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HASTINGS AND ST LEONARDS
FORESHORE CHARITABLE TRUST
On 14 February 1589, Queen Elizabeth I granted to "the Mayor, Jurats, and Commonalty of the Town and Port of Hastings, in the county of Sussex, and their successors, besides certain lands and hereditaments in the parishes of St. Clement and All Saints, Hastings, all that her parcel of land and her hereditaments called the Stone Beache, with the appurtenances in Hastings aforesaid, in the said county of Sussex, and all messuages, houses, edifices, and buildings whatsoever, with the appurtenances, in and upon the aforesaid parcel of land called the Stone Beache ...” The beach had not always belonged to the Crown. It was originally given to the Church of All Saints in Hastings by Janneta Clyve (or Clyffe) in return for an “obit” - the saying of prayers for her soul. But obits were banned as superstitious and a 1461 statute of Edward IV required land given for superstitious purposes to be forfeit to the Crown. Some time before 1827 a portion of shingly land to the west of the Priory Water, beyond the parish of St. Mary-in-the-Castle, which had once been covered by the sea, was occupied by smugglers and other adventurers, who built several tenements on it. They hoisted an American flag, called the place America and “behaved in a lawless manner”. After public criticism of the Corporation for inaction, they were eventually ejected. This event is commemorated each year as part of the Hastings bonfire celebrations. Not long after, work was started to create St Leonards, and the builders blew up and destroyed a large rock known as White Rock and replaced it with a sea wall and a road. In about 1869, a company was formed to build a pier opposite the old White Rock. For a nominal sum they obtained some land above the high-water mark from the Corporation and, for £100, some land below the high-water mark from the Commissioners of Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues. Around 1888 Hastings Corporation entered into a dispute with the Crown about the extent of the Corporation’s (and the Crown’s) land. The result was that, in 1893, as part of a compromise deal, the Corporation agreed to purchase the beach for £400 “UPON TRUST for the common use benefit and enjoyment of all Her Majesty’s subjects and of the public for the time being for ever”. Further conveyances in 1925, 1933 and 1934 have added to the Trust’s land. The 1893 conveyance appointed the Corporation as the Trustee but did not provide any powers of management of the Trust land - hence the need for the Hastings Borough Council Act 1988 which conferred on Hastings Borough Council, as successor to Hastings Corporation, limited powers to use specified areas of land for public purposes, including car parking, a boat compound, religious and cultural activities and police and emergency services; and to let and develop specified areas of land. The land covered by the 1893 conveyance was between the high and low water marks. The build-up of the beach over the years has resulted in Trust land now including of an area of promenade (with adjacent car parking facilities) which runs along the length of the seafront next to the main road. The governing documents of the Trust are: the conveyance of 8 September 1893 between Her Majesty Queen Victoria, Sir Robert Nigel Fitzhardinge Kingscote, the Board of Trade and Hastings Corporation; the Hastings Borough Council Act 1988; and a Scheme of the Charity Commission dated 22 March 2006. It is important to note that the charity was created by the 1893 Conveyance and not by the 2006 Scheme. The charity has therefore been in existence since 1893. However, the 2006 Scheme amends certain provisions of the 1893 Conveyance and, in particular, appointed trustees to act in place of Hastings Borough Council. Following their January 2010 public consultation on the Stade, on 15 March 2010 the trustees obtained an Order from the Charity Commission to enable the developments to take place. The land exchange was completed on 28 May 2010. The Trust now owns the whole of Pelham Place car park; and Hastings Borough Council is using the land it acquired in exchange for the Jerwood Gallery. The trustees have concluded their public consultation to enable the construction of an electricity sub-station on Trust land. When the consultation closed on 7 May 2010, 15 representations had been received, all of which were in favour; so the trustees have decided to go ahead as proposed. The trustees have agreed a second, and final, settlement with Hastings Borough Council. This means that the work to determine the extent of the Trust's land and recover any lost income is now over. The Charity Commission made a sec26 Order to cover this settlement on 27 May 2010. The Trust has been working with Hastings Old Town Residents Association (HOTRA) to create a multi-games area on the Stade, close to Arnold Palmer Putting. This opened in early July 2010 but closed when it became apparent that the perimeter fence (which had been shortened for planning reasons) was too low to stop some balls escaping. It is likely that a net will soon be installed across the top of the pitch. HOTRA are seeking a fitting name for the facility: "Pelham playa" is one possibility. The facility is likely to be named formally during Hastings Week in October 2010. The Charity Commission proposed a new Scheme for the charity in 2007:
Hugh Marriage chairs the Board of Trustees of the Trust. Following the May 2010 change of control in Hastings Borough Council and Cllr Trevor Webb's appointment to Cabinet, Cllr Bruce Dowling has been appointed to replace Cllr Webb as a trustee. The trustees' annual reports and other documents are available below: · Trustees’ annual report for 2006/2007: 23 January 2008 · Trustees’ annual report and accounts for 2007/2008: 13 November 2008 Hastings Foreshore Trust annual and Accounts for 2008/2009 PUBLIC CONSULTATION ABOUT TRUST LAND AT THE STADE 15 January 2010
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