Press Releases week beginning 29 July 2019

Hastings records its hottest day ever

It's been confirmed that last week Hastings had its hottest day since records began in 1875.
 
A maximum temperature of 34.2°C was recorded at the town's weather station on Thursday (25th July), beating the town's previous record of 33.2°C recorded in July 2006. Last Thursday has also just been confirmed by the Met Office as the hottest day since records began.
 
Council leader Peter Chowney said,
"We are used to sea breezes keeping things a few degrees cooler here in Hastings, so 34.2°C or nearly 94°F- is exceptional. Indeed, it was off our Celsius/Fahrenheit conversion table! And that is the shade temperature of course; in the sun it would have been much hotter.
 
"We are very grateful to our weather volunteers who continue to check our weather readings every single day of the year, maintaining one of the longest established weather records in the UK - over 140 years."

Hastings Country Park to say goodbye to well-loved ponies

The Exmoor ponies at Hastings Country Park will be leaving. The Sussex Pony Grazing Conservation Trust who manages the ponies has told the council that their organisation now has an uncertain future and they will no longer be able to manage the ponies. As a result they are moving the ponies to a different location. The ponies have been grazing the slopes and glens of Hastings Country Park for the last six years. Their conservation grazing habits have transformed Warren Glen from a bracken dominated habitat to one where native coastal grassland and heather now dominates. 

Colin Fitzgerald, lead councillor at Hastings Borough Council for environmental services commented,
"We are really sorry the Trust is taking to ponies away. They have been a great attraction for the public and they have done a fantastic job of recovering threatened and rare coastal habitats. 
"As a conservation tool, they have been invaluable in helping the council retain their green flag awards and receive a special award for conservation grazing from the Keep Britain Tidy Group. However we wish them well in their new home. We will be contacting other organisations to see if we can bring another set of ponies to the reserve "

Exmoor ponies are particularly suited to the rugged terrain of Hastings Country Park and they have become a familiar and well-loved site at the country park. Together with the Belted Galloway cattle they form the conservation grazing backbone for managing the rugged and inaccessible areas of Hastings Country Park.

Looking to help your community? - Granted

Hastings Borough Council is looking for volunteers to sit on its grants advisory panel. This gives advice to the Hastings and St Leonards Foreshore Trust of which the Council is Trustee on how surplus income from the Foreshore Trust should be distributed.

Cllr Sue Beaney, who chairs the charity committee, explained,
 "As a charity, the Foreshore Trust wants to help the local community, and giving grants to local groups is one way we can do this"
We are looking for more volunteers to join our existing panel. The panel meets around four times a year, and other meetings may be called as and when necessary. We are particularly looking for people with knowledge of the local voluntary and charitable sector."

Anyone interested should contact the council's chief legal officer Chris Barkshire-Jones on Hastings (01424) 451731 email cbarkshire-jones@hastings.gov.uk