Category: <span>HOT Blogs</span>

Collected rubbish from the salt marshes of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve Preventing Plastic Pollution!

On 18 November Andy Dinsdale and Beverley Coombes organised a Strandliners’ event: Preventing Plastic Pollution, funded by the EU’s Interreg fund, The Rivers’ Trust, Sea-Changers, Rother District Council and local donors. “It’s great to pick up rubbish from our natural environments and bin it, but is it enough?”, asks Andy. “What more can we do to prevent the plastic pollution in the first place?” HOT’s Zelly Restorick, a rubbish-picker-upper since coming to Hastings over 20 years ago, attended this event and reports on what she and the team did to go that extra mile. (All images provided by

Posted 15:44 Wednesday, Nov 23, 2022 In: Clean Seas Please! Tags: #2minutebeachclean Andy Dinsdale Beverley Coombes Preventing Plastic Pollution Strandliners Zelly Restorick

Strandliners: what’s new?

Strandliners is a local Community Interest Company headed by human dynamo, Andy Dinsdale and a team of determined and loyal volunteers. Their mission statement: ‘increasing public awareness of our environment through citizen science and community engagement’. Zelly Restorick reports.

Posted 12:27 Saturday, May 14, 2022 In: Clean Seas Please! Tags: Andy Dinsdale Break Free from Plastic Marine Conservation Society Strandliners Surfers Against Sewage The Big Plastic Count

2022 HBC election results: what do they tell us?

Though it was the Green Party gains which grabbed the headlines, there is much to be learned from the implications of last week’s election of 16 councillors to Hastings Borough Council for politics in Hastings & Rye. James Prentice sifts through the facts and figures to address such questions as: how did the Greens gain such rapid support in four Labour seats? should the Conservatives ditch Boris Johnson? and should Labour change Keir Starmer’s new approach? Graphics by the writer except where stated.

Posted 20:05 Wednesday, May 11, 2022 In: Elections 2022 Tags: conservatives Greens HBC James Prentice labour Liberal Democrats

Countdown to no overall control

HOT’s Chris Connelley spent Friday at this year’s election count and reports on the reaction from the floor as the results emerged which eventually moved Hastings Borough Council into no overall control.

Posted 20:17 Sunday, May 8, 2022 In: Elections 2022 Tags: Andy Batsford Andy Patmore Chris Connelley conservatives Greens labour

Labour makes the difference!

HOT has asked the four local parties for a brief rundown of their policies and reasons why you should vote for them. Here is the response on behalf of the Labour Party from Paul Barnett, the Hastings Borough Council leader.

Posted 19:21 Thursday, Apr 21, 2022 In: Elections 2022 Tags: Hastings Council labour Paul Barnett

Hastings: the key battlegrounds

In less than a month the town will be electing 16 councillors for Hastings Borough Council (HBC) as local elections take place in England for the second year running. Last year Labour’s once solid majority was shaken by Tory gains and the Greens winning their first seat. So how will the council look after 5 May? PhD researcher James Prentice of Capture Politics outlines the prevailing political situation and which are the seats most likely to change hands.

Posted 20:17 Sunday, Apr 10, 2022 In: Elections 2022 Tags: conservatives Greens HBC James Prentice labour Lib Dems Nick Terdre

Lib Dems’ campaign calls out Tories and Labour

HOT has asked the four local parties for a brief rundown of their policies and reasons why you should vote for them. Here is the response on behalf of the Liberal Democrats from Hastings and Rye chair Bob Lloyd.

Posted 18:53 Friday, Apr 8, 2022 In: Elections 2022 Tags: Bob Lloyd Lib Dems

We can win! say Greens

HOT has asked the four local parties for a brief rundown of their policies and reasons why you should vote for them. Here is the response from the Green Party, who marked their election campaign launch last month with a visit from MP Caroline Lucas.

Posted 17:58 Thursday, Apr 7, 2022 In: Elections 2022 Tags: Caroline Lucas Green Party Julia Hilton