Amusements in a fortnight… cabins might take a little longer

Hastings Pier’s ‘family entertainment centre’ will be open within the next two weeks. Brett McLean, one of the spokesmen for pier owner Sheikh Abid Gulzar, confirmed to Hastings In Focus that the centre, approved by Hastings Borough Council’s planning committee at the beginning of the month, will open within that timescale, occupying the building in […]

A tale of three places – Paignton, Poundbury and Hastings Pier

Stephanie Gaunt has adopted the alter-ego ‘Hastings Battleaxe’ and on her own blog expresses her forthright views and opinions on a range of topics. Stephaine says, ‘Hastings Battleaxe does set out to be honest, but that means the posts do include the expression of some strong opinions – well, she wouldn’t be a Battleaxe otherwise, […]

Owners now say the pier WILL open before Easter…

According to its Facebook page this morning the owner of Hastings Pier is ‘feeling blessed’ as the Facebook post announces that the pier will be open by Easter – apparently contradicting an announcement made earlier saying the pier would remain closed over the Easter weekend. The announcement comes after both MP Amber Rudd and leader […]

Time to heal ‘nasty divisions’ over pier says Jess Steele

The woman who many see as the saviour of Hastings Pier has spoken out about what she sees as ‘the disturbing level of polarisation’ within the town over the future of the iconic Victorian structure. She is critical of the tone of the debate about the future of the pier which has taken place on […]

Favourite stories from 2018 – The battle for Hastings Pier

There’s no doubt that one of the biggest stories in town this year has been the battle for ownership of Hastings Pier. In November 2017, in the same week that the pier was awarded the nation’s top architecture award, the RIBA Stirling prize,  it was also announced that the Hastings Pier Charity, which ran the […]

UPDATED – Pier to reopen on Thursday

Hastings Pier will reopen on Thursday its owners announced this afternoon saying they ‘apologise for any inconvenience’ and ‘look forward to welcoming you back’. Just a day ago Amber Rudd’s press team sent out a press release headlined “Pier to open for Christmas” but gave no further detail about reopening plans. Talking about her visit to […]

Hastings on YouTube – just what you need on a wet and windy day

With the weather forecast looking bleak for the remainder of the weekend we’re recommending hibernating in front of a roaring fire with a mug – or a glass – of your favourite tipple and settling down to a selection of videos all with Hastings at their centre. If the weather stays the way it is, […]

‘If the pier is in good shape it says the town is in good shape’

From the video vault With padlocks firmly securing the gates of Hastings Pier this week after a fire at the weekend we found this film on YouTube which looks at the aftermath of the 2010 fire and community efforts to bring the pier back to life. Re: A Pier is the work of film maker […]