Hastings Borough Council Leader: Happy new year!

The first priority is a financially stable council that delivers high quality, responsive services in cooperation with local people. Achieving a balanced budget goes hand in hand with our second priority – tackling homelessness and ensuing good quality housing. The huge cost of providing temporary accommodation for the hundreds of households that need our support is causing the challenging financial situation we are facing.

We will continue to work on balancing our budget – maximising income and making efficiencies, looking at shared services and transformation to restructure the council. The council tax reduction scheme will continue to support our vulnerable residents and we will maintain the green levy.

Reducing the number of residents living in temporary accommodation is the focus of our second priority which also helps our financial situation. We are committing £10m to spend on housing acquisitions in 2025-26, with further spend dependent on external funding. The additional £800,000 funding for homelessness is welcome but sadly just helps us address the financial impact of the unexpected increase in numbers in October. Work is also underway on a new housing strategy, look out for opportunities to feed into this in the coming weeks. We will also be building the first council-built homes for many years at Bexhill Road and aiming to appoint an enabling officer to work on bringing empty homes back into use.

Alongside these two priorities we must tackle fuel poverty, with this also playing a role in our third priority, taking action to address the climate and nature crisis. This includes promoting best practice around retrofitting older buildings to save costs as well as reducing the town’s carbon footprint. We will also be moving our waste fleet to run on vegetable oil and updating our climate action plan.

Priority four is making Hastings somewhere that people have greater pride of place. Many of you have told us that you want cleaner streets and beaches, and to feel safer and prouder of our town.

The final priority is tackling poverty and inequality. We want to work with the third sector to create an anti-poverty strategy and give everyone in the town equal access to opportunities. We need to be a town where everyone can enjoy the beauty of Hastings, the fantastic creative and arts scene we have, without the burden of deprivation or long-term health inequalities.

Check our website and social media for your chance to have your say. The first opportunity is this Friday when I and my deputy, Councillor Glenn Haffenden will be at Morrisons on Queens Road for the first of our regular roving monthly drop-in sessions. Do come and say hello!