A programme to get Hastings residents fit and healthy has doubled in size this year.
Throughout 2007, Hastings Borough Council's Active Hastings programme offered 86 sports and fitness classes each week, more than double the 40 per week on offer in 2006.
These classes included traditional sports such as netball and football, alongside more unusual classes such as cheerleading, rollerblading, handball and rock climbing.
After totting up the figures, the Active Hastings team has worked out that since the start of the programme in May last year, some 4,589 residents have taken part in sessions in Hastings and St Leonards. Of these more than 1,000 had not done any physical activity in the last year.
To make sessions accessible to as wide a group as possible, the team has taken many of them to the heart of neighbourhoods. Whether with a portable scuba diving pool or giant football, everyone has had the chance to get off the sofa and get involved.
Though much of the focus has been on helping children and young people get into the exercise habit, the team has also looked at the traditionally 'hard to reach' groups.
The range of activities on offer has extended to post-retirement sessions, women-only events in the shape of the Ladies Getting Active programme and new for 2008, Men Getting Active.
Councillor Peter Finch, lead member for Community Well Being, said:
"Our Active Hastings team has had a great year and picked up some well-earned awards along the way. We recently won a social inclusion award for our Fishing4U project and our sports development manager, Keith Duly, picked up a Sports Development Professional of the Year accolade.
"Getting people active, isn't just about taking part in the odd game of football, it's about gradually changing lifestyles for long-term benefits."
Next year boasts an array of sessions for everyone, including our new Street Games programme. To find out more, call into the Hastings Information Centre for a leaflet, visit: www.activehastings.org.uk or call 0845 274 1050.
The Grotbusters team is celebrating its 356th success, helping to transform the face of Hastings. Latest on the list of properties to get the treatment was 19 Gensing Road, St Leonards. This house had fallen into serious state of disrepair on the outside, with cracking paint, crumbling window frames and flaking masonry work.
Despite contact with the owner, the team was forced to serve an enforcement notice in August and the result has been a spectacular turnaround in this building's fortunes.
With its sparkling new paint job and structural repairs, the building is now a jewel in the crown of St Leonards.
Council leader, councillor Peter Pragnell, said:
"This is a fantastic example of how physical regeneration can dramatically improve the town we live in. We can't and won't let off the hook property owners who insist on letting their dilapidated buildings bring down the rest of the town.
"Thanks to the Grotbusters scheme, more than 360 buildings have been turned around and we will continue to concentrate our efforts in those areas that need it most."
Gardeners in Hastings and St Leonards will soon be able to sign up to a new green waste scheme. The Garden Waste Club will replace the current collection method for disposing of garden and plant cuttings in sacks left out for collection.
Signing up to the club costs £35 for the year and for their money householders receive a brown wheeled bin, the same size as their existing twin bins and their garden waste collected every fortnight.
Officers from the Refuse and Recycling team at Hastings Borough Council are in the process of writing out to everyone who uses the existing sack method with details of the change of arrangements.
Though the sack scheme ends in December, they will still be collected until the end of February. After this date anyone who still has sacks can take them back to the Hastings Information Centre for a full refund.
If you have bought sacks in the past, you should automatically receive a letter in the New Year. If you don't, or if you would like to sign up to the Garden Waste Club for the first time, please contact the Refuse and Recycling team on 0845 274 1077 or email: refuseandrecycling@hastings.gov.uk
A Hastings side has burst onto the American Football scene.
The team, which has trained as part of Hastings Borough Council's Active Hastings American Flag Football programme, took part in the National Tournament on Sunday (16).
Twelve teams from across the country, including the Chichester-based England squad, took part in the tournament, despite bitter weather conditions.
The Hastings side won their first game of the day and were eventually pitted against the Chichester team.
Despite a valiant fight, Hastings was eventually beaten and then faced a fresh Surrey side. An exhilarating match ended with the equivalent of a penalty shoot out, which the Hastings players won convincingly.
Councillor Peter Finch, lead member for Community Prosperity, said:
"What a fantastic start for this team; my congratulations to both the players and the coaches. In the New Year the squad will enter the American Flag Football league and has also been invited to attend training with the British Champions. Active Hastings, Amicus Horizon and Greater Hollington Partnership, the team's sponsors, can be very proud of the squads' first efforts."
Hastings Borough Council's Leader, Cllr Peter Pragnell, has welcomed the recommendation by the East Sussex Downs & Weald, and Hastings & Rother, Primary Care Trusts for a consultant-led single site maternity unit in Hastings.
Cllr Pragnell said:
"Our Cabinet voted for this proposal at our July meeting, and we obviously believe that this option is best for the people of Hastings."
"If the option was for only one consultant-led service, it is simply commonsense for it to be based in Hastings. We have a large number of child-bearing age women and, as we know only too well, are still the most deprived town in the south east. There is much evidence that women from deprived communities are more likely to have a baby that is premature, or has a low birth weight. It also means many young women from Hastings, and their families, have to rely on public transport, making it much more difficult for them to travel. And, of course, Hastings is midway between the maternity units in Brighton and Ashford so, geographically, Hastings is the right option too."
"The recommendation by the PCTs is clearly good for the people of Hastings, and it is a commonsense one. I obviously hope that the recommendation will be agreed by the PCTs at their meeting on Thursday. It most certainly has the support of this Council."
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This page last updated: 20/12/2007