The Environmental Paradox in Hastings Country Park

We live in an age where there is increased awareness and understanding of the natural world and the damage that humans are doing to it writes Andy Patmore. At the Paris summit in December 2015 the nations of the world agreed to try and limit global increases in temperatures to less than 1.5 degrees celsius. […]

‘Silent’ Rudd challenged over Johnson shutdown threat

Amber Rudd is being challenged over what her opponents describe as her ‘about-face’ on Brexit and why she supports the suspension of Parliament by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The Hastings and Rye MP has ‘let down’ the people of Hastings and Rye, according to a joint statement by Labour’s Peter Chowney, the Liberal Democrats’ Nick […]

Our council is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030… What next?

In February – thanks in part to pressure from Hastings Green Party and our open letter calling on the council to declare a climate emergency – Hastings Borough Council (HBC) committed to making our town carbon neutral by 2030. Since then HBC has appointed Maya Evans as ‘climate champion’ with responsibility for climate change, biodiversity […]

Limiting global warming – don’t put pension money in fossil fuel

Yesterday in Hastings town centre, local school children again joined thousands across the country to strike for the climate. Local people who grumble that they could do their bit by litter picking need to realise that while that is an honourable pursuit, we need much more radical action if we are to have any chance […]

A treasure chest of ideas to create a happier, healthier, sustainable future

Over the past few months I have been talking about the necessity of exploring ideas and generating new solutions to how we become a happier, healthier and more sustainable town into the 2020s and as part of this I am delighted to introduce the Common Treasury of Adaptable Ideas. In the summer of 2018, through […]

UNESCO World Heritage Status – weaving the many strands of our story together

I thought it was about time to update you on where things have got to with discussions about a UNESCO world heritage submission. A small group of people have met twice since the public presentation in October hosted by Hastings and St Leonards Society to discuss ways forward and contribute their wealth of knowledge. We are […]

Mapping out Hastings’ greener future

Julia Hilton, secretary of the Hastings Green Party has been writing a regular column for Hastings In Focus since September. Earlier in the year Julia was one of the candidates who stood for election to Hastings Borough Council under the Green Party banner, although the party failed to win any seats they made an impact on […]

It’s up to us to ‘do the right thing’

Last week Sir David Attenborough spoke at the UN Climate Change Summit in Katowice as the representative of the world’s people and warned that climate change is the greatest threat to humanity and could lead to the collapse of civilisations. Four former presidents of the annual UN climate talks warned the ‘world is at a […]