Hastings community land trust ordered to vacate strip of land in Ore

Since 2016 Heart of Hastings (HoH) has had free access to the Ore Valley power station site, which has lain empty for nearly 40 years.

Julia Hilton, a volunteer for the trust, said: “HoH has been building a vision for the old power station site, which could become a new community, self-renovating from the bottom up, creating truly affordable housing and jobs fit for the future. The land belongs to ‘regeneration’ company Sea Space but HoH has had a license to operate on the site since 2016.

“HoH has partnered with Bioregional, an international developer with 20 years’ experience of creating exemplar sustainable communities and could now be starting the exciting process of transforming the valley from somewhere seen as a problem to a bold vision for the future co-created with one of the most neglected communities of Hastings. Instead of engaging with this exciting plan, Sea Space has refused to meet with HoH despite numerous requests. Our license to occupy has not been renewed and we have been told to clear the site to enable the estate agent Savills to sell the land.”

“Every Wednesday and Saturday the site has been open with a warm welcome and an invitation to drink tea on handmade benches outside the tea shed. More than 2,000 people have been reached through various events including performances held on the stage, built for the cost of a bag of nails. Raised beds have been built to grow vegetables.”

Dan O’Connor, member of the BUD (Bottom up development team) and site steward, said: “To be told to vacate the land we have put our lives into for more than two years and to destroy what we have built and burn what we can’t transport or store elsewhere, to basically remove all trace of us from the land feels vindictive and unnecessary.”

A spokesman for Sea Space said: “The Heart of Hastings has had free access to the Ore Valley power station site for two years, but unfortunately hasn’t managed to bring forward any development proposals which have won support from Hastings Borough Council. So we’ve now decided to offer the site to the market through a fair tender process, looking for a developer with the expertise and track record to deliver the best possible scheme.

“To do this, the site naturally needs to be as clear and presentable as possible. And for a fair tender process, prospective developers need easy access to carry out surveys. To enable this, the Heart of Hastings’ licence to use the site wasn’t renewed when it expired on February 2 this year, but unfortunately they’ve refused to vacate. They’ve left large amounts of material on the site, including shipping containers. We’re working with Hastings Borough Council to resolve this as soon as we can.

“As part of an open market tender, which could include the Heart of Hastings if they wish to take part, we need to consider all proposals on an equal basis, and we’ve explained to the Heart of Hastings several times that it would be unfair to meet them and hear their proposals outside this process.

“We’ve given the Heart of Hastings two years’ free access to use the site responsibly and draw up their own proposals without a suitable result. Now’s the time to put it to the market to ensure we can get the best scheme for the local community without further delay.”

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