Public Consultation: Should Bottle Alley Have CCTV?

Hastings Borough Council has funding available from Central Government’s Safer Streets Fund (Government website) to use for 'graffiti prevention and to help improve the safety of public spaces.' The council is planning to use this money to introduce public space CCTV along Bottle Alley. Find out more at the Council website and have your say online.

Hastings Seafront Walk & Homage to Byzantium...

I was out quite early this morning, shopping at Morrisons just after 07.00, and then walking via back streets to St Leonards Church at the end of Undercliff, then crossing to the seafront. I walked eastwards and took this photograph looking back to the west (my earliest photographs today are all facing away from the sun 😎), with Eastbourne and Beachy Head way over there in the distance. Indeed, the tide would be turning back towards shore about 10 minutes after I took the photograph.

The first photograph with a direct reference to the vampire film Byzantium (YouTube trailer), half of which was filmed in Hastings and half was filmed in Cork, is of the lower promenade part of the Azur Marina Pavilion (website), which was built in the 1930s; Hastings & St Leonards has quite a few art deco buildings from this time! This part of the building is featured in the film as the lounge of a home for older people, and the character played by Saoirse Ronan plays the piano here, and more, but I shan't ruin it in case you haven't seen the film yet, and decide to... 😉 I first wrote about the Azur over 7 years ago, when I reviewed the breakfast served, and eaten by me, here (blog).

I carried on eastwards, deciding to look back and take this photograph, with the Azur Marina Pavilion dwarfed by, and apparently listing towards it, Marine Court, which I have written about before (blog). Marine Court is another fine 1930s building and modelled on the Cunard Liner the Queen Mary, the blog is well worth the read.

Carrying on to the east and I walked through Bottle Alley, shortly before the end of which I looked back westwards again and took this photograph. I have written about Sidney Little's Bottle Alley before when the new lighting was installed 5 years ago, when I also mentioned it featuring in the film Byzantium (blog).

Carrying on further to the east and I soon reached one of the main stars of the film Byzantium (trailer), as in, the building used in the film as Byzantium. This was originally called the Palace Hotel, and was built in 1885-86, it is now the Grade II listed Palace Court, and is across the road from the beach.

Again looking back westwards, although nothing to do with the film, indeed, it wasn't even here when Byzantium was being filmed in Hastings, but I photographed this really quite marvellous sculpture on the beach. This was created as part of the 950th Battle of Hastings anniversary celebrations and depicts a Norman Longboat (blog).

First of all I have to admit the photograph above is one I took quite a few years ago, so you may well have seen it before, but in the film Byzantium the beaches of Hastings are filmed quite a bit, so a decision? I thought about photographing the groyne on the beach where the other main character, played by Gemma Arterton, well, I shan't say what she was doing there, but she was playing a vampire... 😉 Anyway, the beach above, and some of the fishing boats there, was featured in the film too, and this photograph also includes the East Hill in the background. Very early in the film, when the 2 main characters Clara and Eleanor Webb (Arterton and Ronan) are about to enter Hastings, they cross the East Hill and the camera looks down into Hastings Old Town, I have shared quite a few photographs of similar images before, particularly when walking back across Hastings Country Park during recent 'lockdowns.'

Anyway, the destination of my walk was Rock-a-Nore, and when the footpath ended, and Rock-a-Nore Road enters into car parks, unless walking down to the beach and rocks, this is as far as one can walk, and this one (me) didn't fancy walking any further eastwards today, particularly as the tide was coming in now. So the view of the cliffs looking eastwards from Rock-a-Nore, and up on top there Hastings Country Park.

I hope you have all enjoyed your August Bank Holiday, stay safe folks!

Bottle Alley Lights until Remembrance Sunday

Yesterday evening the lights in Bottle Alley were displayed in their finery in honour of Armistice Day and will be displayed during evenings until Remembrance Sunday (Hastings Borough Council facebook page). 

This is a fine way to commemorate Armistice Day and to remember the service and sacrifice of those in many wars who have defended our freedom and our way of life... 

But, surely it is now time to make Armistice Day a public holiday in Britain, just as it is already in France and Belgium, where they appear to care more for fallen British lives than the British Government does?!?

Hastings Pier, again...

I took this photograph a few hours ago, and it's a beautiful day as you can see... But Hastings Pier now has even less to do on it than when the charity was floundering, indeed, that's when it's actually been open, as we well know that the Pier hasn't been open many days, weeks, and even months in the nearly 1 year that the new owner purchased it for the knock-down price of just £60,000! 

The opportunity to join in enthusiastically with the many highly visited Hastings events has not been taken, the centre Deck building isn't being used, the owner has been squabbling with local groups rather than cooperating with some very knowledgeable and experienced local residents. Indeed, the excellent plan the Friends of Hastings Pier had produced (eg blog) looks to have been noticed with hints from the new owner, but NOTHING has happened, other than getting permission for slot machines and a shed that had sat on the Pier for ages without planning permission, and for another few sheds too, though the ones already there remain empty, sad days...

And there is nothing at the gates about opening times...

Oh yes! Incidentally, who made the decision to get rid of the cycle lane between Bottle Alley and opposite Robertson Street, I was so close to being hit by a cyclist earlier, who obviously wasn't looking ahead when I was in front of the Pier, ludicrous!

Bottle Alley Light Show

The light show in Bottle Alley is now every evening from 7.30 pm, for 30 minutes on Fridays and for 10 minutes every other day, until further notice, I guess, seeing as British Summer Time starts at 01.00 am overnight (31st March, and many thanks to the Hastings Borough Council facebook page for this excellent image). Let's hope we won't be disappointed on All Fools Day regarding this view! 

Along the Seafront and the Pier!

OK, I didn't get to walk on the Pier, but some news further below. Last weekend I had a lovely walk in delightful weather, and I think I had never taken photographs from above the White Rock Hotel before, so here you are, with Beachy Head in the distance!

Oh yes, and you can see Hastings Pier below this position too, teeming with people?

Of course it wasn't, indeed, don't expect to see Hastings Pier open before May, if then, and certainly don't be surprised if it is still closed for the Easter holidays! Much has been said in the media, locally, and by the owner about the ex-Hastings Pier Charity, Friends of Hastings Pier, and the response of Hastings people to the owner, Mr Gulzar, and his mini-me companion the not Lord, please don't believe a word they say! At the bottom of this blog I have reproduced a statement written by Jess Steele, local activist and founder and director of Jericho Road Solutions, who helped Friends of Hastings Pier with their bid for the Pier, and which may help you better understand the truth.

Oh yes, I had a look underneath, nowt happening there either!

Bottle Alley has improved in recent years, I love the lighting effect in the dark, however, still much antisocial behaviour going on here (not a surprise either, many people do not seem to care about others or rules these sad days!), I didn't want to share an image of dog faecal matter, but this was the fourth cyclist to pass me, and it is clearly marked at all entry points to the lower promenade, and Bottle Alley, "NO CYCLING" 😠

By West Marina Gardens and the caravans that settle here during the year will again be moved along by Sunday for the 10.30 start, and the finish, of the 35th Hastings Half Marathon (blog from last year, and their website).

I did notice that the Goat Ledge cafe is advertising for staff, and I've given details before about their opening times (blog), and their continuing to prosper; you can find out contact details at their website, or just walk along there and maybe enjoy refreshment!

Then I saw many kites being flown, what was that all about?!?

Aha! It was the annual Fly Kites Not Drones event organised by Hastings Against War (website), part of an international campaign than began in Afghanistan.

And before I headed to the Jolly Fisherman (older blog) micropub in East Beach Street for lunch, I took a photograph of Hastings RNLI Lifeboat Station (above).

STATEMENT FROM JESS STEELE REGARDING HASTINGS PIER

February 2019

Since last summer there has been a disturbing level of polarisation within the town about the pier. I hope that this statement will help to tackle that and remind us of the positivity that was the hallmark of the campaign to save the pier. This statement comes from me as an individual and I’d like to lay out my involvement as clearly as I can.

• I was one of the local people who got together to try to save the pier in 2006 when it was closed for safety reasons due to lack of investment by the private owner Ravenclaw (based in Panama). We set up Friends of Hastings Pier as a community group to keep the pier in the public eye.
• In January 2008 it became clear no-one else was going to rescue the pier so we set up Hastings Pier & White Rock Trust. HPWRT was like the ‘midwife’ to try to deliver a different future for the pier – we focused on funding, ownership, engineering, commercial propositions, and very high levels of community involvement.
• Once we were successful with HLF funding we established Hastings Pier Charity (HPC) to take the project forward and changed the name of HPWRT to White Rock Trust to focus on the rest of the neighbourhood.
• As the voluntary Treasurer, I played a leading role in overseeing the first phase of HLF funding – including supporting the main ‘Round 2’ bid to HLF for £11.5M, helping to raise the match-funding, working with the council to achieve the CPO, and seeing the organisation through the conversion from a charity to a charitable community benefit society so that it could raise community shares.
• I resigned from Hastings Pier Charity in January 2014 as it seemed that everything was in place – the ownership, funds for restoration, the board and a staff team. I became just an ordinary shareholder, delighted that the pier was being restored.
• I got on with other stuff, including the transformation of Rock House and helping to set up Heart of Hastings Community Land Trust to achieve homes and workspaces for local people that will be affordable in perpetuity.
• I was asked by the new chair of the HPC board to get involved again briefly in 2017, in a paid role for the first and only time, mainly helping with financial modelling (it was my spreadsheets that the Administrators sent out to potential bidders). That was when it became clear that the pier operation was not financially sustainable. Faced with daunting distractions like a £1M impact storm and an underperforming private catering contract, they had lost sight of ‘Phase 2’ – the need for investment for a new building and an active programme to drive footfall and dwell-time.
• I was not consulted about the board’s decision to put Hastings Pier Charity into administration in November 2017 – the first I heard about it was the Administrator’s letter to shareholders.
• I was persuaded by others who had been involved in the original Friends of Hastings Pier that we should call a meeting for those who wanted to be active and constructive which we did in February 2018 – 60 people came, including Mr Gulzar. We then arranged a much bigger meeting on 23rd April with 500 people. That meeting voted that we should press forward trying to put together a bid that would satisfy the Administrators.
• All I can say is that we tried very hard indeed, and we tried to do that in a transparent way that involved as many people as possible. It was extremely hard work from Feb to June, entirely voluntary and generally very positive – focusing on the future while learning from the past. We mobilised lots of people to be ‘active and constructive’ (a constant theme throughout). We had all-welcome ‘tea and strategy’ sessions every Friday and lots of digital input. The business plan was available online throughout the ‘bidding’ process.

I have been told that there is confusion about what we mean by a ‘community asset’. There is no formal definition but for me a community asset is a building or land that people care about, owned by a not-for-profit organisation to retain the value for local people, and enables local people to be involved in its development. That was what we were trying to achieve. [An Asset of Community Value is a different thing set up by the Localism Act (20111). These are usually owned by a private or state owner but nominated by a community group as being of community interest and therefore given some protection at disposal].

Our bid, of course, was not successful so it doesn’t make sense to spend much time on it. But I am told that there is a misinterpretation of what we were offering. Or rather that we shouldn’t complain because we didn’t make a cash offer for the purchase. Looking back it seems obvious but there was never a time when Smith & Williamson or anyone else involved gave any idea they were looking for cash. Even the estate agent didn’t push for money – he just kept refusing when we tried to negotiate for time. They stressed over and over that what they were looking for was a sustainable future for the pier that would respect the fact that it had been saved through community effort. The ‘deep pockets’ frequently mentioned referred to someone who could sustain the losses for the first few years and invest both commercially and in the maintenance of the structure.

So we focused everything on those points – financing a transition period, planning for a significant commercial investment of new covered space, and raising enough funds to keep the pier properly maintained and insured. Our business plan included detailed financial modelling and showed that with the resources pledged and projected we could achieve all of that. Business plans are notoriously unreliable, full of assumptions that might not come true. But they’re better than no plan at all.

I’m happy to be held accountable for the quality of the bid, with all its errors and its ultimate lack of success. I still think it was as good as we could do. It would have been a leap of faith for the decision-makers to choose FOHP. It was a different blind jump they made in choosing Mr Gulzar.

Another point where clarification has been requested is my views of the administration process. The Insolvency Act 1980 gives Administrators a very wide range of powers. As far as I know Smith & Williamson acted solely and legitimately within those powers. But I found it a bewildering process. There seemed to be no clear rules to it and certainly no scope for flexibility or collaboration for the sake of the pier. Nevertheless we kept going – business planning, developing a partnership, crowdfunding, leafleting, keeping people informed, and trying to keep up morale for the pier staff and volunteers for whom this was a horrible time of uncertainty.

I sincerely regret the high emotions on the night of the sale and I apologise to Mr Gulzar if he found it upsetting. I’ll give some explanation, though not as an excuse, just for information.

15th June 2018 was a very stressful day at the end of a very stressful 6 months. The previous day we had put in our ‘final offer’ (ie the most refined version of the Friends Plan for Hastings Pier, with financial information and the draft Heads of Terms for our partnership with a commercial operator). But I woke up to rumours that the pier had been sold for £35,000, later people said it was £50,000. Maybe we had all been stupid, but suddenly ‘the penny dropped’ as it were. They were looking for cash! Well, we could do that kind of cash – I picked up my company chequebook, secure in the knowledge that other people would help fund this, we could just about cover it temporarily and we were about to hit our £500,000 target on Crowdfunder.

People began to gather on the pier to find out what was going on. The place was full of media crews swapping gossip they were getting from Eastbourne. I think the word is ‘febrile’, and it was also incredibly hot. We were there all day. At 12 noon I received an email from Adam Stephens at Smith & Williamson stating that ‘no decision has been made’. We waited until 7pm and then gave up. So when I got a call at 9.30pm saying Mr Gulzar was on his way to claim his pier I was not in the best of moods! I headed back down and we invited other volunteers to join us.

Many people have criticised my attempt to buy the pier back from Mr Gulzar. They may well be right. It’s certainly a key regret in an otherwise proud story. But I couldn’t think what else to do. It felt like there was this one last thing we could try – maybe he would say, “yes you can invest that money and we can work together”. I was very tense but quite polite.

More people have criticised the boos and shouts by the small crowd of people and I agree (I think most people who were there agree) that was a bad move. Pretty quickly, but not quickly enough, I encouraged everyone to withdraw to the White Rock Hotel. I sent Mr Gulzar this email that night:

Dear Mr Gulzar

Emotions ran high tonight so we decided it was best to give you space.

As you know we are very concerned about the future of the pier and the impact on the community of this private sale. However it will be important to explore ways of working together for the benefit of Hastings Pier.

I plan to be on the pier this Sunday afternoon. Are you available to meet to discuss your plans to engage with the local community?

Best wishes

Jess (on behalf of Friends of Hastings Pier)

I have nothing at all against Mr Gulzar. He didn’t do anything wrong, just took a perfectly reasonable opportunity. From the little I know of him I think he loves the pier and is doing his best. He has certainly taken on a challenging asset. Both within FOHP and on my own behalf I have said over and over that the issue is not with Mr Gulzar as owner. The only thing that matters is the long-term protection of the pier.

My problem has always been with the decision that a private owner would be better than a community owner. The dream for Hastings Pier was that it would be in community ownership (ie owned by people who cared primarily about the pier rather than about profit) and that would be a sustainable way forward for the long term – talking 20, 30, 50 years. After just two seasons from a late opening, I don’t think it was given enough time to prove that.

I stood down from FOHP officially in front of 100 people on 2nd December 2018. Prior to that I tried to encourage mediation. We took advantage of a voluntary offer from a local resident with a strong background in negotiations to approach Mr Gulzar with suggestions about a memorandum of understanding that would serve and protect both ‘sides’. At first it seemed that might be possible but then Mr Gulzar changed his mind and wouldn’t talk anymore. I do understand that he has been very much in the spotlight. I don’t understand why he didn’t anticipate that and take action to build bridges from the start.

To be clear I don’t think anybody should be abusing anyone else involved on social media or anywhere else. For what it’s worth, I would ask anyone that has any respect for me and for what we all did together as a community in rescuing the pier from the brink of destruction to the beauty that it is today, to give Mr Gulzar the benefit of the doubt, to support the pier now and to take the long term view. As citizens of Hastings we and the generations that come after us will need to look out for that pier. As Brighton, Colwyn Bay and too many other places can testify – once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Hastings Pier is no longer my responsibility in any sense and this will be my last comment on it. As the owner, the main responsibility for the pier now lies with Mr Gulzar, but it would be unfair to let him carry all the weight. I will always support the pier, whoever owns it. Personally I have no problem at all with the gold, the animals, even the sheds and the slot machines. These are the ephemera of any particular season – they are not the essence of the pier. It has been with us for 150 years, loved by many people in the town over the generations. I hope that we can get over these nasty divisions and focus on looking after our town – the people as well as the pier.

Thanks for reading, please share this statement to help clarify the situation and let’s go back to being the town that saved a pier.

Jess Steele OBE, 3rd February 2019

Thank you for that Jess, it helps explain much! 

Lower Promenade safer to walk along now?

East entry to Bottle Alley

Well, it's been made pretty obvious now that cycling along Bottle Alley and the Lower Promenade is a no-no, let's see how often it's ignored...

West entry to Lower Promenade

West entry to Bottle Alley

That is where you cycle, pretty please!

Walking Along the Seafront (Yesterday!)

Yep, it's a bit damp at the moment, so this was yesterday, and, as you'll probably be well aware, Hastings Pier is still closed to the public, not even allowed to promenade along the Pier! I saw a member of staff take 2 workers (of some sort) over to the White Rock Hotel, presumably for breakfast, or coffee?

So, with the Pier's Pavilion Restaurant closed, along to the Goat Ledge cafe instead, for me, great little business, open from 9 to 4pm, I believe, nice one, cheers!

... further back in Bottle Alley I saw this, not sure if it's architecture or art, but quality construction, someone took time to present this, another nice one!

And it's true, the Children's Library in Robertson Passage no longer exists, luckily there's a great children's department in the upgraded Hastings Library (blog).

Walking along the Seafront

Well, Hastings Borough Council appears to be trying to help make walking along the seafront a pleasant experience, however, much of the Lower Promenade still allows drinking, so, OK at prominent points, no rowdy music and tins of extra strong lagers and cider, but still paces where the alcohol remains 'King!' 

Oh yes, and why isn't there a cycle path between Warrior Square and the end of Robertson Street on the Upper Promenade anymore, it becomes quite anarchic on a sunny day, and will be even more so when the summer arrives?!? And why are people allowed to ride cycles along the Lower Promenade and through Bottle Alley, isn't one cycle path/shared pedestrian area and the road enough for cyclists?!? With the covering up of the 'No Cycling' message near the Pier, there's nothing preventing cyclists, or as a good friend of mine who is a cyclist says, "people riding bikes" making even the Lower Promenade and Bottle Alley unsafe and not a pleasure to promenade along!

Bottle Alley, Film Star!

I decided to have an early wander this morning, just before the sun rose, to find out what all the fuss was about with the new lighting in Bottle Alley (see video on earlier blog), and I was quite impressed, it certainly brightens up the place

Bottle Alley was built in the early 1930s, the 'Concrete King' Sidney Little being the designer, and forms the lower deck of the half-mile long promenade between award-winning Hastings Pier and Warrior Square Gardens, and very useful if raining heavily! The name comes from the use of recycled bottles of varying colours used within the concrete along the wall; for more information see the 1066 website.

Indeed, Bottle Alley was one of the Hastings locations for the film Byzantium (YouTube, about vampires, so it is a little gory - thus, warning). It was half filmed in Hastings (remember Pelham car park was packed with large motor caravans and trucks at the time, 2011 I seem to remember) and half in Cork. Always fun to see places you know on film, eg one of the stars, Saoirse Ronan in Bottle Alley above, pre-new lighting! 

Bottle Alley - New Lighting Video

OK, a daytime image, but have a look at this video on youtube, impressive!

Seafront Kiosks...

Excuse me for being away, no access to a laptop (I really do like having a break!), but I'm back in Hastings and, this morning, well, the kiosk at the bottom of the America Ground on White Rock Promenade is still nowhere near finished, I've seen houses built 3 times as fast! Surely this should have been completed before the Summer season started, but then, it will be, I presume... Summer 2017!

Now I see that there is a proposal for another kiosk to the west of the Pier, above Bottle Alley (see HBC website for details regarding "Expressions of Interest"). The closing date is  the 28th of October 2016... and built by 2018, if the other kiosk is anything to go by!

Bottle Alley refurbished...

OK, Bottle Alley is all nice and clean looking now, cracks filled, etc, and I presume there are plans to do something interesting with it, but still the litter comes, the empty beer cans and way too much excrement, mostly from dogs, sad state of affairs...



From St Leonards to the America Ground - It's getting there!

A wander along the seafront, and a little research, finds that the work has started, at last, on refurbishing Bottle Alley, first mentioned on this blog a little over a year ago (page).  

Blocked off at the Pier end for now!

At the Pier itself, some of the huts have been moved away from the front, and, way down there, restoration continues at the far end of the pier...

The external cladding of the Visitors Centre has been completed, and the glass balustrade on its roof appears to be completed. Opening in a couple of months or so! (website) 

Meanwhile, the first target of the White Rock Promenade rejuvenation (previous blog), The Source Park, has had a coat of paint or two added, ready for opening on Saturday next week on the 13th of February (website). 

It is getting there, slowly but surely!

Bottle Alley: work to start, at last!

It will have been a year since I first reported that Bottle Alley would be restored (6th January 2015), and for the restoration work to begin, next month we are told... 

At last, I can't wait!

Bottle Alley and "Point of Decay"

Since Friday, Bottle Alley has been converted into a scene of art, thanks to ZEROH as part of the opening ceremony of the Hastings & St Leonards Coastal Currents Arts Festival, see website. Here are some photographs I took yesterday...  

For continuing and new events go to the website.