In this newsletter:
1) Contacting us over Christmas
2) New website, new logo!
3) NightSafe Patrols
4) Flyposting – please think twice!
5) Updating Queens Arcade
6) Town centre chalking
7) Free training for local people
8) Free promotional spaces in the town centre
9) New businesses
10) Newman – a printer offer for BID levy payers
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Contacting us over Christmas
We will endeavour to be available throughout most of the Christmas period.
Peter, our Business Ambassador, will be working this weekend, one of the busiest weekends in the retail calendar, and will be available on the Shop Watch radio between 9am-5pm. Peter is also available on 07508 869351.
For any emergencies, please contact John on 07876 390065 or email john@lovehastings.com
All marketing, events and promotional booking enquiries will be picked up by Chloe in the new year. For urgent enquiries, please contact John.
We hope you all have a successful, busy trading period and a fantastic Christmas!
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New website, new logo!
We are very excited to launch the new Love Hastings website, which we hope you’ll agree is much more user-friendly than our original website.
We have hopefully included all BID businesses on the website, but if you’ve been missed out or would like to change your details, please let us know!
There’s still a few tweaks to be made, but the website is now live and we are developing the marketing tools to promote it.
There will also be an opportunity to advertise your business on the website. If you’re interested in having an advert on the website for a set period of time, please get in touch. This service will be free to levy payers and will be rolled out from February onwards.
The new logo will be rolled out very soon, so keep an eye out for it instead of the Hastings BID logo.
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NightSafe Patrols
A mobile support team of trained SIA security staff has started patrolling the streets of Hastings over this festive period to keep revelers safe and ensure everyone has a great time.
The new initiative came out of a meeting between the Business Improvement District and Sussex Police’s licensing team and mirrors a similar scheme operating successfully in Brighton.
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The patrol, operated by Phoenix SIA, takes in the Old Town and St Leonards but concentrates largely on the town centre later on in the night – with officers on duty until at least 4am.
Working alongside the police, the street pastors, and the Safe Space project, the team is linked via radios to the council’s CCTV control room and all of the pubs and clubs who are members of Barwatch.
These officers are on hand to provide assistance should any premises report a problem but will be mainly aiming to help prevent issues arising by providing a visible but friendly presence throughout the night. We want Hastings to be a great place to go out over the holiday period, and this is just one way of ensuring people have a fantastic evening and get home safely.
On their first nights out the officers visited the majority of late night premises in the area to hand out business cards and make sure staff knew they were available should the need arise. They received a warm welcome in the many pubs, off licenses, restaurants and takeaways they visited, and the feedback from everyone they met was incredibly positive.
Despite the town being busy in the run-up to Christmas there were only a handful of incidents that required the attention of the patrol on their first weekend. This included helping a rather intoxicated lady whilst medical support was on its way and breaking up a couple of potential fights, sending those involved off on their separate ways.
This service has been paid for by Hastings BID and the Business Crime Reduction Partnership.
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Flyposting – please think twice!
With Christmas only a week away, we appreciate that many businesses have exciting events and messages they want to advertise, but please think twice before using flyposting as a marketing tactic. Quite often the artwork is left in place for months after the event has passed, defaces public or private property and it costs time and money for us or Hastings Borough Council to remove it. |
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Updating Queens Arcade
We recently updated the mirrors in Queens Arcade, removing old businesses and replacing the artwork with the adverts of the current businesses.
We are also working on a John Logie Baird piece, which will be printed on to the large mirror as you enter the Arcade from Queens Road. Watch this space!
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Town centre chalking
We have been receiving lots of complaints about offensive chalking across the town centre.
The chalking is a protest against the sale and use of animal fur, and is, at times, targeting one particular business who does not sell real fur.
If you see any offensive chalking like the one pictured, please report it to Sussex Police using their online reporting system.
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Please let us know as well, so we can ensure it is removed.
The offensive language being used isn’t the message we want visitors to the town to see and there are alternative ways to make a protest without the unfair defamation of a business and inappropriate language.
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Tailored career consultancy from Hastings Works will help get local people into work
Thanks to government funding secured by the Hastings Business Improvement District, Hastings Works’ award-winning Career Consultants can help local people and the staff of local businesses take the next steps towards a great career.
They will work with clients to carry out an assessment of career options exploring four themes:
* Career planning and job search
* Job-related skills and experience
* Employability skills
* Personal circumstances
The consultants will see clients for regular appointments as they make progress towards agreed career goals and they will recommend a number of activities that will help people’s careers progress.
These may be available at Hastings Works or elsewhere.
All courses are delivered in a relaxed, informal and supportive environment and they will help to build confidence, self-esteem and increase employability levels.
What training is right for me?
At the very least, a lot of employers expect evidence of a candidate’s literacy, numeracy and IT skills. However, people often lack confidence in these areas, perhaps feeling that ‘they just cannot do maths’ or ‘computers are not for them’.
If this is you then Hastings Works’ English, maths and IT courses are a great place to start.
If you are looking to move into business administration, hospitality and tourism, retail, customer services, social care, construction or security Hastings Works’ courses will help you secure key accreditations, giving you that all important advantage when seeking work within these sectors.
All of these courses will help you improve your confidence and ability in each specific area.
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Free promotional space in the town centre
Don’t forget as a levy payer, you are entitled to two free promotional spaces per year in the town centre. We even have a gazebo and tables available to use!
To find out more, please get in touch with Chloe.
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| Welcome to the new businesses in the town centre!
Maya’s Deli – Cambridge Road
Hanushka Coffee – Opening soon on Robertson Street
Wow (glass and mirrors) – Queens Road
Savers – Queens Road
Magic Corn – Wellington Place
Another cafe is also set to open in Robertson Street soon, and we’re pleased to see some work has begun at the old H.A.P Munday site on Havelock Road. |
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