Local Democracy Week kicks off on October 22 at Priory Meadow.
Around 20 stalls will adorn the shopping centre, staffed by Council officers and Councillors. Pop along for advice and information on everything from local services to your role in the democratic process. The stalls will be out all day and are a great opportunity to find out more about your Council.
Hastings and Rother's largest inter-trading exhibition, Let's Do Business will be taking place for a third consecutive year thanks to the support of key sponsors Ten Sixty Six Enterprise, BT Local Business, NatWest, Sea Space and Sussex Enterprise.
Neil Hooper, commercial manager for NatWest, says:
"We are delighted to be associated with this event and believe it will be extremely valuable for us to be involved at a sponsorship level to demonstrate our support for the local business community."
The event, set up by the Hastings Business Broker in 2003, aims to boost the Hastings & Rother economy through the promotion of local procurement. With 89 exhibitors, more than 600 people through the doors and in excess of 700 business leads/new suppliers generated on the day, last year's event was highly rated by businesses and visitors alike.
"Last year was an ideal opportunity for local businesses to showcase their activity and provided them with an opportunity to find local suppliers and customers, all of which helps to keep resources within the town and district."
says Jonathan Dolding, business broker for Hastings and St Leonards, and organiser of the event.
Exhibition space has been snapped up for this year, as the event has become one of the most significant dates in the business calendar across the whole area.
"We have accommodated an additional six exhibition stands in the main auditorium and have added a further 18 stands in a secondary room to cater for the increased demand, almost all of which have been booked"
continues Jonathan.
"Our primary focus now is to generate foot traffic on the day."
Let's do Business 2005, featuring 130 exhibition stands, the 2005 Business Directory, a range of business workshops, covering marketing, networking, business growth and employment law, will be held from 10am - 5pm at The Hastings Centre on Thursday, November 10 2005. For more details visit Let's Do Business, email: info@letsdobusiness.org or call 01424 205507.
For your chance to win a 4GB Apple iPod, courtesy of Ten Sixty Six Enterprise, and to enjoy fast track entry into the event pre-register online as an exhibition visitor by 28th October. Offer open to exhibition visitors only.
Pupils at Sacred Heart School scooped first place in the Summer Walk to School Week Challenge. Hastings mayor Pam Brown visited the pupils to present them with the challenge shield and a cheque for £88, an amount equivalent to the percentage of pupils who walked to school during the challenge week in May.
Red Lake School came second with 76 per cent of its pupils walking with both Hollington and Elphinstone taking a joint third place with 75 per cent.
Sacred Heart's headteacher said:
"Encouraging as many children as possible to walk to school is part of our 'being healthy' campaign".
Councillor Godfrey Daniel, portfolio holder for Transport and Community Safety, said:
"The Walk to School challenge takes place twice a year and is organised by our walking bus officer. Congratulations to the staff, parents and children of Sacred Heart School for winning the trophy. This school already has two very popular walking buses in operation and two new routes in the pipeline for September."
Sacred Heart School, together with the Grove School, in Darwell Close, was recently awarded a substantial grant from the county council's School Travel Plan grant scheme.
The grants, £5,145 for Sacred Heart and £10,280 for The Grove, will go towards encouraging walking, cycling and car-sharing to get to school and making physical improvements to the school to accommodate these plans.
To find out more about the Walking Bus scheme telephone 01424 783340.
Town leaders have welcomed a report that describes Hastings as a property hotspot.
The report, issued in September by the Royal Bank of Scotland, rates Hastings as seventh in the top 20 best places to buy for first time buyers.
Council leader Jeremy Birch said:
"This report really confirms what we already know, that Hastings is the place to be and is an up and coming area. We have seen property prices rise in Hastings and St Leonards and we are sure this increase will continue.
"Thurrock, which came top of the list, was chosen because of its regeneration programme and Hastings too can boast this asset. We are being recognised for the huge improvements that are happening to the town through regeneration. In the coming months and years we will see extensive physical and social improvements to our town. Buy now because Hastings and St Leonards is a great investment."
The statistics were generated after analysing 2,800 postcodes and gathering information from experts including chartered surveyors and estate agents. Hastings is singled out for having relatively inexpensive average house prices and experiencing above average growth.
The DVLA is making a drive to get rid of untaxed and abandoned vehicles from the streets of Hastings but did you know that forgetting to keep your own driving licence and registration document up to date could slow down their efforts?
One in three driving licences in Hastings is not accurate and inaccurate information really impacts on police and council work. If your car is stolen and your paperwork is inaccurate police time is then wasted checking that you are the rightful owner of the car, when they could be out looking for the thief.
Many people do not realise that is a legal requirement to keep your driving licence and registration certificate up to date - break the law and it could land you with a £1,000 fine. There is also the road safety issue. If you have bought a car, which is then subject to a safety recall, information provided by DVLA will be used to trace the owners of defective vehicles. On average over 1 million vehicles are recalled every year. The vast majority of these recalled vehicles were recaptured successfully, but a large number of vehicles remain untraceable because keepers have not informed DVLA of their new address.
"We are encouraging motorists to MOT their paperwork in the same way they MOT their car. Keeping your driving documents up to date is as important as checking your car is roadworthy."
said a DVLA spokesperson.
You can update your details on direct.gov.uk.
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This page last updated: 29/09/2005