Pictured: Peter Rolfe, Business Ambassador and John Bownas, BID Manager (click links for what we do) During March, local businesses get the chance to vote on proposals for a second term of the Business Improvement District – ‘Love Hastings’. Love Hastings is promising: Levy bills reduced by 16% to 50% (depending on rateable values) An…
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December 2021 – Hastings Observer column So, it’s Christmas Eve 2021, and as things stand it’s hard to predict just what the UK will be doing with regards to COVID when this column goes to print in a week or two’s time. What new restrictions (if any) will be in place? Will Omicron cases still…
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Action is needed NOW on business rates, VAT, and grants for businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors, as well as for freelancers and the self-employed. We are facing a crisis point, with trade in tatters for tens of thousands of shops and leisure businesses across the country. Losses are estimated at £4bn. Do the…
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In a snap survey carried out by Love Hastings over half of the hospitality businesses who responded said the current ‘Plan B’ restrictions may cost them an average of around £10,000 each in lost takings over the Christmas period alone. The survey was triggered by a call from the UK Hospitality trade association to ask…
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A recent national poll found that an alarming 38% of shoppers have witnessed violence against shop staff, and this goes alongside industry data showing 450 recorded incidents every day in the UK – a figure expected to rise significantly in the run-up to Christmas. John Bownas, manager of Hastings Shopwatch, said: “Hastings stores regularly experience…
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Saturday 26th February 2022 8pmThe Brass, Hastings GET TICKETS The Magic Numbers are a UK-based four-piece formed in late 2002 in Hanwell, west London. Comprising two pairs of brothers and sisters (Romeo and Michele Stodart and Angela and Sean Gannon) they are known for their unique harmonies, melodic hooks, song-writing craftsmanship and their timeless sound.…
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Priory Meadow Shopping Centre has joined the flock to sponsor a duck as part of Follow That Duck, a live art trail taking place in Summer 2022 from Hastings Old Town to Bexhill On Sea. Brought to Hastings by St Michael’s Hospice and Wild in Art. Priory Meadow Centre Manager, Andy Harvey, said ‘We would…
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Love Hastings levy payers are invited to the 2021 AGM of Love Hastings (Hastings Business Improvement District). Alongside the usual business of confirming directors and board responsibilities plus the annual report we will also be consulting on proposals to go to ballot for a second five-year term. The location of the meeting will be confirmed…
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Hastings Observer column November 2021 Over the last two days, as I’ve been swinging above the town centre in the basket of a cherry-picker helping programme the town Christmas lights, I’ve been thinking about how the town has changed and how it continues to evolve. Not only did the high vantage point change my perspective…
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October 2021 – Hastings Observer column As Love Hastings gets closer to a second-term ballot to decide whether the project should extend another five years, more and more people are showing an interest in what we do for the town on a daily basis. And it’s a fair question, because, after all, we’re funded by…
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