Hastings Bid News – October 2019

You may have seen new signs appearing throughout the town recently with the Business Watch logo on them.

These are being put out by the BID team to promote membership of the recently re-launched scheme which helps local firms work together to cut down on crime and antisocial behaviour in their area.

Many will know Business Watch by the names of Shop Watch and Bar Watch.

Between them these schemes currently have well over 150 members across the borough,all linked via a radio network and access to a secure database and instant messaging system.

The good news for businesses in the BID area is that this membership fee (normally £120+VAT per year) is now included in the levy payments which are collected annually by the council.

Find out more about how you can sign up and get access to the radio network, secure database, and a range of other benefits. Details here.

Hastings’ annual arts festival – Coastal Currents – is back again this year, and we worked with the organisers to allow local artists the chance to create some amazing mural works that will leave a lasting legacy in and around the town centre.

Visitors to Queens Road will have undoubtedly spotted the lovely portrait that has gone up on the side of Lovage in Elford Street. The piece was designed and created by Drew Copus – who also painted the lobster design you can find on phone junction boxes outside NatWest.

Elsewhere, in Trinity Street, another of the junction boxes has been transformed with a brilliant example of folk art by local design team, Zeroh.

We also worked with the Stella Dore gallery to allow a visiting Mexican street artist to capture the spirit of Hastings by translating words that members of the public suggested as epitomising the town into a huge new mural in Priory Square.

Put on your best American-themed fancy dress (optional but encouraged!) and join us at 7pm outside Collared on Saturday 19th October to re-enact the annual ceremony which grants permission for the bonfire parade to continue through to the town centre.

We’ll be waving flags and there’ll be plenty of chances to shout and cheer as the town crier reads out his decree. You’ll then get to help ‘lead’ the procession through to the other end of Robertson Street.

Bring the kids and make an evening of it!

Do be aware that there will be a ‘cracker point’ (a controlled firework area) just opposite the ceremony, so it will be pretty noisy at times.

How we’re supporting key events

We recognise the importance of key events for our town, communities and businesses. We’re fortunate enough to have many free large-scale community events in Hastings, but they all need support and funding to ensure their success and continuation.

In recent months we have supported Pirate Day, Hastings Pride and Hastings Bonfire.

Pirate Day
We paid for entertainment in the town centre, helping to make this event a town-wide event, and not an old-town event. This year saw stuntmen, a stage with performers and live music and stalls in Wellington Place.

Hastings Pride
A relatively new event on the Hastings calendar, but one that is growing in size and popularity year on year. This year we paid for the town centre bunting, which was kindly installed by East Sussex Highways. We also supported the event with essential costs such as road closures and insurance, as well as lent the use of our gazebos and deckchairs.

Hastings Bonfire – Saturday 19th October
It’s the next big event in the Hastings calendar, and what a spectacular event it is! Following on from an incident last year, the insurance premium doubled for the procession part of Hastings Bonfire. Unfortunately this was off the back of an incident that was unrelated to the organisation of the event, and with Hastings Bonfire being run by volunteers and funded through fundraising events, it was an unexpected cost that put the event at risk. We have made a contribution to help ensure the event continues, as we recognise the importance of this out-of-season event. We have also charged pitch fees to Girls Gone Greek, Southside Wrappers and the BBQ project to be in town during the event, with the fees being sent directly to the event.

We’ve been working with Rotherview Nurseries to design a series of trough planting schemes that will result in some great-looking displays all year round.

The first of almost 100 troughs went in last week in Havelock Road and these will soon be followed with more in Queens Road.

The remainder will follow over coming months as we pick the right time of year to plant out a variety of different plant species, including herbs and succulents.

When the town was facing disruption from a large group of travellers who set up camp on The Stade, the BID (through its role in the local Business Crime Reduction Partnership) was able to quickly mobilise a team of security staff to provide reassurance to shops in the area.

A team from Titanium Secuity spent the morning in the Old Town keeping an eye out for problems and talking to businesses. When the police had managed to move the vans on the team relocated to the town centre to act as a temporary extra pair of eyes and ears for the Business Watch scheme.

Whilst we are sorry to be saying goodbye to Thomas Cook and Mungo’s Cafe, it’s great to be able to welcome a host of new businesses to the town since our last newsletter.

Turtle Bay Paddleboards, Zuzushii Art Laboratory, Riz Barbers and Floral Euphoria have all recently set themselves up on White Rock in previously empty spaces. What is great to see is that Turtle Bay and Flower Euphoria were both previously trading successfully as online businesses, but they have both seen the merits in setting up a physical high street presence in the town.

Elsewhere we’ve seen the opening of a great new African-themed cafe-bar, Carib De L’Afrique, in Wellington Place, the move of Black Arts tatooist to a better location in Castle Street where they also provide some unique gift products.

The Trinity Wholefood business is also growing, and has expanded its operation to take on a new unit in Cambridge Road where they will be selling loose produce to help tackle the waste caused by food packaging. The store will be called Trinity Refills and can be found just at the top of the Brassey Steps.

And lastly, although they have been there a while now we just realised we haven’t yet said ‘hello’ to Hanushka Coffee House…so we’re setting that straight here!

Traders in Queens Road have recently adopted a new brand ‘Queens Road Quarter‘ to differentiate them from other parts of town and celebrate their unique character. The BID has supported this work and is providing funds to help them develop the concept

This involves building them a new website (currently under development) and we’ll be paying for a variety of marketing materials as well.

Over the next couple of years we will be happy to support other parts of the town (for instance Wellington Place, Havelock Road, or the America Ground) – so if you have an idea that you’d like to turn into a reality get in touch and talk it through. We will consider funding applications up to a maximum of £5,000.

Employers can you open your doors?
‘Open Doors is an East Sussex project aiming to get young people into a variety of businesses across the county this November. They are looking for employers who are able to show young people aged between 11 – 19 around their place of work and talk to them about their career path. Open Doors sent over 500 young people to 44 businesses last year including vineyards, factories, and art galleries with positive feedback from schools and employers. If you would like to open your doors to talk to young people please contact OpenDoors@eastsussex.gov.uk or check out their webpage.’

Work Experience – can you help our future workforce? 

East Sussex County Council Work Experience Team work with local employers to provide opportunities for school students to experience the world of work. The team supports students, schools and employers to manage this process.

In the academic year 2018-19 almost 3000 students from 31 different schools across the county went out on work experience.

Students on work experience are aged 14-16) and undertake a week long placement (Monday – Friday) between February and July.This year we have even more students planning to participate and are seeking to increase the number of employers available to offer placements.

If you feel you would be able to offer a student an opportunity to gain valuable insight in to the world of work and your business in particular we would be very keen to hear from you.

Not only has work experience been proven to make a real difference to the future prospects of a young person, but it is also known to be beneficial to the businesses involved and the wider community

Find out more
https://www.c360.org.uk/education/careers/workexperience/wexguide2 and includes the employer guide and the work experience calendar so employers can see when schools have chosen for their pupils to do work experience.

As part of their succession planning, the Hospice would now like to welcome new voluntary Non-Executive Directors to these Boards.

Both of these Boards have the same membership and meet consecutively about four times a year. They are responsible for the strategic leadership of the companies and act as guardians to ensure their success, now, and importantly for generations to come.

Particular areas where they want to strengthen the Board include:

• Business acumen
• Accountancy or financial
• Income generation
• Retail – charity or business
• E-commerce.

Applications are invited from across Hastings and Rother. The Hospice is also committed to increasing the diversity of their Directors and would welcome applications from under-represented groups who could help inform and develop all areas of their work.

Application Deadline: Thursday 31st October 2019

Visit the website to find out how to apply.