West St Leonards Neighbourhood Forum
West St Leonards Neighbourhood Forum was finally designated as a Hastings Neighbourhood Forum Area in February 2024 – the first in Hastings. This means we can create an official Neighbourhood Plan, to influence future development across the area in decades to come. Progress on the project stalled as we waited for government support packages to help with this technically challenging task. In November 2024, the funding and expert help finally arrived!
Planning is now underway at a rapid pace. Although ‘technical’, the heart of the project is about what people in the area see as the best development aims for West St Leonards, drawing on local knowledge and ideas about needs and desires, in more detail than the overarching HBC Local Plan for the whole Borough could ever achieve.
A neighbourhood plan
This is a plan created by a local community in a designated area which after various stages and acceptance by the local community through a referendum becomes part of the local plan produced by the planning authority.
For West St Leonards this is Hastings Borough Council at least for the moment.
Click here for much more information on the process
The area
The West St Leonards Neighbourhood Plan Area area is (roughly) a triangle, stretching from Combe Valley Country Park and the Bulverhithe ‘Amsterdam’ beach in the west, across the seafront to the Old Bathing Pool site and West Marina Gardens, then upwards through multiple residential areas to the Porters Grove development (just below Crowhurst Road). With several lovely, well-used, and scientifically significant green and seaside spaces, it also includes a long stretch of the heavily trafficked A259 and the increasingly busy Filsham and Harley Shute Roads.
The area has been defined following surveys across the area carried out through 2020 – 2023, delayed through covid as well as meetings and workshops. It was then designated by Hastings BC on February 6 2024.
This is a sketch of the area,
For a more detailed map with a list of the streets included click here
History of West St Leonards
This area is full of interesting and important history, it is a wonderful story which we built into an exhibition at the Electro Studios on Seaside Road
Our brochure for the exhibition is here, just click
Nature on our doorstep
The western side of West St Leonards is bounded by the Combe Valley Countryside Park:
Management of the park is under the Combe Valley Countryside Park CIC, click here for their website
And for the Friends of Combe Valley
Combe Valley Country Park
The Bull Inn
West St. Leonards Coast
West St. Leonards Station
