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…
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…
Grace Lally Shared from Hastings Extinction Rebellion, summarising points Grace made at a public discussion on 5 October 2024. Environment v Housing Need? Why do we NEED to build new housing? REAL reasons to build new housing? Myth 1: New houses are more sustainable Other environmental impacts of construction Myth 2: We have a shortage…
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…
Simon Lee, secretary of Hastings Area Southern Housing Tenants’ Association, reflects on the living situation in a local housing association estate. Anyone who has lived in the Four Courts will know that the most frequently asked question of anyone is ‘how long have you been here’? When I arrived just over a year ago, I…
Grace L. Image: tenants’ protest July 2024 One Tuesday morning in February, tenants in the Four Courts flats in Hollington got a hand delivered letter inviting them to a meeting the very same day with their landlord, Southern Housing. The meeting would be about moving them out of their homes within a year. The whole…
Gareth Stevens considers the winners and losers of gentrification Even though I have used both the terms DfL (Down from London) and OfB (Over from Brighton) from time to time … I try not to. Both labels are lazy, reductive and divisive. Whenever people use either term in a pejorative way, they redirect fire which…
Words: Merlin Betts, Photos: @sonskaphotographystudio Cold winter sun in the town centre, the occasional ray of light and heat caught by a winter jacket, or touching a frosty face. It’s a Saturday, and among the steady flow of shoppers, drinkers and cafe enthusiasts, people are stopping to read freshly printed copies of Hex, wet paste…
Looking at the plywood boards that now cover our town’s promised wonderland, Lizzie Beck is just left wondering. Where did our £400k go? And where’s Willy?I could be justly accused of overegging the pudding by describing the town centre Debenhams building as iconic, but perhaps I’m fair in saying it’s now a monument to mismanagement,…
Lizzie Beck I’m not from these parts. Neither am I DFL, AFB, EDL or WTF. I didn’t actually choose to come here either, I was moved here for reasons that if revealed would result in assassination (of whom I don’t know). It was nighttime when I first saw this town. From a hill above what…