Observer column 2 February 2024

It's been a busy couple of weeks since I was elected interim leader of Hastings Borough Council.

The new cabinet met on Monday to discuss a range of issues, including a new agreement with Whitbread PLC on the Cornwallis Street hotel proposal.

The decision to build a hotel on Cornwallis Street was a legacy from the previous Labour administration. Originally it committed the council to take all the risk in building the hotel. Officers are to be congratulated on finding a solution that transfers this risk entirely to Whitbread.

As part of my new collaborative way of working, all councillors were invited to join in the discussion at cabinet and all agreed that while the solution agreed with Whitbread is a huge relief, there are lessons to be applied, going forward, particularly to the process of negotiating commercial contracts with a high level of risk. The contract committing the council to the construction of a hotel should never have been signed. Future investment decisions will be subject to much greater scrutiny.

I am proud that one of the early agreements I was part of after Hastings Council fell into 'no overall control' in 2022 is that our Overview and Scrutiny Committee should be chaired by the opposition. It's essential that the administration, whoever is running the council, is held to account and challenged on its decision-making processes.

Last weekend I spoke at the Holocaust Memorial Day where we heard the moving story of a Dutch Jewish holocaust survivor who now lives just outside Hastings. The theme was 'The Fragility of Freedom'.  I spoke of how essential it is to find a moment in our daily lives to think how we all might try every day to counter division, to find common ground in a world of clickbait and divisive media stories, and to challenge the ease with which we seem to demonise people who have different views from ourselves.

Then it was on to Priory Meadow shopping centre to listen to the views of local residents on the Town Deal-funded plans to improve and green the public realm in our town centre. Over 1200 people attended, showing the huge public interest in the proposals. I will be working hard to ensure that the final plans create an inclusive space, tackle people's need to travel into the town centre by all means of transport including walking, cycling, buses and taxis, and will work with Southern Water to ensure our town centre is protected from future flooding events.

Information about the scheme can be picked up from the council offices or Hastings Library and found online at Hastings Town Centre Public Realm and Green Connections Public Consultation.