By Nick Pelling

“There is so much talent in this town it’s unbelievable.” The words of a woman who is a living embodiment of her own view. Annalize Senol is in many ways a brilliant contradiction: she’s the driving force behind the Clean Up Hastings group – a woman not afraid to get down on the dirty streets – while also being a versatile and glitzy fashion designer. Her new business, Secret Bridal Boutique, aims to clothe Hastings’ brides in high-end elegance and French lace. To be queen of grime and glamour takes some doing, but that dynamism is what makes her contribution to Hastings so special. 

CREDIT: Orhan Senol

Annalize trained as a fashion designer in her homeland of South Africa. She came to London in 1997 and established a prestigious bridal wear shop there, having trained with Elbeth Gillis, the bridal couture firm that redefined the luxury nuptial gown. Coming down to Hastings in 2017 intending to carry on her work, she was subsequently thrown into domestic doldrums by the pandemic, like so many others. But rather than be demoralised, she decided to address issues immediately around her – which was the catalyst for Clean Up Hastings.

So successful has this been, that it now has over 300 members working with numerous other groups such as Tidy Up St Leonards, Rubbish Buddies and even Love Where You Live. What makes Annalize different to those who might be happy to just womble the streets with a black bin bag and yellow marigold gloves is that she’s prepared to take on the complacent authorities such as the County Council, who are often happy with a blind eye policy. Her letters to East Sussex County Council read like a relentless epistolary assault on the smug grandees that allow the town to be awash with rubbish and riddled with potholes. (She believes there’s a solution to the latter and is working on a campaign to use a compound of tarmac and plastic). But Annalize has now found allies in the Council, and it seems, ‘a change is gonna come’. In fact, much has already happened, such as the extraordinarily successful eight-week volunteer campaign to clean up Ore Station. Even the One-Stop Tesco shop outside the station was persuaded to put out some shiny new bins. 

She’s also taking up arms against East Sussex County Council’s persistence in spraying the streets of Hastings with the toxic herbicide Glyphosate. Clean Up Hastings are helping persuade local people to pull up weeds in their own streets and letting the council know about this initiative. The Borough Council are supportive of this campaign and Annalize hopes to build this into a re-wilding programme to foster greater biodiversity. At present the County Council is stubbornly refusing to change its policy, which it defends as affordable and effective. This despite a 2015 a World Health Organisation report saying Glyphosate was “probably carcinogenic in humans”. Cancer seems a sinister price for so-called cheap solutions, but we can be absolutely sure Ms Senol will not let this one go. 

Whether it be waging such weighty political struggles or just creating rotas of litter-pickers, Annalize has discovered a talent for organised activism: a gift for orchestrating the Hastings awkward squad. And yet the other side of Annalize, as a gifted fashion designer with skills quite literally at her fingertips, is in some ways even more impressive and surprising. With her husband, Orhan, a brilliant photographer, they make a formidable pair. 

There is a much over-used phrase that people should ‘be the change’ they want, but in Annalize’s case it seems spot on. The glitz and the garbage may sit at an odd angle to each other, but in another way it’s an eccentric, but oh so chic combo that is just so, well… Hastings.

A recent public Zoom meeting, promoted by several local community groups including Next Door Bohemia and Tidy Up St Leonards, and chaired by Hastings Borough councillor Andrew Batsford, has discussed the perennial issue of potholes in the roads of Hastings. The predictable outcome: a stream of what might be called polite rage. 

East Sussex County Council (ESCC), which has responsibility for maintaining the roads, was described by members of the public as “not caring” about Hastings. The town was dubbed a “poor relation”, conveniently forgotten at “the end of the line”. Fellow councillor Margi O’Callaghan perhaps captured the popular perceptions and frustrations when she argued that Hastings was ‘neglected’ in favour of “richer areas”. 

St Warrior Square, St Leonards
PICTURE: Dave Young

The consensus at the meeting was that the town should try to ‘take back control’ of the responsibility for maintaining the roads away from ESCC. It was felt that the county council would probably be reluctant to give up control, and the idea of a kind of campaign for ‘Hexit’ will certainly be challenging to bring into being, but the borough council did take back responsibility for street cleaning two years ago, and that is seen as a success by many. 

It is certainly true that many of the roads in Hastings are literally cracking up. Downs Road and Elphinstone Road were cited, but Chapel Park Road in Gensing ward would get my vote for worst road in Hastings. (Readers may wish to send in their own nominations.) Of course, it may be that the real problem is that Hastings people just do not complain enough. Roads in Eastbourne and Wadhurst attract an apparently higher complaint rate. Evidently, the squeaky wheel gets the oil, even if it’s buckled. 

Wheelchairs

But potholes are more than a nuisance: they can be lethal. And not just for the obvious candidates, cyclists and motorcyclists. One speaker, Claire Carr made a telling point: people in wheelchairs can often only cross a road where the kerb is dropped, but if that happens to lead directly to a pothole then the situation becomes deeply upsetting. 

Pevensey Road, St Leonards
PICTURE: Dave Young

The meeting also revealed a feeling that ESCC tends to be very hard to get compensation out of in the event of damage to a vehicle. The county council’s own figures showed that out of 528 claims made against it in 2020 only 64 (12%) were successful. The 1980 Highways Act provides that so long as a highways authority has taken “all reasonable care” to maintain the roads, it is not legally liable for flying cyclists. 

Following the meeting I spoke to Karen Bowles, ESCC’s press officer. She denied any bias against Hastings, and focussed on the complexity of road maintenance. Last year the contractors, Costain, filled in 27,000 potholes for ESCC, of which 2,800 were in the Hastings area – by percentage of population, just under its due proportion. She pointed out that the current county budget allocation is ‘not done on a town-by-town basis’ so it cannot be the case that Hastings is deliberately underfunded. Ms Bowles also added that the contractors have to work with very specific constraints that mean they must only carry out what has been allocated. They are not allowed to be freelance fillers, picking off potholes as they see fit. The popular perception that workers ignore adjacent potholes perhaps overlooks the necessary discipline of the ‘job-sheet.’

Slashed Budgets

But the truth is that road maintenance budgets have been slashed everywhere over the decade of ‘austerity’. The Institute of Fiscal Studies calculates that there has been a 26% general fall in local budgets since 2010. Roads are a physical manifestation. 

And many of the linking roads of Hastings are disintegrating. John Funnell, of Tidy Up St Leonards, describes certain routes as “like an assault course”. Sadly, the broken road surfaces create a false impression that no-one cares for the town which may help to explain why so many people feel it is alright to chuck litter. This is a shame, given that there are several inspiring volunteer groups that are trying so hard to improve the town. Annalize Senol, of the newly formed Clean Up Hastings, is deeply frustrated by the “atrocious” nature of the pothole problem. These groups suggest that the solution may lie in localism. But, however one looks at it, there is clearly a need for a literal ‘levelling up’ of Hastings highways. 

Tidy Up St Leonards, a Safer Streets project partner, is improving the area for local businesses, residents and visitors.

Safer Streets includes Sussex Police, Heart of Hastings, Hastings Borough Council (HBC), the Business Crime Reduction Partnership, Neighbourhood Watch and Tidy Up St Leonards (TUSL). 

Volunteers work alongside local councils, housing associations, and other agencies to improve the town. Five trustees recently cleared overgrowth and weeds from the pavement along Pevensey Road, generating 16 sacks of green waste. Meanwhile, other volunteers worked to keep the streets litter free. 

In addition to helping keep paths and gutters clear, pavements weeded, overgrowth cut back, and removing litter, the TUSL team assists with woodland conservation in the town’s green spaces and reporting damaged signage, lighting and fencing to the authorities. 

Volunteer effort

John Funnell, TUSL, said: “We hold regular ‘Tidy Up’ sessions across St Leonards, where our fantastic team of enthusiastic volunteers give up their free time to focus on areas that need some extra attention. We are pleased to join the Safer Streets project and look forward to working with residents (and) businesses… to make a difference.”

Cllr Paul Barnett, HBC lead councillor for urban environment and community safety, explained: “The Safer Streets project offers an excellent opportunity for the partners involved, as well as businesses and residents, to work collaboratively to identify areas that need enhancement in St Leonards.”

John Bownas, Chair of Hastings Neighbourhood Watch, added: “If there are any other groups across the borough who would like to do something similar, Neighbourhood Watch can help by providing materials and insurance, as well as trying to link people together.”

Direct control

HBC took back control of the town’s street cleaning services a year ago. Since when 29 street cleaners have swept more than 11,000 miles of road, emptied over 250,000 litter bins and dealt with 11,000 additional work requests.

In the latest performance review, conducted by independent consultancy, White Young Green, who carried out all similar inspections over the last 12 years, a significant improvement in the borough’s cleanliness was evident. In this review 300 roads were monitored, out of these 96.8% were litter, detritus, fly-posting and graffiti free – the best result the town has achieved in over a decade, with an improvement of 2.4% and 3.3% compared to when the service was contracted. 

Cllr Paul Barnett commented: “This is an exceptional start. I want to thank the public, our residents and visitors, who in a very difficult year have been so responsible in reducing the rubbish on our streets and beaches.

“We want to continue to improve our town by making it a tidy and enjoyable place to work, visit and live. Everyone can play their part, by binning litter, taking it home and reporting any waste they see in the borough directly.” [at https://my.hastings.gov.uk]

• For more information on Tidy Up St Leonards: www.facebook.com/groups/1447868418647271

Local businesses please contact: john@lovehastings.com

We all know that keeping the streets clean is the council’s job, but if there’s no money available then it simply doesn’t get done, unless of course people take charge of their own environment. Lately we’ve seen a proliferation of local groups and individuals working as litter activists and guerrilla gardeners; their efforts are part of a growing countrywide movement. 

The Great British Spring Clean organises mass-action clean-ups. The movement is about “demonstrating that you love where you live” You can pledge to pick up when walking the dog or taking the kids to school or join a clean-up group. Last year more than 560,000 people took part, they’re aiming for 600,000 Litter Heroes.

Rubbish buddies

Pauline Lee, a member of the Green Party and Transition Towns, has been looking into what local people in Hastings are doing about the problem:

“Hastings Borough Council no longer has sufficient funds to keep our streets in good order or keep on top of the mountain of litter we continue to generate – so it’s heartening to see that many in our community are taking things into their own hands.”

“Many people have been involved in the clearing of our beaches including the groups Transition Town and Strandliners. Others focus on woodlands or green spaces such as the West and East Hills and Old St Clements churchyard. All Saints Junior Academy joined with locals to clear the area around the reservoirs behind Harold Road and the Eco-Therapy group tackled Summerfield Woods in the spring collecting 40 bags of rubbish and some dumped furniture. They intend to make this an annual event.”

 “There’s a small army of individuals and groups maintaining not just the streets outside their own homes but also the surrounding areas. Folk are ‘doing it for themselves’ in central Hastings, the Old Town, the West Hill and Braybrook, in Ore village and St. Leonards and further out on the Rye and Winchelsea Roads. Others are clearing the passageways and green areas of the Hollington Estate, the streets of Baird and Halton ward and Salters Lane. A group of ‘rubbish buddies’ are cleaning from Hastings Academy down to Frederick Rd.”

Doing the council’s job

HIP also spoke to members of ‘Tidy Up St. Leonards’, a fast-growing group founded by John Funnell, like many others fed up with seeing litter everywhere. John decided to take action and began picking up rubbish. Gradually other people began to join in. However, it wasn’t all plain sailing. Richard Wesley, a group coordinator told us that they had become used to derisory remarks from some passers-by with comments including “Oy mate that’s the council’s job”. Group members are often mistaken for people doing enforced community service rather than volunteers giving their time to improve the local environment.

Wesley became involved with the group when he and his wife stopped to talk to John Funnell and thank him for his efforts. Before long he found himself helping with their admin and social media. They were soon part of the online world with their own website, Facebook Group and a presence on Twitter, Instagram and You Tube.

Tidy Up St Leonards recently merged with the group ‘Wishing Tree Woodland’ involved in the conservation of Pondswood. The woodland work has proved so popular that the group is currently planning to take on another woodland in the HBC area. In November 2019 ‘Tidy Up’ became a registered charity. Their work has been rewarded with support and funding from various sources including other charities and the supermarket Asda. This has enabled the purchase of safety gear, equipment and a trailer for storage and transportation. Skips have been provided free of charge on some occasions, in one case by Tesco.

Eco-therapy

So where are we going with all this? According to Pauline Lee, the litter problem in our town is a small part of a much bigger story. A trip to the dump gives a shocking snapshot of the profligacy of our throw away society. All over the country, every day, car after car, truck after truck is lining up to dispose of stuff. Our thoughtless actions have created a toxic legacy for generations to come. Action needs to happen on an international scale, involving major changes in the way we lead our lives.

Richard Wesley of Tidy Up St Leonards echoes these sentiments arguing that the only way forward in the long run is to change the mind set of the public. He believes that over the last 20 years or so, we have, as a society, lost respect. “Respect for where and how we live, for each other and even ourselves.”

Perhaps the most important thing we can do is to educate children in local and global citizenship and individual responsibility for health and environment. This subject will be featured in future articles.

For more information on Tidy up St Leonards go to their Facebook page
and Rubbish click here

Read more about Gardening Guerrillas in Hastings

Filthy Statistics 

• 226 million cigarette butts discarded in England every year 

• £1 billion – the estimated cost of picking up litter in Britain in 2015

• 11,212 bottles and cans collected in just one month during 2018 Green Clean Campaign

• 2.25 million pieces of litter dropped on the streets every day (source: Symphony Environmental).

• Government estimate of people engaged in UK litter action 378,300 for 2017/2018.

• According to local activists this figure has probably doubled since.

• 2018 ‘Tidy up St Leonards’ removed approximately 1314 bags of litter from our streets. 

• 2019 they removed 2207 bags.

• 2018 volunteers gave 1,112 hours of their time

• 2019 the number of volunteered hours rose to 1,560