Hastings since the birth of HIP
JOEL CHESHIRE
Away from the beach and the high streets, at first glance Hastings might appear to be a town that has resisted change. Our population has barely shifted over the past decade, rising by less than 1% to just over 91,000, a striking contrast to the 6.6% growth seen across England.
But what makes Hastings distinctive is not how much it has grown, but how much it has changed internally. Beneath that flat population line, the town has been quietly restructured – and Hastings Independent has been there to document that change, including the concerns it has raised.
The clearest evidence lies in housing. In Central St Leonards, one-bedroom properties have declined by around 5%, while homes with two or more bedrooms have increased by over 5%. This is not new development, but conversion, as smaller, often lower-cost rental units are combined into larger homes. The effect is subtle but significant. It reshapes who can afford to live in these areas without altering the skyline.
The consequences are already visible. Demand for housing support has surged, with more than 1,000 new applicants recorded and council spending rising from £700,000 to over £5.6 million. These figures suggest that, even as parts of Hastings appear to improve, access to housing is becoming more precarious for many residents.
Change is also unevenly distributed. While overall home ownership has risen slightly to 56.6%, one of the larger increases nationally, this masks a split within the town. In some central wards, ownership has increased, while in others it has fallen sharply. Hastings is experiencing pockets of transformation.
Work and education tell a similar story. The proportion of residents in professional occupations has risen by several percentage points, particularly in central areas, while lower-skilled work has declined. Degree-level qualifications have increased significantly in some neighbourhoods by over 10%. These are not marginal shifts. They indicate the arrival, or emergence, of a different kind of workforce, one that is likely to have higher incomes and different expectations of the town, one that has been encouraged by the increase in home working post pandemic.
At the same time, other indicators suggest a harsher reality. Hastings remains one of the more deprived areas in the Southeast, and although unemployment has fallen from 4.9% to 3.4%, it still sits among the highest in England. Improvements exist, but they are partial and uneven.
Demographic changes deepen the picture. The town is aging, with the median age rising to 43 and the number of people aged over 65 increasing by nearly 20%. Meanwhile, the ethnic composition is slowly diversifying, with the proportion of residents in ‘other’ ethnic groups tripling, and the white population falling from 93.8% to 91.4%.
Even social identity is changing. More residents now report no religion and fewer identify as married, with those never married rising to nearly 40% of adults. These are the kinds of changes that rarely make headlines, yet collectively they reshape the character of a place.
Taken together, the change in data from when HIP started out reveals a paradox. Hastings looks stable because its population has barely grown. But stability in size has concealed transformation in structure. Housing is being reconfigured, the workforce is shifting and the social fabric is gradually being rewoven. What remains clear is that Hastings is changing more than it appears. Not through dramatic expansion, but through quieter, more concentrated shifts that are easy to overlook.
‘Up-and-Come’ St Leonards
HIP 29 March, 2026
St Leonards was named among the top ten places to live in the southeast of England in a Sunday Times feature Best Places to Live 2026 published last weekend.
hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/up-and-come
Changing Hastings: Town Meeting Addresses Housing Issues
HIP 29 November 2019
Participants were split into five discussion areas: price rises, second homes/Airbnb, private rented, who owns Hastings? and a ‘wildcard’, with three potential approaches to each of these issues: what the council and/or government could do, what campaigns locals could lead, and what practical solutions could be implemented.
hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/changing_hastings
What’s it like to be a newcomer in Hastings?
15 December, 2020
I moved here with my partner in August, well aware that the coronavirus had turned the trickle of DFLs into a deluge.
hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/newcomer
Change to Airbnb in Hastings: Scourge or Blessing?
HIP 29 November 2019
Of course, seaside towns like Hastings have always had transient visitors. But the current trend, accelerated by Airbnb, has made property unaffordable. When young people can’t afford to buy or even to rent in their own town, the balance is wrong. I have nothing against Airbnb, but it is adding incrementally to the housing crisis in our town. We don’t want our neighbourhoods turning into ‘ghost towns’ as they have in Cornwall and elsewhere.
hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/Airbnb
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