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.

(Mostly Good) News about Empty Buildings + Roadworks

The once gracious Post Office in the town centre, and the much newer University of Brighton building adjacent/behind it, are to become 41 flats and 667 square metres of commercial floorspace (The Argus). Very glad to see the old Post Office building will be refurbished, but sad that the University of Brighton couldn't find enough students for its Hastings campus. Oh yes, and where will the new inhabitants find to park vehicles?

And things are moving for business around Hastings Castle and St Mary in the Castle, 10 years ago our glittering 'Jewel in the Crown' (blog), but sadly not for the church itself at the moment. The management of Hastings Castle and the adjacent cafe by the top of West Hill lift, is now to be run by Troika Projects (HBC website), and the shopping arcade, design based on Burlington Arcade, is to become a food hall with 7 different ethnic food restaurant booths (Sussex World); Indian, Italian, Turkish, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

Now I do realise that there are roadworks in other parts of town, and my thoughts go out to the drivers, and pedestrians, who have to put up with them. But nearest to where I live are these roadworks by The Carlisle at the seafront, and where they go on and on, no joke...

Clocks Spring/Sprung Forward!

Did you remember to change your clocks before you went to bed last night? If not, your mobile phones and computers may well show you are now up at 06.54 instead of 05.54 as we lost an hour between 01.00 and 02.00 this morning. Indeed, we 'time travelled' overnight as time moved forward, and in Britain we are no longer on Greenwich Mean Time (website)!

Some Still Closed BUT Some Opening...

Good to see the Bottle of Hastings premises has been taken over (and the same website address!) by another Wine Bar (and coffee) Shop, Hastings Wine & Coffee, 91-92 Queens Road TN34 1RL (website). I shall write more after a visit, plus about buying wine in Hastings, including Penbuckles, which shall also be coming into another blog soon!

Interesting that apparently unsellable building's frontages are being decorated, for example Debenhams (above) and the St Mary in the Castle Restaurant. I recently mentioned that Peacocks closed down 5 years ago (blog), but all that's happened since was immediate redecoration, some other work was done (?), and the doorway was boarded up when a couple of tents set up residence there; I do understand why it was boarded up, and it has happened elsewhere, but is this really the way to sort out housing problems, just push them away?

Hastings Half Marathon ran by some anyway!

Well, many runners decided to run the Hastings Half Marathon 2025 anyway, despite it being cancelled (blog). I only found out when I looked at the Hastings Photographers facebook page, and discovered the many photographs posted there!

These first 2 photographs from Hastings Photographers were taken by Marie Richardson.

I presume many runners decided to complete the half marathon as they had trained for the event so went through with it anyway, and others ran because they had already raised money for charities. Apparently, some ran the actual full course, though likely not in the road for some parts, and others made up the distance running along the seafront.

The third and fourth photographs, again from Hastings Photographers, were taken by Brian Bailey. Many thanks to Marie and Brian, and great respect to all those who ran the 2025 Hastings Half Marathon! I wish I'd known...