Change of leader at Hastings Borough Council imminent

With news that Hastings Borough Council is set to appoint a new leader, our reporter has spoken to the man expected to step into the role.
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Today (Wednesday March 30), veteran councillor Kim Forward confirmed that she plans to step down as leader of both the council and the local Labour Party, after two years in post.

Her resignation was followed by the election of the Hollington councillor Paul Barnett as new Labour group leader. With Labour the authority’s majority group, it is almost certain that Cllr Barnett will also become new council leader when it next meets. 

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Following news of his election, we caught up with Cllr Barnettt to hear about his plans for the coming weeks.  

Paul Barnett is expected to be elected the new leader of Hastings Borough Council in the coming weeksPaul Barnett is expected to be elected the new leader of Hastings Borough Council in the coming weeks
Paul Barnett is expected to be elected the new leader of Hastings Borough Council in the coming weeks

He said: “I’m going to do this my own way and I think the best thing you can do in a role like this is to be yourself. My natural style is to be open and consultative and try to work with anybody who wants to work with me. 

“I think that is what the town needs anyway. I think we can be a great town. Hastings is on the way to becoming a great town, but only when we start to close the gap, the gap between the haves and the have nots. 

“I will work with anybody, public or private sector, residents, entrepreneurs. I will work with anybody who wants to help do that. I will be asking everybody I meet how they can help close that gap. 

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“I think it is something the whole town needs to come together to do.”

Cllr Barnett said it was in his view the council’s role to help support and lead this “whole town approach” by fostering partnerships with local groups. 

He also highlighted his hopes for the council’s new local plan — the document which shapes planning decisions throughout the district. Cllr Barnett said he hoped the new plan (which is expected to go out to the next round of public consultations later this year) would be able to prioritise the council’s environmental aims. 

This, he said, could take the form of policies which prioritise open spaces, make it easier to install renewable solar and wind power in the town and put a greater focus on sustainable transport. 

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He also said he would want the plan’s policies to prioritise disability access in the town, particularly in cases where such access has previously come into conflict with the protection of listed buildings.

While he has been the council’s deputy leader for the past year, Cllr Barnett is a relatively newly-elected local councillor. He was first elected to the council in 2018 and — after four years as ward councillor for Hollington — will be seeking re-election for the first time this May. 

He said: “I’ve absolutely loved it. Hollington is a fantastic place to work. I’ve got so much respect for the community. 

“The community has had a raw deal there for many, many years with a lack of investment, particularly in the last ten years with cuts to all kinds of services. And yet, people are incredibly resilient and proud of coming from Hollington. 

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“I feel like I am just beginning to become part of that community and help actually lead to some real improvements. I spend a lot of time in the ward and that won’t stop now I have got this position.” 

He added: “I think there is something to be said about the role of a local councillor being very different to how the public see it. We need to be much more visible so that people understand we are ordinary people just like them that come from a range of different backgrounds.  

“We are not professional career politicians. We fall into politics to put something back into the community at various stages of our lives. 

“We’ve got plumbers, we’ve got teaching assistants, landscape architects, someone who works at Dungeness Power Station. People come from all different walks of life to become councillors.”

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