Hastings & St Leonards Community Strategy 2003 - 2013

Change Correspondents

Although targets and statistics will be essential tools for monitoring the progress of the community strategy, they can't possibly tell us the whole story.
After all, this is about changing the lives of real people.
That's why we've asked several of our residents to become 'change correspondents'.
These residents all have one thing in common - they genuinely care about the town and its future.
You can read about their lives as they are today, the things they like and dislike and their hopes for the future.
As we make our progress checks on the community strategy, they'll be able to tell us how lives are changing ...

Tania

Tania I live in the Ore Valley area. I was born and brought up in Hastings. After college, I fell into a job in the local civil service. This temporary measure has lasted 10 years!

In October 2002 everyone in Ore Valley was invited to a meeting of the Ore Valley Forum at the Priory Neighbourhood Centre to examine the projects taking place in the area.

During their elections somehow I was voted Chair. This group had been running since 1995 and was set up as a voice for the community.

This role has developed through the neighbourhood renewal initiatives.

The past 6 months have been an eye-opening experience. I am glad I accidentally became involved. Our town has so much going for it and going to happen to it over the next 10 years.

There are many things I'd like improved in the town and surrounding area. There is one thing that we all have the power to influence and that is many local people's attitude.

If we continue to think the town down, in our and others eyes it will be a downtrodden place. We have so many assets here. For example we have the seaside which the Council has worked hard to clean up and maintain the 'A' rating from EnCams (formerly the Tidy Britain Group). We have some beautiful countryside in and around our town with the Greenway Project attempting to link up the town with pleasant cycleways and footpaths.

This will improve sustainable transport and access to our green spaces will be enhanced. We have some stunning architecture and a history that marks us out globally. With all the initiatives to try and improve our environment, build communities and improve health and wealth, a community with a greater positive attitude and appreciation of what we have and strive towards will make all the difference.

Apathy will keep us down. Many people can see the potential. If everyone did do something to become involved in improving our town, the Council's projects would be achieved in record time.

We need everyone to do something, even something as small as not dropping litter or picking it up when you see it will make all the difference. Or you could go the whole hog and become involved with one of the many ongoing projects.

I've been told you only get out what you put in, so if everyone put in just think what we'd get out.

My vision for the town is a place people will be proud to live in. I want to live in a town with a positive feel and a great sense of community spirit. It goes without saying I want crime reduced, the environment improved and a greater wealth, health and happiness for everyone in the town.

Here's hoping. I know as you're reading this I'm preaching to the converted. I don't know how else to make this change happen. There's no magic wand to wave, sorry, only hard graft to look forward to.

Pablo

Pablo I am originally from the London borough of Lambeth and came to Hastings in the summer of 1996 after living in Los Angeles, California and immediately decided to stay. My wife and two children were delighted to be living by the sea and, to me, Hastings in the summer seemed so similar to the 'vibe' I had experienced in America.

My working life has always been built on a desire to enjoy whatever it is I may be doing, and that led me to theatre and music, which I discovered I have some small ability in. Also the area I grew up in was notorious for the amount of celebrities it created and nurtured.

Having worked as far as L.A. and Hungary in various positions I find Hastings to be just as cosmopolitan and alive. I am currently a part of the team at The Step-On Project in Robertson Street.

I love Hastings. I love living and working here and welcome any initiatives or strategies that would lead to enhancing the potential within the town and its often misunderstood residents.

There seems to be very little or disjointed communication between the older generation and youth in Hastings, hence most young people honestly believe there is little to do in the town.

We do, I believe, have a very fast growing youth population and yet there seems to be no-one taking up this issue and saying "this is what we must do." Hastings is the home of many poignant important moments in history and also a number of fairly famous personalities: perhaps we could somehow pass this onto our young people to instill in them a sense of pride for their manor.

Hastings & St Leonards, Bexhill and Rye have some of the country's most talented creative professionals. How are we making use of their talents and how does this reflect in the town's physical appearance? How are we exploiting, for the benefit of our own future, their vast talents?

We have a good sports record with Olympic standard athletes within the town and committed individuals who have even written books on the subject. There are possibilities I am sure, for some sort of environmentally friendly youth programme to be created, which would again utilise the natural resources of our seaside town; we could within a short space of time become a breeding ground for young botanists, biologists/scientists (if we are not already?), or at worst informed young rebels.

Hastings and St.Leonards is a very beautiful and vibrant town. We are not Brighton, Eastbourne or Southampton and should strive to remain as individual as we can for this is the town's strength and I believe we can exploit that individuality to increase the number of visitors and residents alike, improving the quality of services and life for both.

Over the next 5 - 10 years there will be much activity and we will come under many a microscope. Hopefully this will reveal not only the problem areas of the town, but some radical ideas to also tackle these issues. Hastings may well be the seaside Mecca of old again.

Phil

Phil My name is Philip Carey and I am Member of Youth Parliament for Hastings and Rother. I have lived in Hastings all my life (19 years) and love the place! I live with my family and work for Hastings Borough Council as a Community Sports Assistant on the Sport 4 U programme. I really enjoy what I do because it is doing stuff for young people. I have to represent so many young people but really and truly when you get to know young people and work with them they are the best times of your life and it really does make what I do more enjoyable and interesting.

As nineteen year olds, me and my partner are concerned about how we can ever afford to buy a property in Hastings because they are so expensive. I do not want to move to somewhere else but this may have to happen because just to buy a decent house costs about £100,a000 and this sort of money is just not thinkable at my age.

I want to see a lot of people who have grown up in the town and who love the town to stay but the way things have been going people are not going to be able to afford this. Hopefully this issue can and will be sorted out because it affects everyone in the town!

I would love this town to be much bigger but also everyone who comes into this town can feel they are a part of the community Hastings with more things to do and a safer town. I would like to see morecommunity centres and places where young people can go and hang out and play sport.

I hope that in ten years time Hastings will be easier to get to from the road and train because this will also boost the population if people can live in Hastings and get to London in an hour! I just hope that many young people of today can grow up in Hastings and be proud to be a part of what Hastings is and what it will be like in ten years time which would bring a totally different feel to it and make it a better place.

Valerie

Valerie I am a native of the town. Having moved several times I always come back.

I am at the college trying to become an artist. Living on my own having had one son Alex who has long since left home life is great fun and I am finally in control of my life.

I would like to see a more inclusive society for the future. I see around me too many people excluded from many events that would enrich their lives. The one issue above all else that I believe that would make our town a better place to live in would be inclusivity which in turn would bring pride of being part of a great town.

The way of making that happen in my opinion is to make people feel good about themselves. Make them feel they have a part to play. Bring them in out of the cold. Give every one a feel good factor by personally inviting each individual to feel special.

I want people to say "this is the town I live in, it is a great place to live. Visit us, enjoy our amenities, come and live here with us if you feel you would like to."

I feel it is getting better all the time and in 10 years time people are going to say I'm lucky I LIVE IN HASTINGS AND ST. LEONARDS.

Ian

Ian In 2001, I bought a Victorian house in Bohemia, with my expartner Tracey and our young son George, where we feel very much at home. I work in London, but I'd like to return to being a self-employed ceramic artist and set up business here in Hastings. Tracey works locally and does a Fine Art degree. George is at St Paul's school.

We moved out of London in 1998, in search of a more affordable and better quality of life and firstly ended up in the countryside.

But I feel more countrified here, where our garden next to Alexandra Park is a semi-rural area of peace and quiet with woodland views.

Every green space and garden contributes positively to its local environment and I want to see Hastings' green heritage conserved along with the wonderful architecture. Having become involved locally in dealings with the council about plans for our own neighbourhood, I feel that planning procedures need improving.

I also feel the town's recent major consultation process didn't give enough time for people to respond. I'd like many more residents to get involved in decision making locally. I also think bad statistics shouldn't be emphasised, as the media is only too happy to sensationalise them.

I'm concerned too at the present lack of good local jobs. I'd like more environmental improvements, repainting of houses and planting of trees and I'd like better informed council research - more listening, better communication.

For regeneration plans, I'd like a regular consultation process with displays and a simple ideas box. I want the local forums to be userfriendly.

Hastings is a healthy and pleasant place to live, so I'd like to see that publicised. I'd like the council to help create workshop centres for artists, designers and craftspeople.

Hastings is also a great place to work from home- so more I.T. and Broadband is a good idea.

George is now 8. Hastings is also young. I look forward to a young university culture re-energising the whole town. I'd like to see the spirit and the lives of all local people uplifted. It's time for Hastings to be a sparkling top resort. I'd also like a more family-friendly environment, a fishing fleet still fishing and a thriving artistic community.

I want Hastings to be a place where local people believe in themselves and can realise their full potential and where every person in the town makes a difference. Whatever regeneration brings, it will still be up to everyone to really make it work.

If Hastings reaches for the stars, the journey at least will be in the right direction and will surely bring many worthwhile and exciting achievements on the way!

Elizabeth and Carol

Elizabeth and Carol We've retired from work but our days are filled caring for South Saxons Wetlands in West St Leonards. The issues we feel strongly about are protecting the environment and all green spaces. Educating young people about their countryside and how to respect and use it. More community centres with sports facilities, places where people can meet safely and feel more at ease with their friends. Having clubs for all ages, sports, discos, natural history, hobbies, less children on the streets with nothing to do.

By caring for the countryside, especially the green spaces in Hastings & St Leonards, we would improve the quality of life for all ages in the town. We also want to see more funding and publicity available for the management of these valuable and beautiful green spaces, improvement to public transport to visit these areas and more 'bobbies on the beat'.

The town is looking good right now but let's hope the next 10 years see even greater improvements. We'd like to see more funding for West St Leonards, derelict sites developed, less traffic, better public transport and greater emphasis on recycling which will help the countryside. All of these improvements will undoubtedly bring a healthier and safer town. We hope the next ten years will be kind to us and we will still be caring for South Saxons Wetlands. We'd like to see a greener place, a safer place, a special place.

Graham and Theresa

Graham and Theresa I have lived in Stainsby Street since 1994 and my husband, Graham, moved down in 1998 when we married. We both work for the East Sussex Disability Association which aims to support and empower disabled people to play an equal part in society. I also transcribe documents into braille and provide disability equality training on a self-employed basis.

There are a number of issues that concern us, but two main ones are: Whilst regenerating Hastings & St Leonards, the town needs to remain an affordable one for people to live and work in. Our concern is that having improved the appearance of the town, property prices will inflate without improving the employment prospects for the people who already live here. It's great to make Hastings & St Leonards a town that people want to move to from other towns but remember the people who are already here and struggling on low incomes.

But most of all, we need to improve the social aspect of the town. Hastings & St Leonards has a bad reputation not least because of its drug and alcohol related problems.

If we do not address these issues and make them a priority then we have no hope of successfully regenerating the area where it is most needed.

We need to cater for our tourist population by creating safe and adequate parking facilities throughout the town and surrounding area and to improve road access into the town. By doing these things, we will improve the economic aspect and it will be made easier for people to visit the town.

In 10 years time we'd like Hastings and St Leonards to have a good reputation and be a place where people want to come and live. We'd like to see all relevant organisations working together to best meet the needs of the town's residents.

Pragna and Rama

Pragna and Rama We've lived in Hastings for 20 years and, after friends used to come by and say how fantastic our food was, decided to open up our restaurant East2West in the Old Town. Whenever you eat out with a group of people, there's always a compromise. One person fancies Indian, the other Chinese and the other Mexican. With us there's no compromise. We serve a variety of homemade dishes to suit people of all tastes.

We are a unique business in the heart of a unique town. Hastings is fast becoming a multicultural town with people from all backgrounds living and working together. It's a town where the old and the new, the familiar and the unfamiliar sit side by side. Lying midway between the Old Town and the main town, our restaurant is very much a symbol of this unique quality.

This town requires better roads to attract more people and better public transport too. The A21 definitely needs to be made into a dual carraigeway which would shorten the driving time from London and bring jobs, prosperity and new businesses. Hastings has far more history and significance than Brighton which is now a city. We want to make more of the town's remarkable history but we also want to make more of the lesser known aspects.

George Street is perhaps the most amazing and beautiful place in the Old Town. Most people visit the seafront, the crazy golf and the amusement arcades and then return home. This is a big shame because they're missing out on the best of Hastings. The Eastern end of the seafront requires a prominent landmark structure that can be seen from a few miles away. We need this or something similar to attract people and be prominent and different from other seaside resorts.

We need people to know that our town isn't like any other. It's unique. It's special. It has something for everyone. Everybody in the town should pull together to make the most of its potential.

To us the town is like an uncut diamond that's underrated but once cut and polished by a master craftsman will outshine all other towns on the South Coast of England.

This page last updated: 12/11/2003

Community and Living

See Also: