Town’s former mayor admits fraud by abuse of position

A former Mayor of Hastings has admitted charges of fraud by abuse of position and will be sentenced later this month. Paul Roger Smith, 74, of Addington Grove, Lewisham, London, initially entered no pleas to the four charges when he appeared before Hastings Magistrates on April 10th. Mr Smith was a Liberal Democrat councillor on […]

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 […]

‘Gambling in the dark’ pier architect unhappy at entertainment centre plan

The man who designed Hastings pier has hit out at a decision by local planners to allow a ‘family entertainment centre’ to be developed right in the middle of the Stirling Prize winning structure. In the latest edition of Architects Journal dRMM co-founder and the man behind the design of the pier, Alex de Rijke, […]

Primark boost is good news all round for town centre trade

Priory Meadow is now one of the most successful shopping centres in the country and has a waiting list of businesses that want to locate there. Figures just out show the centre is bucking the national trend with footfall and sales both growing at a time when many other town centre shopping centres are in […]

International Day fundraising success at Buckswood

Flags, food and fundraising took over Buckswood School on Saturday to celebrate culture and raise money for charity with students from over 45 nations taking part. Buckswood was hosting International Day, an event to celebrate the culture and cuisine of the countries that the school’s students come from, while at the same time raising money for […]

Hastings council’s ‘success’ on many levels

In his monthly report to the people of Hastings council leader Peter Chowney has hailed the policy of buying up commercial property a ‘success’ on many levels. Having borrowed close to £50m in the last four years there has been growing interest in Hastings Borough Council’s (HBC) property owning ambitions with many local people unhappy […]

Stop it now! Sussex Police join bid to clampdown on sexual abuse of children

At the end of last week Sussex Police announced it was joining police forces across the South East in supporting a leading child protection charity around the launch of a campaign to tackle the growing demand for sexual images of children online. The regional campaign represents a multi-agency approach to tackling the growing demand for […]

‘My blood ran cold’ are the police losing control of the streets?

Yesterday’s Guardian carried a column written by an anonymous Metropolitan Police Officer, in it he says he no longer feels safe going to work, feels he and his colleagues are being stretched beyond their capabilities, he does not feel valued and he is seeing colleagues quit from exhaustion and frustration. While the piece in The […]