Cabinet to discuss Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve grant

Hastings Borough Council's Cabinet is due to discuss the new Countryside Stewardship grant for Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve (HCPNR) at its meeting on Monday 2 October.

Countryside Stewardship grants are developed by Natural England, the government's advisors on nature conservation. The purpose of countryside stewardship grants is to pay land managers to manage their land to conserve and restore wildlife habitats and biodiversity. 

The latest Countryside Stewardship grant for HCPNR is due to start on 1 January 2024 and run for ten years. It is estimated to be worth £700,000 over the grant period.

Cllr Ali Roark, lead councillor for environment, said: "This will be the third grant we will have received for HCPNR and is part of the council's long-term management for the site. We are committed to protecting and managing this irreplaceable coastal nature reserve for wildlife, visitors and all the residents of Hastings, and this grant is the best way to do this.

"We would like to thank the partners and volunteers we have worked with to make HCPNR an award-winning example of successful sustainable management and habitat restoration."

The new grant will prioritise habitat restoration and transformation through greater use of conservation grazing.  The current arable fields at the reserve will be reverted to a wood pasture habitat managed by grazing. Greater use of livestock to manage nationally rare and important habitats is more sustainable in the long run and helps address the UK and global climate and biodiversity crises.

The full report, which includes a review of the successes of the Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve since 2000, is available online.