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.
HIP has regularly documented the changing fortunes of the pier over the past 12 years. In fact, the pier’s story has come to define the town’s recent history. In October 2010, a fire destroyed much of the Victorian structure, leaving it closed and derelict for years. What followed was an unusually strong local response: more than 2,000 people invested in a community share scheme to help fund its restoration, and bolster the amount provided by The Heritage Lottery Fund. When the pier reopened in 2016 after a £14 million rebuild, it was widely acclaimed as a community success story, a rare example of local people directly shaping the future of a major landmark.
The project gained national recognition, with the rebuilt pier winning the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2017 for its minimalist design. Yet, for complex reasons, the charity set up to run the pier was unable to maintain its financial sustainability, and it entered administration in 2017. In 2018, amid great controversy, the administrators sold it to the flamboyant owner of Eastbourne Pier, despite a strong bid from The Friends of Hastings Pier. Since then, the pier has faced repeated closures, changes in management and ongoing debate about its long-term role, whether as an events venue, a public space or something in between. It has now been put up for sale and is no longer fully operational.
HASTINGS RETAIL
While the pier has provided a highly visible focal point, change across Hastings has also been unfolding more gradually in its commercial streets. Areas such as the Old Town and parts of St Leonards have seen a steady growth in independent cafés, galleries and small businesses, particularly in the wellbeing sector, over the past decade. This shift is linked to a new influx of creatives and remote workers, mainly from London, drawn by comparatively lower property prices and the town’s coastal setting.
These changes have not been uniform. Hastings town centre continues to be plagued by vacant retail units to some extent caused by national trends including the decline of chain retailers and the rise of online shopping. The contrast between more vibrant, independent-led areas and quieter commercial zones has become increasingly pronounced.
Physical regeneration has also played a role. The Observer Building, once a hub for regional journalism employing hundreds of people, has been redeveloped after many years of neglect. Its transformation into a mixed-use creative and business space – along with several other major buildings in the area – reflect a broader shift away from large-scale local industry toward smaller, more flexible forms of economic activity.
Various pots of government funding have also played a part, but not always in a positive way such as with the abortive attempt to reopen Debenhams building as an events venue. An ongoing project is The Hastings Town Centre Public Realm and Green Connections Project, a £10m- £20m+ initiative to transform the town center with nature-based solutions, enhancing biodiversity, and improving walking/cycling links between the station and seafront.
Together, these developments point to a town in transition. Hastings has seen clear signs of renewal over the past twelve years, through independent enterprise and cultural investment, but also ongoing uncertainty around long-term sustainability.
Pier Future
20 April 2018
Friends of Hastings Pier (FoHP) has submitted an ambitious £3 million bid to take on Hastings Pier in an attempt to save it from being sold off into private ownership.
hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/articles/news/tide-us-over
Judge a man by the company he keeps
29 June 2018
So how did the Sheikh with a string of failed and failing companies get his pier bid approved? “The aim throughout the process was that the heritage asset be sold to the party which demonstrated the highest probability of sustaining it financially into the future and maintained the benefits for Hastings and the wider community”. So stated the administrators
hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/judge-man
What future for Hastings’ Shops?
22 February 2019
Debenhams lies on the fringe of the main shopping area. Flaky exterior paint (take a look from the seaward side) and all the interior charm and excitement of a 1970s East German department store. It is a national chain in deep difficulty
hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/what-future
OB – ‘It’s Going To Happen’
22 September 2020
The Observer Building has suffered 35 years of dereliction, speculation and extraction. This is the first time it has had a deliverable planning permission, and the resources in place to deliver it.
hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/ob-happening
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