A notorious 'grotspot' has been transformed as part of a town wide clean up.
Castledown Terrace was cleared of piles and piles of rubbish left by fly-tippers and had been making residents' lives a misery.
The work was carried out last week as part of Hastings Borough Council's big clean up project, run by the Neighbourhood Renewal team. Officers have been working closely with residents groups, housing associations and our Environmental Health department, which got this particular piece of work underway. As the rubbish is on a private piece of land, the owner was served legal notices asking him to get rid of the mess. After no response was received, the team went ahead with the work and is looking at now recovering the cost of the work.
Councillor Roy Tucker, lead member for the environment, said:
"This is a fantastic achievement and will make a real difference to this area near our historic castle. To try and prevent a repetition of the problems here we are looking at putting up fencing.
"We know there are still some other issues up near Castledown Terrace, particularly with rusting cars that have been vandalised and impact on the appearance of this area. Again, these are owned privately, but we are seeking legal advice about what we can do to deal with them."
Some special diners will be gracing a local nature reserve over the next few weeks.
Twenty-three Exmoor ponies will be brought over from Firle, near Lewes, to munch down on grassland at the Hastings Country Park Local Nature Reserve.
The ponies' supplies in Firle have run a bit low, so the guests will stay for eight to ten weeks while their usual dining spot grows back.
Hastings Borough Council jumped at the chance to look after the ponies after being approached by Natural England, the Government's advisors on nature conservation. Exmoor ponies, an endangered breed, are famous for being hardy and tough and will benefit the country park by helping to rein in the prolific growth of grassland.
Councillor Peter Finch, lead member for community well being, said:
"We're very pleased indeed that we are able to cater for these beautiful ponies for the coming weeks. I hope they enjoy their stay in the country park, I'm sure the food will just be as good as in Firle and certainly more plentiful.
"They will be a real draw to visitors to the park, which is always worth a visit at any time of the year."
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This page last updated: 21/02/2008