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  • The garden created by Transition Town Hastings at Warrior Square station.

    Transition Town Hastings celebrates 10 years of greening the town

    Transition Town Hastings celebrates 10 years of leading the town towards greening ways of living. Its activities tend to pass under the radar, but in a quiet way it has made its mark on our environment. Nick Terdre reports. Continue reading…


    Poet, singer-songwriter and cabaret-influenced performer Oli Spleen talks about his band SPLEEN in advance of their gig at The Pig on Friday 25 July.

    Jude Montague set him a series of questions to help find out more about this rare band which reveal some secret facts and thoughts.

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    Opera South East hit the road with new Gilbert & Sullivan gala evening

    Opera South East are hitting the road to bring their Gilbert & Sullivan Gala to local audiences in Winchelsea, Battle and Bexhill. Chairman John Rycroft describes the delights in store.

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    Devolution: how does the financial side work?

    Devolution will put more money in the hands of local government as well as greater freedom in deciding how to spend it, says the government. But where does this money come from? And will devolution lead to increased local taxation? Nick Terdre (text) and Russell Hall (research and graphics) investigate.

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    Georgia Mancio and Alan Broadbent headline at Jazz Hastings

    Two major jazz musicians, one relatively new and one incredibly well established, will be performing at the next Jazz Hastings session. Georgia Mancio and Alan Broadbent will be performing songs from their new, as yet unreleased, album. Julian Norridge reports.

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    Art exhibition and Easter Day fun at Alexandra Park greenhouse

    VISITORS can help celebrate World Earth Day at a special art exhibition to be held in the Alexandra Park greenhouse in conjunction with Art in the Park on Saturday 26 April. Separately volunteers at the greenhouse will also provide Easter Day activities for families on Sunday 20th. Lynda Foy describes the upcoming events.

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    Old Bathing Pool site exhibition/ consultation on Tuesday 29 April

    By any standards the Old Bathing Pool is an exceptional site, so what is to become of it? Interest is intense, especially in West St Leonards, but the future of the Bathing Pool site is crucial to the borough as a whole, as improvement, and an opportunity for rebalancing it. So far it has been unclear what is proposed. That is about to change, on 29 April. Will the proposals harmonise with the suggestions and ideas of local people? Bernard McGinley reports.

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    HBC seeks residents’ views on its housing strategy

    Hastings Borough Council is seeking feedback from residents and other stakeholders to help inform the development of its new housing strategy. A steering group has already been established and a survey has just been published on the council website to tap people’s views and experiences. Public meetings are also planned to encourage the public to get involved. Nick Terdre reports.

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    Unitary options explored as plan for Hastings Town Council floated

    Hastings Borough Council has delivered its interim response to the government on how local government should be reorganised. It was preceded by a lengthy debate in Full Council when three options for a unitary authority or authorities in East Sussex were proposed. Plans for setting up a Hastings Town Council are also being aired. Text by Nick Terdre, research and graphics by Russell Hall.

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    Open market information is commercially confidential, says Council

    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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    It’s sea time: sights and sounds, myths and mysteries at Hastings Contemporary

    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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    Hastings date for Feast of Fiddles on their 30th Spring Tour

    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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    Hard-working Nigel Price leads organ trio at April’s Jazz Hastings

    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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    Disability benefit cuts: open letter to Helena Dollimore

    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.

    1 comment

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    Council waste money, act for developers, and won’t say why

    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.

    1 comment

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    A historic explosion and an esoteric investigation

    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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