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As we approach the end of another year it’s a good time to take stock of just what has been going on in our town. Sometimes we can take changes for granted and perhaps forget just how much has been happening in really such a short time. Just think back two years or so and then reflect on the differences around us.
At the start of 2002 we didn’t have a new railway station. We didn’t have a University Centre – now home to around 400 students with its brand new tiered lecture theatre which opened in September.
Two years ago not all our local telephone exchanges could handle broadband – now they can. We didn’t have a broadband demonstration centre in Robertson Street. It has now advised 120 companies about their technology needs. We didn’t have the Creative Media Centre next door either. It now houses 12 small businesses and when its second phase opens on the other side of Robertson Street there will be room for about another 30.
At the start of 2002 the Marlborough, the Queen’s Hotel and Regent Court were all eyesores. Now there is not a derelict building on the seafront.
There is not a town of our size anywhere in the country which has seen such an improvement in that time.
In two more years from now the change will be even more dramatic. Our regeneration Task Force now has planning permission for an Innovation Centre for modern businesses on the Churchfields industrial estate, for the first phase of the Ore Valley housing redevelopment and for the transformation of the Marina Pavilion. The planning application for the redevelopment of the Station Yard will be considered in the first part of 2005.
But improving our town for everyone isn’t just about the big physical regeneration schemes; it’s also about making things better in our local neighbourhoods right here and now. It’s about making the borough clean, green and safe.
The Government has included Hastings among the 50 towns in its Together Action programme. This is about dealing effectively with nuisance and anti-social behaviour and also about removing rubbish, flytipping, abandoned cars etc. So that when any of us walk out of our front doors we see a community we want to be part of.
This is what the council, its partners and we hope residents too can achieve by acting together.
As always our About magazine will be reporting on the progress in the transformation of Hastings and St Leonards.
Councillor Jeremy Birch
Leader of Hastings Borough Council
The Council’s courier is helping keep the environment healthy, thanks to a new Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) van.
Gone is the old diesel vehicle, replaced instead with the sleek, environmentally sound Peugeot Partner.
Changing to a greener car is just one of the Council’s efforts to be a greener local authority. Staff are encouraged to recycle paper and plastic, save electricity and only print emails when absolutely necessary.
Councillor Godfrey Daniel, portfolio holder for the environment, said:
“It’s vital we lead the way in green issues. We can’t ask others to adopt an environmentally friendly attitude if we don’t follow one ourselves. LPG vehicles are proven to have low emissions and are less damaging to the environment.”
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Pictures courtesy of Bob Mazzer
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This page last updated: 09/12/2004