Opinion: Four Courts – A once-in-a-lifetime regeneration

For more than 60 years, the Four Courts has been a cornerstone of life in St Leonards on Sea. It’s a place where generations have built their lives, neighbours have looked out for one another, and a strong sense of community has flourished.

But as the years have passed, the buildings themselves have struggled to keep up in a fast-moving world.

Now, major regeneration is set to change that, offering residents the chance to shape a new future for the Four Courts - one built around modern, high-quality homes designed to meet the needs of today and tomorrow.

Why regeneration is happening

The exciting journey to deliver this once-in-a-lifetime regeneration has begun.

We’ve listened to our residents and local stakeholders who have told us the Four Courts no longer reflect the standards of modern living. Even with significant investment, the existing Four Courts (Bevin Court, Churchill Court, Kennedy Court and Roosevelt Court) would still fall short of providing fully accessible and future proofed homes.

Put simply, we want better for our residents, and we want to deliver new homes fit for the future.

We see this as a positive step to addressing housing challenges and maintaining our strong ties to Hastings, where we already have more than 4,700 homes.

We know how tight the community is at the Four Courts and change can be difficult, particularly for those who have lived in these homes for many years.

That’s why we’re continuing to handle this regeneration sensitively and with care. We’re working closely with all our residents at the Four Courts to provide ongoing support and financial assistance.

From staff on the ground, to a dedicated web page, email address, regular newsletters and resettlement officers for each resident when they move out their current home into a new home - there are a number of ways we’re reaching out to each other.

Tackling challenges head on

Some might think the biggest challenge is finding new homes for everyone, But as Hasting’s largest social landlord, we’re confident in our ability to rehouse all residents.

Bevin Court and Roosevelt Court are both independent living schemes, where vacancies arise more frequently than in family homes. We’re also working in close partnership with Hastings Borough Council, and we’ve allowed a significant amount of time to find alternative homes for everyone.

And, of course, there may be an opportunity for some of our Churchill Court and Kennedy Court residents to move into the brand-new homes we’ll build on site. Homes they’ll help us shape as we co-create our vision for the future.

One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced so far is stopping misinformation from being spread. We know some of our residents will be feeling anxious, so the last thing they need to hear, or read, is a rumour that’s untrue.

We’ve ensured they receive regular comms from us to ‘set the record straight’ on inaccuracies.

For example, we can say with absolute certainty we have no plans to sell the site. We’ve been clear all new homes built will remain social housing, reinforcing our dedication to providing affordable and sustainable homes for local people.

The site is big enough to provide more social housing than the number of homes currently provided by the Four Courts. The new development will include a mix of home types to meet local housing needs and we’re confident we’ll be able to maintain good open areas as well.

What happens next?

We’ll continue working with our residents to ensure a smooth transition as they move out of their homes over the next few years.

We've set up a resident steering group that will influence the design and delivery of the new development, and scrutinise our performance.

We’re going to work closely with this group, local stakeholders and the wider community to shape the future vision of the site.

This is one of the largest regeneration projects Hastings has seen in many years. The investment we’re making today will benefit generations to come, providing local homes for local families.

It’s an opportunity we’re proud to embrace and we hope that others can get behind this project as together we plan for the future of the Four Courts.