Hastings food outlet forced to remove tables and chairs from beach

Now Hastings MP Dollimore has become involved, describing the actions as ‘heavy-handed’.

The MP met with the owners of Selkie and is writing to Hastings Borough Council in a bid to resolve the issue. She said: “I went to see Connor from the Selkie, a fantastic local business who have been forced to remove their table and chairs from the beach due to the heavy handed enforcement of a ridiculous licensing issue that makes no sense, and forces him to serve customers with additional and unnecessary single use plastics on our beach. I’m baffled by this I’m writing to the council asking them to reconsider this approach and support Selkie.”

She added: They currently use beach-safe re-usable shatterproof cups and crockery, but the licensing terms being pushed say theyb have to sell drinks only in sealed containers, which means glass bottles, cans or single use plastic cups with a lid, producing more waste on the beach.”

A spokesperson for The Selkie said: “We’ve been told to stop using our beach seating. For over a year, we’ve put out a few folding tables and chairs on the beach outside The Selkie — responsibly, safely, and with strong community support.
 Reusable glasses, regular clean-ups, tables in at night and less litter. But now the Foreshore Trust is demanding we stop immediately saying all Foreshore land commercial use is illegal. “We asked for the law. They sent a vague full legal document — with no clear specific clause to back up their claim.
We asked again. Nothing.
We asked to apply for a licence change. Blocked.
Meanwhile, other businesses have permanent seating on the same Foreshore land we are told is illegal.

"All we want is to work with licensing to ratify something we’ve already been doing safely and responsibly — just like other nearby venues.”

A petition has now been set up to protest against the move.

One local resident said: “The fabulous cafes in Bottle Alley have transformed the area and should be celebrated, championed and supported.”

Another commented: “So a vibrant business launches serving excellent food in an environmentally responsible way to people who seem to love it, so we tie it up with pointless bureaucracy.”

Cllr Glenn Haffenden, leader of Hastings Borough Council, said: "We are really pleased to see businesses in Bottle Alley thriving, we want to see this continue and are reviewing the situation with Selkie so they can continue to grow. We are limited in what we can update and allow around the Hastings Act which covers the use of Foreshore Trust land. "Because the Hastings Act is an Act of Parliament that places significant restrictions on the use of the foreshore, the Foreshore Trust will seek to work with the Coastal Users Group, the Foreshore Trust’s advisory group, and MP Helena Dollimore to encourage the government to review the legislation."