Prudent planning for the future or reckless behaviour creating a ‘ticking time bomb’ for Hastings Borough Council’s (HBC) finances? Your council has borrowed more than £40m in your name in the last five years to invest in commercial property – and more is planned. Like everything that happens in politics there is a group of […]
It’s budget time for local councils! In the coming weeks Hastings Borough Council (HBC) and East Sussex County Council (ESCC) will be debating the finer points of how to spend their budget in the coming year and of more significance to local residents they will be taking decisions on how to raise that money. At […]
The last decade has left local authorities strapped for cash, by 2020 they will have lost 60 pence from every pound they were allocated by central government a decade earlier, according to the Local Government Association. Many councils, Hastings Borough Council (HBC) among them, have turned to the acquisition of commercial property in a bid […]
Owners of empty houses in Hastings could face a doubling of their council tax if the borough council uses new government rules to their fullest extent. If approved, the charge which is being considered as part of the council’s 2019/20 budget, would apply to properties that have been empty and unfurnished for more than two […]
Labour members of Hastings Borough Council (HBC) are being accused of breaking their promises to the public. The council chamber was packed, almost to capacity, on Monday night when the council’s ruling cabinet met to discuss plans that could see ten acres of ground mounted solar panels (arrays) being installed on Hastings Country Park. The […]
Local MP Amber Rudd has welcomed the news that councils will receive a real terms increase in funding for vital local services. The provisional local government finance settlement, published yesterday, gives councils a real-terms increase in core spending power for 2019 to 2020 – up from £45.1 billion to £46.4 billion. MsRudd says: “The £1.3 […]
Moving services online is bringing big benefits to Hastings Borough Council members were told on Wednesday. Councillor Judy Rogers who is responsible for the council’s corporate services told members that up until the end of October more than 136,000 reports had been made using the website – previously, she pointed out, all those reports would […]
“We should never be afraid to talk about councillors allowances,” members of Hastings Borough Council (HBC) heard on Wednesday night. Giving his support to a report prepared by Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) Councillor Rob Lee added that councillors must be prepared to talk publicly about their remuneration for the work they do. The report before […]
Members of Hastings Borough Council (HBC) spent time debating whether or not it’s gambling policy should have a ‘no casino’ clause when they met on Wednesday night even though government legislation says there could never be a casino opened in Hastings. Several members spoke on the subject before it was brought to the council’s attention […]
