10-year Long-Term Plan regeneration funding boost for Hastings

Photo courtesy of Alex Brattell

Hastings has been selected by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to receive up to £20m of Long-Term Plan Town funding to support regeneration in the town. The funding will be delivered over ten years and aims to create an endowment-style funding plan to support, invest and deliver change beyond the first ten years.

Membership of the interim Hastings Board is being finalised and the first board meeting was held on 20 March. The full membership will be confirmed on the submission of the long term plan in August. Details of the interim board will be published here shortly.

The board role is to set the ten-year vision and a three-year investment plan and drive forward its delivery. The plan and vision will need to be submitted to government on or before 1 August 2024. The first task of the board will be to identify opportunities for the wider community have a say in how this plan is devised.

Rebecca Conroy, Chief Executive Officer and Principal for the East Sussex College Group and Chair of the Hastings Board, said: "I am delighted to have been appointed as Chair of the Hastings Board. Firstly, we must establish a board that is representative of the different priorities across the borough and represents the voices of our community that delivers a plan to drive positive long-term changes."

Sally-Ann Hart, MP for Hastings and Rye, said: "Having campaigned hard to secure levelling up funding for Hastings and Rye, it is very positive that Hastings has been recognised for the Long-Term Plan for Towns funding and the much needed investment will be welcome across the town. The first priority for the board will be to set out the vision for the town and identify the priorities for investment and regeneration, aligned to the themes of safety and security, high streets, heritage and regeneration, and transport and connectivity."

Over the next few months, the Board will set out the towns' investment plan, identifying how the funding will be allocated and spent, with the council as the body ultimately accountable. Updates for this process will be posted across council social media channels including the website, Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter).

Cllr Julia Hilton, Leader of Hastings Borough Council said: "This is very positive for our town and the people who live and work here. There is now lots to do to engage with residents to understand what they want and need, and the next stage will be setting out key priorities for the initial phase of the 10-year plan that addresses some of the key problems we have in Hastings before the deadline of 1 August 2024."

Notes:
Hastings is one of 75 towns selected to receive a share of the Long-Term Plan for Towns £1.1 billion funding, announced in September 2023.
For more information about the funding please see the information published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Long-Term Plan for Towns (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Long-Term Plan for Towns: guidance for local authorities and Town Boards - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
If you have any questions, please email: hastingsboard@hastings.gov.uk