Decision due on new Hastings football stadium and 86-home development

On Wednesday (June 1), Hastings Borough Council’s planning committee is set to consider an application from Hastings United Football Club to build a 1,950 capacity stadium at the Tilekiln Playing Fields, together with a sports hall, parking and two 3G pitches.

The same meeting will also see the committee consider an application to build up to 86 new homes at The Pilot Field — Hastings United’s current grounds. This development would have been expected to fund the development of the stadium.

The applications are set to go to the committee despite the council’s announcement in March that it no longer planned to sell land to Hastings United, citing a desire to maintain and improve the public Tilekiln Playing Fields.

At the time, Hastings Borough Council said the club had put in the applications “even though there were outstanding issues to be agreed before it could commit to the sale”. This is disputed by the club, which says the council encouraged it to put in the applications while legal mechanics were being worked out.

The club, which says it has spent in excess of £200,000 on these applications, has said it is considering taking legal action and seeking a judicial review against the council.

In any case, land ownership is not necessary to secure planning permission and, as a result, the committee will be expected to make a decision on the merits of the proposals alone.

On these merits, both of the applications are recommended for approval by council planning officers, who conclude that the benefits of the Tilekiln development “would outweigh the loss of the existing stadium and the existing playing fields.”

However, the report also notes that Sports England has only not objected to the loss of the sports facilities at The Pilot Field “due to the reciprocal development at an alternative site in Tilekiln.”

For further information on the proposals see applications HS/OA/20/00673 and HS/FA/20/00669 on the Hastings Borough Council’s planning portal.