle can have on health, livelihoods, homes and ecosystems.

I caught up with Jane last week. She has an intimate knowledge of the coastline and challenges faced in our stretch of Southern England, and talks clearly about the science relating to these challenges. We were lucky enough to find a bit of sunshine as we walked on the beach.  Jane remembered growing up in Hastings with the sea nearby, and how her fascination for water and the way our lives depend upon it grew through her childhood. Jane reflected on how we take it so much for granted, using it to provide food, medicines and as an apparently bottomless pit for our waste.

Talking about her work around the UK as a water pollution scientist before returning to the town with her family, Jane was clear that there is much work to be done to improve water quality locally, and the impacts of climate change feed into these challenges. 

Sometimes when talking to scientists it can be a struggle to follow the messages they’re giving, but I found Jane has a very welcome ability to break the science down so as to be understandable, and with her local knowledge and passion for the town mixed in, I’d certainly encourage anyone with an interest in these areas to attend the talk.

Community Clean Water Activism

The second speaker will be Becca from the Clean Water Action Group (CWAG). Becca explained the work CWAG have been doing, “Hastings & St Leonards Clean Water Action Group is a group of locals campaigning to end sewage pollution in our waters. We formed in July 2021 following the burst sewage pipe at Bulverhythe, which flooded beach huts and closed the beach for weeks. 

A Whatsapp group was set up by a small number of concerned local beach users, which quickly swelled to hundreds of members who shared articles detailing Southern Water’s criminal negligence, fines and continued pollution of our waters. It became clear that this was a vast and ongoing problem, and we rallied around 200 demonstrators on the beach at St Leonards in August that year.

We followed up by holding a People’s Assembly for locals to gather and decide what to do about it. Since then we’ve held demos and fundraisers, set up a citizen sea water testing programme, letter campaigns to Southern Water, Hastings Borough Council, the Environment Agency, Ofwat, DEFRA, our MP, and personal pension funds. We’ve met with councils and Southern Water officials on several occasions and continue to lobby all involved parties to end sewage pollution.

Our current objectives include fighting for year-round bathing water quality testing, discharge testing, greater communication to public and prioritised investment in our area to prevent pollution events. We are an apolitical group who connect with other groups around the coast and are happy to promote and support any activities, events and campaigns which work towards a complete end to pollution of our waterways.”

The third speaker is Andy Dinsdale from Strandliners who focus on the plastic use/misuse lifecycle which uses water as a host. Their goal generally is zero waste communities, sustainability and local trading in our journey to reduce environmental plastic pollution. They aim to do this by engaging with communities and using citizen science to collect data to use as evidence.

To register your interest in the talk, go to the Extinction Rebellion Hastings and St. Leonards Facebook page – or just turn up on the day.

Local people are invited to share their thoughts on the intended uses of these two historic buildings and become more involved with the spaces in the future. Have a look round, find out what’s happening, bring your ideas and see how you can be part of it.

12 Claremont is a fine heritage building, built in 1870. It was the first local home for the Parsons empire in the form of a bookbinding and engraving studio. Later the building had a variety of mixed uses including the town’s first telephone exchange, a venue for meetings and community events, and auction rooms.

Eagle House was built in 1867, and used as a furniture shop from 1904. Currently, the ground floor of the building is home to the Common Room – a welcoming public living room space that is open to everyone from all walks of life.

New leases of life for two buildings

Hastings Commons will be working with their partners Project Art Works and heritage architects Purcell to transform the currently derelict 12 Claremont into a thriving creative hub. Work will be done to restore the original features of the building, along with creating artist workspace, respite accommodation and a Changing Places facility to enable neurodiverse artists and their support teams to access space in the town centre. There are also plans to create short-term overnight sleeping spaces for those coming to Hastings to learn about and get involved in community-led regeneration.

Eagle House will also be getting a facelift, and Hastings Commons and architects IF_DO will be looking to the community to shape the future of the building. Current plans include protecting and improving the successful public living room for all, as well as developing the space into a universal youth club. Local charity Xtrax will be moving into the first floor soon to create a youth work hub. There is also the possibility of improving the frontage onto Cambridge Road, including the adjacent bus shelter.

Kit Godfrey, Deputy General Manager of Hastings Commons, says “I’m really excited to work on both projects which have been in development for years. There are too many neglected and under-used buildings in the heart of our town, so the reward will be in seeing each populated with a variety of users from all backgrounds and walks of life.”

Both buildings will be open 11.30-15:00pm on Saturday 25 March. The public are encouraged to drop in throughout these times to speak to the Hasting Commons, IF_DO and Purcell teams. There will also be team talks happening at both buildings – 11.30 in Eagle House and 14.30 in 12 Claremont.

Volunteer Shelley explains “Our ‘Print Saturdays’ are for people who are not digitally connected. We started three weeks ago, and so far we have printed a postal return label, some song sheets, a job application form and photocopied some knitting patterns.

We also do ‘scan and send’ using a specially set up email account. We call it ‘functional printing’, it’s not fancy and while we do charge, (5p per sheet with a discount for Library of Things members), it’s not a profit making venture.” People can print up to 10 sheets at a time, and, if they need it, Hastings Library of Things also has a laminator, shredder, guillotine, thermal and comb binders, which members can borrow for an annual fee of £3.00.

Umbrella Sussex is part of the ‘sharing’ economy, running projects that support ‘people helping people’, sharing resources and skills in ways that bring people together. Their two main projects are Make and Mend (Bexhill and Beyond) and Hastings Library of Things.

Make and Mend run Fixing Fridays 12-4 most Fridays, inviting people to bring broken things for mending, and to drink tea together.

The Functional Print Service is available Saturdays, 1-4pm, in Hastings Library of Things Showcase, Rear of the Common Room, Eagle House, 27-29 Cambridge Road, Hastings, TN34 1DJ. For more information, visit: umbrellasussex.org.uk/news

Christmas is over and January sales are in full swing, but not everyone is rushing to the shops: some people are borrowing, giving or lending instead. One project at the forefront of this ‘sharing economy’ is Hastings Library of Things, a community-run lending project.

Hastings Library of Things describes itself as a “magic cupboard full of things to borrow, use and return to be used again”. The library has power tools, camping gear, sewing machines, steam cleaners, puzzles and kitchenware. Membership is open to all, for a nominal fee of £3.00 a year for unlimited borrowing rights and, if you volunteer, the right to call yourself a ‘librarian’. 

“We started this project during lockdown, when the shops were closed, and people were amazing; giving, lending and sharing what they had,” says spokesperson, Shelley Feldman. “So, we thought we’d make it easier for people to borrow, even if they aren’t lucky enough to know their neighbours, or their neighbours don’t have the things either.”

We put out a call for donations, and now we have over 100 ‘things’ to borrow. Members browse online, (www.hastingslot.myturn.com), then reserve their chosen items before collecting them from The Common Room in Cambridge Road. Once the thing is used it gets returned to be cleaned and used again – rather than going to landfill or gathering dust in a cupboard.

The most popular ‘things’ are our steam cleaners and sewing machines, but power tools and the tombola have also been very popular. For 2022 we aim to increase our stock of power tools and gardening equipment and hope to add a delivery service for people who live a bit further out. 

• The library is open Wednesday 5-6, Friday 12-4 and Saturday 12-4 and the website to join is  www.hastingslot.myturn.com. For more information contact Shelley on 07849093151 or  hastingslibraryofthings@mail.com