People ‘understand’ says councillor who got a 37 per cent wage rise

“…people understand the climate we’re working in, and the challenging financial situation we face” that’s what East Sussex County Council leader Keith Glazier told the people of East Sussex in an open letter last week after the authority voted to slash almost £10m from its adult social care budget. Those cuts will hit hard across the […]

East Sussex axe falls on adult social care

East Sussex County Council will slash £9.6m from the adult social care budget next year, among other things it means the closure of the Isabel Blackman Centre in Hastings old town. The County Council carried out a ‘consultation process’ and even though they received objections from 10,000 people cuts and closures are still going ahead. […]

Limited options force difficult choices for County Council

PLANS to remodel front-line services to deal with a national crisis in social care and other intense financial pressures will be presented to council leaders next week. The proposals are part of a package of measures East Sussex County Council’s (ESCC) Cabinet will be asked to approve to help the authority achieve agreed savings of […]

Looking forwards not backwards – the battle for control of Hastings Pier

The news that Hastings Pier Charity had gone in to administration last November made Jess Steele feel physically sick. “A phone call with the administrator in December sent me into a furious depression I haven’t experienced for 20 years. I couldn’t do any work, I couldn’t even bear to go into my office at home. […]

Going… going… but is it gone?

Friends of Hastings Pier appear to have raised the white flag of surrender this afternoon in its battle to buy the town’s pier directly from its administrators. But the friends are not going down without one last attempt to wrestle control of Hastings Pier away from the man who already owns Eastbourne Pier. In a […]

Custody centre WILL reopen if commissioner gives go-ahead

Sussex Police confirmed this afternoon that it wants Hastings Police Station’s custody centre to reopen but the go-ahead to carry out necessary safety work lies with Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne. The news comes as Sussex Police announce the custody service across the county is being modernised to ensure it is, “efficient and fit […]

Turner House – Giving young mothers confidence to thrive

Young mothers living in the Salvation Army Housing Association’s (SAHA) Turner House in St Leonards say a visit by the local MP gave them an opportunity to ‘have their say’ and to feel they were being listened to. Amber Rudd MP visited Turner House in St Leonards last week and in addition to meeting the […]

Re-setting Hastings’ broken arm

More than 25,000 tonnes of granite will be dumped off Hastings beach over the next few weeks – all needed to make the final repairs to the harbour arm. The first part of the reconstruction work took place last year with the landward part of the arm being rebuilt mostly from existing concrete which had […]

What is the Hastings and St Leonards Foreshore Trust and what does it do?

Could the Hastings and St Leonards Foreshore Charitable Trust have been the saviour of the bid to keep Hastings Pier in community ownership? There was a group of local people who certainly thought so and even launched a  petition that called for: “…the Foreshore Trust to meet with Hastings Pier administrators to consider purchasing Hastings Pier.” […]