On Saturday 21 February campaigners from Housing Rebellion interrupted an attempt by Southern Housing to auction a property intended for use as social housing. 4 Wellington Gardens is a three bedroom house, built by the government in 1922 as part of their “homes fit for heroes” initiative to provide affordable homes for working class families…
Words: Andrea Cowhig, Treasurer of Hastings Area Southern Housing Tenants Association (HASHTA). Image: “The Battle of Hollington” by P.A. Uri, the Marquis of Markwick. All Four Courts residents recently received a newsletter from Southern Housing (SH), please see our response, as there was some misleading information in there regarding HASHTA, which is rather upsetting. All…
Words: Merlin Betts. Images: SGH The morning of Thursday 28 August we went to the Hastings Borough Council (HBC) offices, hoping to catch the housing department after their weekly meeting. Three of us were with Thomas, a homeless man who the council are fighting in court. As I joined the group, another person responding to…
Grace L After two and a half years in temporary accommodation, Thomas and Alice (not their real names) are appealing to Hastings Council to give them and their young child a secure home. Unlike other homeless families in temporary accommodation who are on the waiting list for social housing and can bid for places as…
Hex News Team Archery Gardens is an almost-completed housing development in St Leonards. It used to have Hastings College on the site, and before that it was Victorian landscaping with some fancy houses. The 117 homes we see now on the site were built by local Battle-based developer Gemselect, in partnership with one of the…
Grace L and Merlin Betts On 12 February Lucie Lambourne’s mother was murdered in their family home in Bexhill. The man arrested for the crime has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial in August. But as the results of this tragedy continue to unfold, Southern Housing wants to take Lucie’s family home, and sell it…
Simon Lee, secretary of Hastings Area Southern Housing Tenants’ Association, describes the chaos unfolding as Southern Housing repair Bevin Court so it can be demolished. Shirley lives a quiet life on the tenth floor. She loves her neighbours and often has her meals with Jennifer and Brian who live a few floors lower. Their support…
Merlin Betts Hey reader. I’ve gone a bit rogue here and written you a 4,000 word article. I realise in this day and age that makes it less appealing to read. I’ll probably break down parts of it into other shorter articles, but in the meantime this is my best attempt at a proper overview…
Sharon Moore writes about the upheaval and mixed emotions surrounding Southern Housing’s sudden demolition announcement. Four courts or not Four Courts? That is apparently not the question. Imagine our surprise when, Tuesday 18 February, with no prior notice or consultation, everyone in Bevin Court had a pamphlet pushed through the door telling us, they –…
Andrea Cowhig, Treasurer of Hastings Area Southern Housing Tenants Association (HASHTA) recalls how the tenants’ association started, discusses Southern Housing’s ongoing miscommunications and contradictions, and recounts her battle with damp and mould. So, my journey first started when I saw Southern Housing Action which was an online community for tenants of Southern Housing that have had…