Please help retain the St Leonards BathingPool Site for public use before it's too late.
Please help retain the St Leonards BathingPool Site for public use before it's too late.
This unique and prestigious site is located directly on the beach at West St Leonards, to the west of the bustling town of Hastings. The local economy relies on tourist trade and we believe this site could be the catalyst for regeneration of the wider area and should be retained for recreational and leisure facilities for visitors and the local community, a few possibilities are shown in the pictures above.
The local council are proposing a 5 storey development, to house 152 units, which we believe is totally unacceptable and is totally overlooking the massive potential this site has to offer. There are already several sites in the immediate area with planning permission sitting dormant and also the large area of land adjacent to the site is already earmarked for residential development.
We have raised a petition on the Council website but feel there is a need to engage with a wider audience. there has also been ongoing frustration of the registration process on the council website. The full details of our petition to the council is set out below.
Many thanks for your interest.
Please follow our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SaveOurBathingSite Or to find more information or to sign up for regular updates https://westmarina.org/
PETITION TO HASTINGS BOROUGH COUNCIL
We the undersigned petition the council to genuinely and urgently engage with the local community in West St Leonards and other interested parties to develop a clear community-led action plan for the former Bathing Pool site and the area around it.
• the Borough Council is undertaking a review of major projects, including re-development of the former bathing pool site
• the Borough and County Councils are developing post-COVID economic recovery plans and the Borough Council is conducting a review of the Local Plan;
• post-COVID 19 there will be an increased demand for staycations and locally based recreation and tourism and Hastings and St Leonards are well placed to meet that demand and provide local employment if they offer a wide range of high quality attractions;
• the former bathing pool site stands immediately alongside the seafront and the established shops, catering and recreational facilities in Bexhill Road and Grosvenor Gardens and other brownfield land in Cinque Ports Way and it is readily accessible by bus and train;
• the area offers a chance, if dealt with comprehensively, to create a mosaic of high quality formal and informal, open space and built, leisure and recreational facilities in the area;
• the most recent Borough Council proposals for the area look at the bathing pool site alone propose an unrealistically high level of housing on the site and do not match the opportunities and needs of the current crisis;
• there is an active and rising interest in the local community to engage with positive development proposals for West St Leonards, this has already led to the generation of many ideas for the area and for example seed funding from Locality for a neighbourhood forum and plan.