The first of three new online events organised by Heart of Hastings Community Land Trust took place on Tuesday 19 January. Hastings & St. Leonards Society was invited to take part in the programme of events and our chair, Dr. Deborah Madden, and website manager, Alan Jeffries, represented the Society. Alan has provided notes from the meeting for the interest of our members. These are included in a pdf below.
Alan also remarks:
It was a very interesting event and I look forward to the next two. The worrying thing is that there seems to be an enormous amount of ideas but as to how any of them might be achieved, watch this space?
There was barely a mention of the Town Deal at the zoom call, although that has had a ‘Hastings Online Times’ article written about it here: https://hastingsonlinetimes.co.uk/hot-topics/local-economy/town-deal-investment-plan-shielded-from-the-public
The other two events are as follows (to register for a free ticket, follow the link in each event):
26th January, 7-8.30pm: Changing Hastings – One Year On…
Gentrification or Housing Crisis; Second home or AirBnB; Social or Private Renter; Landlord or tenant; Owner, renter, squatter or bust? This meeting is a forum for a town-wide discussion, avoiding the cliched arguments of DFL Vs local but recognising that disparities exist. We’ll be joined by local performers and an array of speakers for three themed panel discussions. Questions, comments and ideas will be invited from our online audience on the night. And we’ll continue hosting the conversation before and after this event on Changing Hastings and Common Treasury of Adaptable Ideas pages on Facebook. Register for your free ticket.
23rd February, 7-8.30pm: Sustainable Hastings
This will be a big conversation: We’ll be inviting local panellists from all the incredibly active organisations we have here in Hastings interested in sustainability, greening and planting, human and environmental wellbeing, alternative transport and energy, fairer economies etc! We will be in touch very soon to invite many of these panellists to take part, but we would love to hear from interested parties in this learning group, as we know how much you would bring to this event. Register for your free ticket.
In promoting the events, Caoimhe O’Gorman, the Engagement Manager at Heart of Hastings CLT, says:
The project is called Hastings Emerging Futures, and our aim is to discuss everything relevant to people living here in Hastings and St Leonards. We want to create a space for people to share ideas and challenge/question how we create a town that’s focused on wellbeing for everyone.
We’ll be discussing topics around housing, history, the environment, community spaces etc. And we’d love to have you attend.
Brief Notes on Hastings Town Centre Past, Present and Future
