Britain’s Best Walking Neighbourhood award

Voting on Britain’s Best Walking Neighbourhood Award is now live until 14 March.

There are many neighbourhoods across the country that are already great for walking, so we’ve launched our first ever Britain’s Best Walking Neighbourhood award to celebrate them.

We asked people to nominate their favourites, and we’ve put together a shortlist of ten of the best. Take a look at the shortlist and cast a vote now for your favourite using the voting form at the bottom of the page.

And the ten nominees are...

Diglis, Worcester

Dumfries, Scotland

Hackney, London

Hastings Old Town, Sussex

Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria

Newtown, Wales

Salford, Greater Manchester

Stocksbridge, South Yorkshire

Town Moor, Newcastle

Walthamstow, London

http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Get%20involved/Campaign%20with%20us/Britains%20Best%20Walking%20Neighbourhood%20award?utm_source=walk%20mag&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=spring%202018

Friends of Hastings Cemetery Update

Walks to be announced : if you would like to arrange a walk see Contact page.

"the grave's a fine and private place…" exploring Hastings Cemetery

New Stories

• Kent, Maria Penelope - died far from her home in Whitchurch, Shropshire

• Langham, James George  & Family -Local Solicitor; lived in the High Street

Recent Story

• Glenn, John M Grey, his wife, sister in law, (M A Graham) and step-son - (Thomas Goldsworthy) raises several questions, why Hastings? Lucknow story? and some of the mourners at the funerals? [see http://thehistorybucket.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/]

Updated Stories

• Evans, Kingsley Alan - a private in the 48thBattalion, Canadian Infantry, died of pneumonia. Uncle was a local schoolteacher
• Whistler Family - Annie, “Whistler’s Mother”, William Whistler, doctor, Helen his wife (nee Ionides)

E-petition re Threat to Rights of Way on the Stade

Two petitions relating to the above, if you wish to register your objection

http://hastings.moderngov.co.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=5

https://www.change.org/p/councillor-sue-beaney-protect-rights-of-way-on-the-stade

Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve - new visitor centre

This week, 19^th to 23^rd February, Hastings Borough Council is undertaking preparatory works on the site of the new visitor centre.  The site has been marked out on the ground and a layer of topsoil to a depth of 30 centimetres is being removed from the footprint of the proposed building.

Archaeology

The County Archaeologist has been on site to oversee the excavation.  There have been archaeological finds during the site works by way of a medieval bracelet and stone age flints.  As a result of the underlying archaeology there are localised excavations that are greater than 30 centimetres. The Hastings Area Archaeology Group will undertake further localised excavation on site before any building works commence.

Outstanding Planning Application
http://publicaccess.hastings.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=_HSTBC_DCAPR_114791

You should be aware that there is an outstanding Planning Application (HS/FA/17/01018) to vary the approved drawings of the granted planning permission for the visitor centre (Reference HS/FA/14/01033). These variations are amendments to the roof structure, window openings, ventilation unit and weatherboarding material.

The Chairman of the Friends of Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve, Andrew Blackmore, has commented on this outstanding application: “Our committee discussed this application at a recent meeting and we have serious concerns. The changes of design and materials proposed represent a significant downgrade in terms of quality and aesthetics. Metal shutters will give the building a particularly grim aspect in what is a highly sensitive location. It is in everyone's interest, we believe, that any new visitor centre at the Country Park is built to the specification that the location deserves, and that the process of decision making is transparent. Changes of this magnitude need proper scrutiny from public and planners alike, and the rationale behind them should be explained in full.”

In This Year of Emancipation Anniversaries……

Hastings Old Town Carnival Association
Press release. 7.2.18.
This year there are exciting changes to the carnival court. We are really pleased to say that following many months of discussion both within the community and the association it has been decided to change the nature of the carnival court. In this year celebrating women’s suffrage it has been agreed that there should be no upper age, or gender barrier to becoming a member of the carnival court. We thank the community for their continued support and input to this exciting decision.

This is the 50th year of Hastings Old Town carnival and we are intending to celebrate in a big way. We are currently hoping to find grants to include many more events and make a whole carnival day.

This year we will open the selection for the carnival court to anybody who lives, works or studies in the Borough of Hastings and St Leonards who is over the age of sixteen. From the entrants the judges will choose both a Sea Queen and a Sea King along with two attendants. It should be a really enjoyable and also ground breaking evening. They will go to represent the town at other carnivals and at various events in the town throughout the year.

The Sea Queen will also gain the title of Miss Hastings for the year and the Sea King a new title of Mr Hastings.

The selection for the new court will be at 6.00pm on Sunday April 15th at the East Hastings Sea Angling club. Entry forms will soon be available on the carnival website https://www.1066.net/carnival/ or by mailing carnival@1066.net. We ask everybody who would like to become our new Sea King and Queen to come along.

Stade Amusement Park Planning Application

HS/EX/18/00067 | Application for a lawful development certificate for existing use as an Amusement Park

This is an application to make the whole of the Amusement area an enclosed amusement park.  There is no facility on the planning website to make a comment as "This application type is not open to public consultation"

In the past an application for a designated right of way was claimed  but it was found that the public 'of right' owing to the Foreshore Trust did not need a designated RoW order.

Despite reading the application closely there seems to be no specifics as to the nature that the enclosing of the area would take.  The following section 4.51 of the planning statement relating to a previous application seems to be the nearest indication:

"Planning permission granted on 22nd August 2005 under reference HS/FA/05/00400 allowed new railings to increase the height of the boundary enclosure. The approved plans, decision notice, case officer’s report and minutes of the planning board are included in Appendix 7.

The red-line on the approved plans outlines the entirety of the site including the boating lake and land to the west of the lake. The approved plans appear to relate to a gated entrance to the site from East Beach Street. The plans and photographs show an existing brick wall enclosing the site, topped with metal railings. The case officer in her planning report noted that elsewhere on the site the operators can erect fences of any design of up to 2m in height without the need to submit a planning application.

The case officer notes the concerns from objectors that the now approved railings would enclose the whole site allowing extensive permitted development rights under part 28 of schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995. The case officer clearly states, ‘The site is however already enclosed by the existing gates and flower beds and the situation would not be altered by the current proposal’, which is now approved and implemented. Therefore, the council accepts that the entire site was enclosed in 2005 and benefited from the above permitted development rights. There are two conditions attached to the decision notice relating to the time-period of implementation and requiring the railings to be painted within one month of their erection. There is no condition removing the permitted development rights on the site.”

There 17 listed constraints; one would think this enough to get it thrown out on Round 1, but don't leave it to chance, write to your councillor now before something we don't want  becomes a fait accompli.

 

Talk - The East Hill & High Wickham

Hastings History House

21 Courthouse Street 

Saturday, 10th February 5.30 pm

Tickets - Members - £4

Non-Members - £5

Refreshments Available

 "High Wickham is surely the literary Mecca Hastings, and. indeed, I doubt whether any other spot England can boast so many celebrities within so small an area." Hastings and St Leonards Observer - Saturday 14 May 1910

Hastings Library - Brassey Building, reopening

Themajor project to refurbish Hastings Library is nearing completion and the library will reopen to the public at 10am on Friday 2 March. 

The interior of the library in Claremont, Hastings, has been completely refurbished with new furniture, more computers, free Wi-Fi and improved toilet facilities.

The improvements will bring the Children's Library, formerly based in nearby Robertson Passage, into the Brassey Institute.  The library will host children’s activities including Code Clubs, Rhymetime and Storytime.

Adults can join IT For You to develop computer skills or ask for help in a Computer Buddy session.  There will be a wide range of books to borrow and reference information available, as well as DVDs, and health, wellbeing and reminiscence resources.

Public computers provide free access to the internet, training courses, online reference materials, research programs for family history, and the Learning Services computer suite has been completely upgraded, providing opportunities to improve literacy, numeracy and computer skills.

The temporary library in Robertson Passage will close at 5pm on Saturday 24 February to enable stock to be moved into the new library.

During the move, from Monday 26 February to Thursday 1 March, library services will be available at Hollington or Ore libraries.