When the Archery Ground was allowed to add another five flats recently, the Affordable Housing adjustment (compensation) was calculated as £96,667.50. The formula is explained in Policy H3 of Hastings Borough Council (HBC) and the sum is derived from Open Market Value (OMV). A Freedom of Information request on the calculation was refused on the grounds of commercial confidentiality. How can Open Market Value be confidential? Bernard McGinley reports on more evidence of mismanagement.
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HOT’s Judy Parkinson threw on her sou’wester and grabbed her fishing net for a preview of a trio of new exhibitions at Hastings Contemporary, all with a distinctly salty flavour. The gallery is treating us to a summer of water-based sensations with not one, but three shows about what lives and lies beneath the element that shapes our town.
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Feast of Fiddles – ““Britain’s fiddling supergroup” according to BBC Radio 2’s Mark Radcliffe – have a Hastings date at the Phoenix Arts Centre on Saturday 12 April coming up on their 30th Spring Tour. Maxine Soars explains what lies in store.
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One of the hardest working jazz musicians in the business will be featured in Jazz Hastings’ April session. He is Nigel Price, whose organ trio will be appearing at our next gig on Tuesday 8 April, writes Julian Norridge.
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The Labour government has justified its intention to impose swingeing cuts on the benefits for people with disabilities as a “moral duty.” In an open letter to Helena Dollimore, who supports the move, Hastings resident Felicity Laurence predicts the cuts will have a devastating effect on people’s lives and asks our MP to reconsider her position.
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Hastings Borough Council (HBC) is noted for its lack of resources, which is not their fault. Why therefore would it commission and pay for a land stability report when a planning applicant hadn’t provided an adequate one? The planning department won’t explain. Bernard McGinley reports.
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The current exhibition in the upstairs gallery of Hastings Museum is an extraordinary exploration of a local inventor by two contemporary polymath artists – Jude Montague and Geraldine Swayne. Erica Smith is delighted that this gem of an exhibition has had a stay of execution and will remain on show until 20 April.
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The ‘chemical shutdown’ in sleepy St Leonards was competing in the national news cycle with the closure of Heathrow Airport this week. The story was covered by the BBC, Guardian, Independent, Metro and Sky News. But what’s the word on the street? HOT reporter brings you the latest news and speculation.
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Hastings Philharmonic Choir’s next concert, on Saturday 5 April, will be a performance of Antonin Dvořák’s famous Stabat Mater. They will be accompanied by the Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Marcio da Silva, with soloists Helen May (soprano), Julia Piñon (contralto), Leonel Pinheiro (tenor) and Robert Winslade Anderson (bass). Press officer Gareth Simpson sets the scene.
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Residents and visitors often have an opinion that Hastings and St Leonards is special. What makes it so? Could the borough be improved or looked after better? Hastings Commons is trying to find out, as Bernard McGinley reports.
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At last Thursday’s (20 March) Full Council meeting of East Sussex County Council, members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) handed in a petition of 813 residents calling on the council to divest its pension fund (the East Sussex Pension Fund) from companies enabling Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. Hastings & Rye PSC chair Katy Colley reports.
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Raymond Kilgarriff, exceptional bookseller and much else, died peacefully at his home in St Leonards last month, aged 96. Bernard McGinley remembers an old-fashioned and charming professional.
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Opposition parties were dismayed when the East Sussex County Council elections scheduled for May were cancelled, having held high hopes of removing the Conservatives from power. A poll now suggests that the Tories were indeed heading for a disastrous result, but with Reform UK also set to benefit. Text by Nick Terdre, research and graphics by Russell Hall.
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Hastings Jews for Justice will be marking Passover this year with a community ‘seder’ meal and everyone is invited. Gabriel Carlyle reports.
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The community hub at Alexandra Park greenhouse will imminently be hosting two events, a chance to make a Mother’s Day gift and a talk on combating garden pests. Lynda Foy gives details.
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