#MakeItInHastings 3 Foreword Strategy 69 Endorsements 33 2030 Vision Executive Summary 34 Strategic Objectives & Key Principles 71 Partnership Support 4 Introduction 35 Our Spatial Strategy 6 The Investment Plan Programme 39 Project Prioritisation 72 Credits 42 Theory of Change Context 45 Strategic Fit Hastings Town Investment Plan 12 Overview 46 COVID-19 Response Supporting Annex 13 Trends & Challenges 1. Hastings socio-economic context 15 – Deprivation The Town Investment Programme 2. The Economic Impact of Tourism 17 – Our 12 Economic & Social Challenges 47 Overview of Programme on Hastings 2019 Report 18 – Our Four Key Trends & Challenges 48 Development of Our Plan 3. Evidence of Demand for Contents 19 Strengths & Opportunities 51 Programme Themes & Interventions Employment, Commercial 30 Evidence of Need & Rationale & Co-working Office Space 32 Impact of COVID-19 on Our Town Engagement & Delivery 4. Hastings & Rother Taskforce 59 Stakeholder Engagement & Support Achievements 2001-2020 63 Public, Third Sector & Private 5. Hastings Strategic & Funding Context Partnership Working 6. Hastings Town Deal Stakeholder 64 Funding Engagement Plan 66 Business Case Development & Appraisal 67 Delivery Plan Page 3 Foreword We are already on a journey of change. With the Towns Fund programme and investment, we can build upon our previous regeneration successes. Our town centre needs to focus on the future: we need to use all our strengths to engage new investors, entrepreneurs and visitors. We need to inspire and energise local people, whilst simultaneously attracting more people with vision and enthusiasm to live, work and set up business in the town. Regeneration must also directly benefit those living in ‘For centuries, people have made Hastings their home. the poorest areas of the town. We need to create more Inspired by our landscape, by the sea and our position on opportunities, skilled people and skilled jobs and inspiring the south coast, people come here to live; to raise their surroundings to lift the spirits and erase the stigma family; to leave the urban sprawl; to be creative; or to start of deprivation. a business and build new opportunities. Many have grown ‘Hastings is a fantastic town, with people and community up here and choose not to leave. And, of course, people The Towns Fund programme will enable us to progress at its heart, where there is a real commitment to love to visit Hastings to relax and enjoy the sun, the sea further in delivering our vision securing a sustainable overcoming challenges and moving forward. This and its beautiful surroundings. future for the whole town. We want all our communities, investment plan builds on our strengths, offering a restart our young people and future generations to know that and pushing us collectively to achieve our vision that Hastings is unique, but like many English seaside towns they can #MakeItInHastings. everyone can #MakeItInHastings. It will transform our it faces significant challenges. Hastings remains one of town, creating a wealth of opportunities for people the most deprived towns in England. Our slogan for this Much more is possible here!’ who live, work and visit here to benefit from.’ plan is ‘MakeItInHastings’ but we know that not everyone has been able to make it yet. This plan aims to turn Carole Dixon, Graham Peters – Cllr Kim Forward, Leader Hastings Borough Council that around. Co-chairs of Hastings Town Deal Board Page 4 acknowledged by central government for action. Our Why have deprivation levels remained almost static? Opportunity to Level up approach will be distinctive, learning from our past and driven much more by the direct needs of our community. Despite all the investments over the past twenty years, To level up we need government to develop a ‘long-term’ Our shared vision for the fund is clear: deprivation levels have remained almost static. The relationship with the coast. Not just across Whitehall, but reasons can generally be summarised as follows (based also across the wider government estate including: Unitary on research undertaken during 2019 and early 2020 in the Authorities, NHS England, Arts Council England, Homes ‘Hastings & Rother Task Force Review’): England, National Lottery Heritage Fund and others. A healthy, vibrant Better strategic and non-siloed partnerships with these • Regeneration activities over the past twenty years have organisations and a commitment to focus resources on not been delivered as a single “programme”, but have the particular nature and issues affecting coastal areas will and quirky seaside of comprised different funding streams, objectives, increase investor confidence and enable the sea-change delivery and time lines in economic fortune desperately needed in Hastings. We town that people love • Capital programmes have always relied on the ‘trickle want to continue to work collaboratively with government down’ effect in terms of their economic impact. to see this programme succeed. The ‘trickle’ has failed to reach the most deprived Executive Executive to visit, live and work communities. Programmes have generally been In September 2020, Hastings had the second highest Summary separated from activities to address the needs and claimant rate in the South East region, and the top for aspirations of the people East Sussex – its rate has doubled since September 2019. in and say, ‘I can • Leadership and evaluation of regeneration activities In several aspects prior to COVID-19 the town was at a hasn’t always been consistent, with progress significant pivotal moment in terms of regeneration. make it in Hastings’. sometimes not being monitored on a longer-term basis. Like many places, after COVID-19’s impact and the With time limited programmes, accountability has often consequent recession, Hastings now faces a major been lost threat to its economy. Our need for the Towns Fund is not just because • Effective regeneration activities rely to a large extent on we are a ‘poor’ coastal town with high deprivation, a steady curve of economic growth to succeed. This has multi-generational worklessness and ingrained poverty, not been the case over the last twenty years although these structural issues must be addressed. • Large capital builds need supporting revenue funding to But it is because we are at a turning point, and we build to a sustainable business model whilst the market cannot allow the COVID pandemic, the recession and the conditions develop to enable organic self-sufficiency. coming changes to the economy to set us back and undo Introduction the progress we have made. The Towns Fund will be a We believe this regeneration programme will be different catalyst for the change we need to embed in the DNA and more impactful than previous activities. Our key Hastings is a fabulous place to live, its qualities are widely of our delivery of hope and success for our residents and reasons for this are: recognised in the national and international press. We are businesses. This program offers tremendous opportunities proud of our efforts to regenerate the town over the past for change and a seedbed for new economic growth. • Leadership of this regeneration programme is at a 20 years and for our reputation as a great place to live, We have a very strong track record of delivering against much more ground-led level; by a local partnership work and visit. Those of us who have chosen Hastings as objectives and our current and new partnerships will of the Town Board and the local administrative body our home would live nowhere else. The heart and soul of sustain our long-term collective regeneration work well • The range of investment proposals assembled in Hastings is best expressed by its unique and somewhat beyond the life time of the Towns Fund. Hastings are both large in scale and a step towards maverick people and communities and the way we come larger objectives. Most importantly however there is together in both a crisis: Hastings Emergency Action The Town Investment Plan presented here only details a real attempt in this programme to direct the benefits Response Team or for a fun event: Jack in the Green or the the immediate potential, there is much more which it will of all these efforts to those living in our most deprived Guinness world Pirate record! Despite our regeneration catalyse and unleash. We have already started work with neighbourhoods, through inclusive growth successes, there remains across the town many challenges our partners in developing proposals for investment in • The range of delivery partners engaged in delivery now heightened by the current pandemic. ‘people’ alongside these capital programmes. Existing is also something significant and different for Hastings. funding streams are already here but closing this gap They range from a large real estate company, to small Opportunity to ‘reset’ our plans is vital if we are to improve the lives of all our residents, and medium sized social enterprises and other grow the economy and reduce future welfare and health public bodies The Towns Fund initiative offers us an opportunity to costs to the UK Exchequer. • The programme has also enabled the start of new ‘reset’ our plans over the next decade. Coastal deprivation partnerships, both locally and regionally, to focus has been documented for many years and recently on delivering economic change in Hastings. Page 5 The impact of our investment programme will be national, Executive regional and local. Summary The South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) is tasked with driving forward