UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Parks Fund

In 2022 Hastings Borough Council was allocated £1,000,000 to spend over three years (2022 – 2025). The funding is being spent in Broomgrove, which was identified as one of the town’s most deprived areas. Some of the projects have now been completed and others are well underway. Below is a list of projects and schemes that are benefiting from the funding.

The investment covers three areas: communities and place; support for local businesses and people and skills.

Cllr Glenn Haffenden, Deputy Leader and lead for Housing & Community Wellbeing, Hastings Borough Council, said, "I'm really pleased about all of these projects, they are already and will continue to offer great opportunities for residents in Broomgrove, helping to boost their health and wellbeing as well as offering vital support for start-up businesses in the area”. 

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.

For more information, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus

1. Greener Broomgrove

Southern Housing are leading a community capacity building project with some match funding from the Parks Fund, to improve wellbeing and encouraging pride in place by improving the communal green spaces in Broomgrove. Events include bulb planting sessions, creating biodiversity/wilding areas and planting up to fifty trees.  Community champions and volunteers are being engaged to set up a gardening group with a dedicated growing space in Quantock Gardens. Contact: jayne.jeffrey@southernhousing.org.uk 
Call or text: 0770 282 1179 

2.  Active Hastings

Active Hastings have lots of different sessions running in Broomgrove, in and around the Community Centre and Quantock Gardens. Sessions change regularly but include Pilates, boxercise and Street Sports.  Details on HBC website and their social media pages.

3. Soundcastle - Musical Beacons

https://www.facebook.com/SoundcastleTeam/
https://musicalbeacons.soundcastle.co.uk/sussex/
Musical Beacons takes place every other Thursday in Broomgrove.  You might see the team on their musical walkabout as they play their instruments and residents can listen and even join in.  The walkabout is followed at 11am by a free music session for under 5's and their carers, find out more about the Active Hastings sessions.

4.  Broomgrove Community Centre

Funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is enabling the building to be improved and extended so that more activities can be delivered and make it a community hub. A Community Development Worker has been employed for a year to assist the Centre Manager to develop it as a local hub through the creation of a programme of activities and community outreach. Oasis have a Facebook page for more details.

5.  In2Play - Adventure Playground

Enhancements and improvements are being made to the Adventure Playground with some match funding from the Parks Fund, to ensure that it remains open for children in Broomgrove. Work done already includes replacement tarmac to the play area, with man made puddles and play equipment has been replaced.  Future work includes improving the mini park with seating, planting and creating a wellbeing space and pond.  Young volunteers have helped to bring the vision alive and get involved with the improvements. https://www.in2play.org.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/hastings.adventureplayground/?locale=en_GB

6.  RISE - Let's Do Business/Southern Housing/Education Futures Trust

RISE is a new programme led by Let's Do Business Group in collaboration with Southern Housing, Education Futures Trust and Hastings Borough Council to help disadvantaged people find and keep work locally. Support is also being given to entrepreneurs to set up their own business as well as existing businesses with each organisation delivering a different part of the project. Let's Do Business is also working with a small group of local manufacturers to address their labour and skills requirements.
https://www.letsdobusinessgroup.co.uk/rise-hastings
https://www.facebook.com/letsdobusinessgroup

7. Social Supermarket - Hastings Voluntary Action, Big Local North East Hastings and Oasis

A social supermarket enabling local residents to buy low-cost food is being set up by Oasis Community Project in conjunction with the Big Local North East Hastings and Hastings Voluntary Action. This page will be updated once the supermarket is up and running.

8. Hastings Storytelling Festival - Broomgrove Moths (completed project)

Following a successful event in 2022 the Hastings Storytelling Festival commissioned Zeroh to deliver the Broomgrove Moths - a series of workshops with local children which culminated in an evening where a large screen showed the children's moths brought to life.  Each child also had access to a QR code to recreate their moth after the event.  The large pylon was lit up and a storyteller took local families on a journey around the area. The community centre opened to the public and around 150 local residents people participated in the event.
https://www.hastingsstoryfest.org.uk/