The Hastings Commons ecosystem
Hastings Commons is an ecosystem of like-minded charities, community organisations and social entrepreneurs who work together to tackle urban decay and to implement regeneration from the ‘bottom up’ through sustained community engagement. Hastings Commons is both a place and a concept.
Commoners (the community of tenants, team and trustees) support the ‘common ground resources’ (the buildings) through ‘commoning' – stepping up to take action together. This is a pioneering approach to community-led regeneration, DIY style.
What we now call Hastings Commons has come about organically over the past 10 years. From October 2021, the trustees and directors of the core organisations – Heart of Hastings CLT, White Rock Neighbourhood Ventures, Leisure & Learning, and Project Art Works – began to meet monthly as a ‘superboard’. Jess Steele then took on the role of CEO and the ecosystem was simplified with ‘Hastings Commons’ as the overarching brand.
| Entity | Type & regulator | Ownership | Link to download publicly available information (accounts, articles of association, director & trustee information). |
| Hastings Commons CLT (CLT) | Charitable Community Benefit Society (type of co-operative for community and public benefit). Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. | 570+ members of the CLT | CLT |
| Hastings Commons Neighbourhood Ventures (HCNV) | Limited company. Regulated by Companies House. | 1/3 CLT 1/3 Jericho Road Solutions Ltd 1/3 Meanwhile Space CIC |
HCNV CLT Meanwhile Space CIC Jericho Road Solutions Ltd |
| Living Rents Hastings Ltd (Living Rents) | Limited company. Regulated by Companies House. | 100% HCNV | Living Rents |
| Leisure & Learning (L&L) | Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee. Regulated by the Charity Commission & Companies House. | Independent charity | L&L |
- Learn more about our ecosystem of organisations
- Learn more about the Community Land Trust including how to become a member
Hastings Commons Governance
Each of the entities within Hastings Commons have independent boards that have ultimate authority. There is deliberately some overlap between Directors/Trustees of each entity to support working in partnership and the Directors/Trustees of each entity meet together at least four times a year. Each entity has at least 2 its directors that do not serve on the board of any other entity to maintain independence. The boards of each entity meet independently wherever a potential conflict of interest arises, and at least once a year regardless to review and sign off the annual report and accounts.
HCCLT Trustees are all independent and drawn from and voted for by its 700+ members.
There are two key agreements which underpin the ecosystem’s governance:
Memorandum of Understanding which is regularly reviewed and requires all Hastings Commons entities to independently agree on:
- Objectives and strategic goals. These must all be aligned with the charitable objects of the CLT and reflected in the formal constitution (articles and rules) of each entity.
- Key policies and procedures which must be adopted across all Hastings Commons entities. This includes a requirement to maintain independence (with at least 2 independent trustees/ directors from any other entity), and to ensure all financial arrangements between entities are under separate, approved agreements conducted at “arm’s length” and which comply with all procurement policies and relevant regulations.
HCNV shareholders’ agreement (made between the CLT and the two founder shareholders in the company, Jericho Road Solutions Limited and Meanwhile Space CIC):
- In addition to HCNV’s articles, this further binds HCNV to work towards the same purpose and objectives as the CLT.
- Ensures the CLT has at least one board seat on HCNV as well as a right of veto on any suggested changes to HCNV’s articles or the shareholders' agreement itself.
- Sets out the process and price by which the CLT can acquire full ownership of HCNV as a sustainable and relatively low-risk asset for the CLT over the long term.
We aim to be as transparent as possible about our governance and financial arrangements and are constantly seeking new ways to explain how we are experimenting in an attempt to change the world. It is important to recognise that we are deliberately trying to be different, not to repeat the long years of traditional philanthropy, grant-dependency and top-down regeneration which have failed communities like Hastings and St Leonards. Many of our funders specifically support us because of that. For example, we were directly approached by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to join their ‘Pathfinders’ group because of our “active experimentation with alternative governance models and financial instruments beyond grant funding”.