To begin with, further to my blog earlier this week, a Crowdfunding page has been set up on which to submit donations; if £500,000 is not raised by the end of May 2018, donations will be returned to each individual. If you have pledged support to the Friends of Hastings Pier, but have not submitted any money or cheques yet (apparently already £111,210 has been pledged, though not yet reflected in the amount on Crowdfunding), please carry through with your pledge there, though the amount donated does seem to rise every time I look at the page, good stuff!
Also, the 5 Friends of Hastings Pier members who were voted for after the meeting all received good support to represent the interests of the Friends of Hastings Pier as "spokespeople." Hastings Voluntary Action counted the votes, with a total of 377 people voting, of whom 291 voted for all 5 candidates, results: Jim Breeds 314; James Chang 324; Lesley Davis 332; Jess Steele 362; Adam Wide 340.
The Friends of Hastings Pier's 5 principles behind their pledge to ensure the Pier is "enjoyed by all who live in and visit Hastings and St Leonards on Sea" are listed on the Crowdfunding page, and are copied below.
People get a say in what happens next: This community rescued the pier and have demonstrated a commitment to it through investing/donating as shareholders, volunteering, visiting and otherwise supporting the Pier. The community should be involved in deciding what happens next.
The community’s asset should not be sold off into private hands: Whilst financial support might be needed again in the short term, we believe that the Pier can be financially viable, indeed profitable, in the medium to long term. Selling off the Pier into private hands would be risky, irreversible, and will result in the loss of community control of a valuable and strategic local asset.
A partnership approach to ownership and operation is the way forward: We support an approach based on partnership between the community and a commercial operator. Ownership of the Pier’s freehold remains protected in perpetuity, fulfilling HLF’s desire to see the heritage managed, while a private sector operator develops its commercial success above deck, making annual payments that cover maintenance and insurance. We would expect to support the early years of the operation through a rent-free period which would require grants and community investment to fill the short-term gap.
Good results are underpinned by good governance: Decision making, transparency and governance of the pier must improve as an important part of making a community partnership work. Financial transparency, an improved governance structure and improved communications are all needed to underpin community engagement.
The Pier should remain a space that everyone can enjoy and take pride in: We know that some kind of shelter, new building or other development is necessary as part of an ambitious business plan for a 21st Century pier. We believe this can be done in a way that complements and does not compromise the wonderful space that won the RIBA Stirling Prize.
