On Monday, 23 April 2001, Hastings Borough Council successfully prosecuted Ms Lynette Adams and Mr Rodney Michael Cornelius for failing to comply with the noise conditions of a Public Entertainment Licence in respect of the London Trader Public House under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.
On 17 September 2000, officers of the Council’s Environmental Protection Team visited the London Trader Public House as part of a noise monitoring programme in response to numerous noise complaints received about weekend entertainment.
The London Trader Public House hold a Public Entertainment Licence issued to Ms Lynette Adams and Mr Rodney Michael Cornelius. Each Public Entertainment Licence issued by the Council has as a condition a maximum noise limit that can be emanated from the premises.
Officers visiting the London Trader Public House on 17 September noted live entertainment noise clearly audible from the road outside Hastings Wall. Music was played so loud that there was distortion with some vocals becoming incoherent. Noise readings taken on 17 September exceeded the levels set out in the Noise Condition of the Public Entertainment Licence by over 5 decibels.
Both Ms Adams and Mr Cornelius did not attend Court but pleaded guilty by post. The Magistrates considered the impact on the victims and the aggravating features of the offence and imposed a fine of £600 each and ordered both parties to pay £200 each in costs to the Council. Ms Adams and Mr Cornelius were given 28 days to pay.
The Council’s Environmental Protection Team have a robust policy on enforcement particularly in respect of the licensing of public entertainments.
The first ever beach clean under the umbrella of the Adopt a Beach scheme took place this weekend, and amongst the bizarre items volunteers picked up was a plastic alien and a pair of underpants!
Twenty three volunteers and children attended the event on Saturday (April 28th) at Pelham Beach, armed with refuse sacks and forms to record what they picked up. Nineteen bags of litter was picked up - a total weight of 58kg.
Other items you might not expect to find on a beach were two chicken beanie bags, a child's drink beaker, a hoover attachment, an old chair, some car parts, an old chair and some glow sticks!
There were 2,269 individual items of litter:
The scheme is run by Hastings Council and supported by the Marine Conservation Society, which sets out how the items should be sourced.
Adopt a Beach is part of a national scheme to raise awareness of the problems and dangers of coastal and marine litter. All the information gathered will enable the volunteer group to identify local litter inputs and target the polluters responsible.
The scheme is funded by the National Lottery and aims to have 250 beaches adopted by the end of the year, making it the largest coastal environmental initiative.
Councillor John Humphries, Cabinet Member responsible for Community Participation, said:
"This scheme is a great opportunity for local people to get involved in, and find out more about their local environment. Volunteers will take part in four cleans per year - monitoring the health of our beach and ensuring that it is a place for everyone to enjoy - I am delighted that so many people have been willing to donate some of their spare time to this project."
If you are heading down to the Pier or watching the Morris dancers this weekend and you've never seen the Hastings Embroidery, you can go and see it for free from Saturday to Tuesday inclusive, before it closes and is moved temporarily.
The Embroidery is currently on display in the Sussex Hall at the White Rock Theatre, but will be moved to allow the space to be used for community use, entertainment and bookings. The Embroidery will be put in to storage while the Council seeks out a suitable for it, although two panels will be kept on display in the Balcony Gallery.
The Embroidery is open between 10am and 4pm daily.
There is still no let up in the Council's campaign to clean up the town, ten months after the start of its offensive to make the owners of derelict buildings clean-up their eyesore properties - or face prosecution.
A total of 45 Section 215 Notices - which require owners to do up their properties or face prosecution have been served, and approximately one hundred warning letters have been sent out to negligent property owners.
In total, the seafront initiative has resulted in 45 properties being targeted for improvement works. There is currently work underway on 13 of the properties, work has been completed on 8 and 1 new Section 215 Notice has been served on property owners recently.
The campaign has now been taken inland to Bohemia Road and the Old Town. Sixteen properties have been targeted by the Council along Bohemia Road, and of those work has already commenced on 4 and been promised on a further 5. The Council has also offered shop owners the chance to apply for a one-off grant to contribute to the cost of repainting premises, in the hope that this will help towards rejuvenating the area.
The Old Town has not escaped the campaign. At present 11 properties (9 of them Grade II Listed) have been identified for planning enforcement action. Work has already been completed on one of the targeted premises in George Street.
Councillor Mike Bigg, Cabinet Member responsible for Economic and Physical Regeneration, said:
"As you drive along the seafront between the town centre and Marina there are 17 properties with scaffolding up - mostly properties on which the Council has demanded action.
"This campaign has been very visible and extremely effective - the Council has made its commitment to improving the image of the town very clear. The results we have had are very encouraging - works have been completed on 25 buildings and are underway on another 11.
"We are determined to see this campaign through. It has been very well received by the town's residents, and there is no doubt that the town's image will be vastly improved by the time that summer is upon us."
Councillors and officers met with representatives of the Hastings & St Leonards Miniature Golf Club yesterday, to discuss issues that have come up as a result of the change of use at facilities at White Rock Gardens.
The Golf club will have its exclusive use of the club room reinstated from June 1st and the Council will be providing an extra facility in addition to the pavilion space. This will ensure that there are sufficient facilities available for both the golf club and the community tennis club.
The Chair of Hastings & St Leonards Ladies Miniature Golf Club, said: "We are very pleased with the outcome of this meeting, and would like to express particular thanks to the chairman, Councillor Birch for his part in resolving the situation."
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This page last updated: 07/04/2003