Hastings Town Deal: where are the green connections?

The latest plans for Hastings town centre regeneration have been unveiled, following a year long public consultation.

In case you missed it, here are the plans presented to consultation in 2024.

You can see clearly that the plan involves a green network. The new green network’s ambition is ‘to create an environment for people and nature, with safe walking and cycling routes, linking the public realm, green spaces, and important community sites across the town’.

The lines in red show the boundaries of traffic free areas and the station is clearly connected to both the beach and the seafront cycling and walking routes.

Results of the consultation

The consultation was carried out by ESCC and the results showed strong public support for the project. You can read the full results here .

So what’s happening now?

East Sussex Transport Authority have not been brave enough to build a completely people-friendly public realm and instead opted to deliver a version of public space with a tarmac road running through the middle of it.

• The route will continue to allow buses, taxis and HGVs to pass through the town centre in both directions
• This bus and vehicle route will be miserable highway black, a stripe of tarmac right through the ‘green space’, There is not even a plan to lay lighter coloured surface over their road
• There will now be a crossing over the A259 main road to the beach rather than allowing people direct access to the beach from Harold Place. Cars are still given total priority
• Pedestrians and active travellers are not even being given priority at junctions coming in and out of the town centre. The design is such that pedestrians are still subservient to motor vehicles

What can I do about it?

There is a Town deal Open day on Saturday 21st June 2025.

We urge everyone to go and have a look in Priory Meadow and comment whatever you can. Please ask why, despite the results of the consultation, has the design been changed to deliver less of what people have said they want?