Hastings Commons has been awarded a £1 million grant from the Hastings Towns Fund to support the delivery of 12 affordable, sustainable and energy efficient homes in the Observer Building, which is celebrating its 100th birthday this year.
The OB Homes project will repurpose 765sqm of previously derelict floor space on the second and third floors of the Observer Building. 12 flats (eleven 1-bedroom and one 2-bedroom) will be provided for those in severe housing need with rents set at the lower of Hastings Living Rents (1/3 of local median wages) or 80% of market rent. Residents will be selected from the Council’s Housing Register using the same criteria as those who live next door in Rock House. The criteria are: 1) housing need, 2) local connection, 3) enthusiasm for the Hastings Commons’ ethos and 4) willingness to contribute to the Commons and the wider community.
Like the rest of the building, the OB Homes will use sustainable design. Energy efficiency upgrades that have already been put in place include triple glazing on windows, roof insulation, air source heat pumps instead of gas, efficient heat recovery systems and rainwater harvesting. Materials across all the Hastings Commons projects are sustainable and, wherever possible locally sourced and focus on protecting and enhancing existing on-site biodiversity (e.g. through planting and swift bricks which are hollow blocks that hold bird nests). Hastings Commons’ approach to adapting and retrofitting buildings (as opposed to demolition) not only leads to significant savings in embodied carbon from the construction materials but also conserves important heritage assets for future generations.
“We’ve been trying to raise the money to create these homes for a long time (and have been further delayed by planning obstacles) so it is great that the Town Living funding has been agreed and we can get started. I’m acutely aware, including through the work of the Hastings Housing Alliance, of the utmost urgency for these homes. And I can’t wait to meet the tenants who are going to love them!” – Dr Jess Steele OBE, CEO of Hastings Commons
The OB Homes project will be overseen by experienced IF_DO director Sarah Castle (ARB, RIBA, RIAS accredited), who will have overall responsibility for management and delivery. The IF_DO team have a track record of delivering successful projects of similar scale and scope and have previously been awarded numerous awards for their architectural work. Construction will be done by 8Build, who have worked on the Observer Building since 2019. The plan is for construction to start early in 2025 and be complete by March 2026.
About the Observer Building
The Observer Building (OB) was built in 1924 to house FJ Parsons’ printworks, publishers of the Hastings & St Leonards Observer (and many other titles). For many years, the building was a thriving hub of activity but the decline of the print industry in the 1980s led to closure in 1984. Thus began a cycle of dereliction, with 13 different owners; most did nothing to the building while it continued to decline. The Observer Building was opened temporarily in 2016 as a one-year creative arts venue, but it wasn’t until 2019 that it was purchased by Hastings Commons, when renovations began immediately.
Five years later, as the OB celebrates its centenary year, more than half the building has been reopened for use as affordable workspace, venue space, a creative technology hub and Crossfit gym. This has been supported by a range of funders. With support from the Youth Investment Fund, work recently began on the rooftop which will be transformed into an accessible public roof terrace by summer 2025. By the following spring it is expected there will be 12 capped rent flats on the 2nd/3rd floors of the building for those in need of affordable housing.
About Hastings Commons
Hastings Commons’ overall purpose is to tackle dereliction, protect the character and diversity of the neighbourhood and create an environment where people can shape their place and enhance their lives. It does this by bringing difficult and derelict properties into community ownership in perpetuity and renovating them to a high standard to provide affordable homes and workspaces, and spaces for learning, enterprise, and wellbeing. We aim to build a sustainable portfolio of unique assets to bequeath to future generations, to create community benefits in every year along the way, and to demonstrate an alternative to traditional models of regeneration.
Hastings Commons is made up of the Hastings Commons Community Land Trust (a charitable community benefit society) alongside the social enterprise property development partner Hastings Commons Neighbourhood Ventures (HCNV). Our focus is on the White Rock neighbourhood of Hastings, a part of the town centre that is rich in heritage but has suffered decades of neglect and is close to the top 1% most deprived in the country.
About Hastings Housing Alliance
A constituted community group made up of local organisations proposing and promoting community-led housing solutions.
The group has held two events:
- An inspiration session for local decision-makers with Iain Tuckett of Coin Street Community Builders
- A community housing event in Cornwallis Gardens with local speakers and activities
It is currently running a survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3TNJ8Q9) which has already seen over 600 responses. These will be used to influence the emerging Hastings Housing Strategy and the Local Plan which is due for public consultation this autumn.