Andrea Cowhig, Treasurer of Hastings Area Southern Housing Tenants Association (HASHTA) 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 we want to do is support our fellow residents, as you all well…
Tag: housing
The Council is Listening – But Will They Learn?
In August HEX supporters went with Thomas (not his real name) to protest at Hastings Council because he and his young family were being threatened with eviction. They were also stuck in a temporary housing limbo because the council had deemed them to be ‘intentionally homeless’. The protest was successful in stopping the immediate threat…
Another Day at the Council
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…
Ever Heard of a Housing Strategy?
SGH has been attending the Hastings Housing Strategy steering group for the last 10 months. With co-writers Grace L and Ethan, they highlight fundamental issues with the Strategy, and ask just how useful is an ‘even-handed’ approach to tenants and landlords while we’re in a housing crisis directly caused by landlording? Featured artwork by Chris…
A Day Out at the Protestival
Text: Ethan Oshoko. Photo: @sonskaphotographystudio On Sunday the 13 July, residents from all over Hastings and St Leonards came together on the old bathing pool site in West St Leonards, in order to demonstrate two things: First, they demonstrated that developers will not be allowed to take public land and exploit it purely for profit…
Protest for ‘intentionally homeless’ family facing eviction
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…
Are ‘Protestivals’ the Future?
Simon Lee, photo: @sonskaphotographystudio Something extraordinary happened at the old lido in St Leonards this July. Billed as a protestival, people gathered to show the local administration and property developers that really, we have had enough! In a hastily organised, but beautifully executed gathering, the people of St Leonards proclaimed their resolve and opposition to…
Archery Gardens: When Hastings Got an Arrow in the Eye
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…
Who Runs This Town? Communities Vs Developers
Grace L One year after taking charge of Hastings Council many of our local councillors look ready to throw in the towel. Residents turned up to the 9 June meeting of the council cabinet (the leading members of council) to demand answers about the old Bathing Pool site and Sandrock Bends – two incredibly unpopular…
“It’s like being in prison”
Grace L Hastings Borough Council (HBC) is being asked to review how they support disabled residents into suitable accommodation, after a disabled woman revealed she has been in temporary accommodation for three years that has no wheelchair access onto the street. She is now being moved to another property where she won’t even be able…