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Chapter 3: Strategic Objectives
Objective 1:
Achieve and sustain a thriving economy
This will be achieved through:
- working with Rother District Council to ensure regeneration in
the Hastings/Bexhill area is beneficial to the economy, environment
and communities of both towns.
- providing for 20,500m2 of retail floorspace in the town centre by
2028
- continuing to support and develop the education sector in the town
- increasing the supply and range of job opportunities in accessible
locations across the town, as part of achieving a more sustainable
pattern of development and activity
- promoting state of the art telecommunications infrastructure to
enable flexible working and to attract investors
- reducing the levels of out-commuting by providing more jobs in the
town
- in collaboration with the business community, retaining employment
land and premises throughout the town, together with new educational,
research and higher educational facilities, which contribute to the
functioning and growth of the local economy
- supporting economic development and regeneration with particular
emphasis on developing the key economic growth sectors which include
hi-tech, knowledge-based and creative industries, manufacturing and
the growing finance/insurance sector
- allocating and protecting appropriate land for business uses in
locations such as the employment areas at Castleham, Churchfields,
West Ridge, Ivyhouse Lane, Ponswood and the Queensway Employment Corridor
- encouraging the redevelopment of older employment areas to meet
modern requirements in terms of space, size and service provision
and to provide for physical investment and improvement.
- ensuring that the jobs created are accessible to the maximum number
of the town’s residents through transport, education and skills
training, particularly within the most deprived areas such as Central
St Leonards, Hollington and the Ore Valley
- developing Hastings and St Leonards Town Centres as the focus for
employment in the office, retail, leisure, cultural and service sectors,
with Hastings Town Centre being the primary focus
- recognising the importance of a healthy, properly functioning natural
environment as a foundation for sustained economic growth, as well
as prospering communities and personal wellbeing. A good quality natural
environment creates opportunities for recreation and leisure and is
attractive to people and business investment alike.
Objective 2:
Ensure everyone has the opportunity to live in a decent home, which
they can afford, in a community in which they want to live
This will be achieved through:
- providing for at least 3,400 net new dwellings between 2011 –
2028
- prioritising new housing on previously developed land to assist
regeneration where possible
- ensuring an appropriate mix of housing is provided in terms of tenure,
price, type, size and location, having regard to the accommodation
needs of the town
- making decent housing accessible to more people by increasing the
provision of affordable housing, having regard to issues such as fuel
poverty and improving/regulating the quality of existing accommodation
in the town and bringing vacant dwellings back into use
- providing more opportunities for people to live in Hastings town
centre through identifying opportunities for mixed use schemes and
making best use of space above shops, and widening the range of housing
available in Central St Leonards, particularly through the provision
of good quality affordable housing.
Objective 3:
Safeguard and improve the town’s environment
This will be achieved by
- protecting, enhancing and improving the quality of the town’s
biodiversity, and in particular, its sites of international, national,
regional and local nature conservation importance through better habitat
management
- conserving and managing the historic environment for future generations
- identifying, protecting and improving a strategic green infrastructure
network of green spaces, cycle and pedestrian routes, water and other
environmental features, recognising the unique character of its functions
- providing open spaces, recreation facilities and streets that are
well designed, safe and accessible that satisfy the recreational,
health and amenity requirements of the population and visitors
- recognising the unique place that the historic environment holds
in the town’s cultural and maritime heritage and the multiple
ways in which it supports and contributes to the economy, society
and daily life
- minimising and reducing the environmental impacts of development,
including water, noise, light and air pollution
- ensuring that all development is designed to a high quality, creating
buildings and a sense of identity, place and neighbourhood that enhances
local character and distinctiveness
- ensuring new development only occurs where there is adequate capacity
in existing services, facilities and infrastructure or where this
capacity can be reasonably provided.
- ensuring developments contribute to the national objective of no
net loss of biodiversity by requiring developers to show how their
proposals will contribute positively to the natural environment and
avoid harm to biodiversity, adequately mitigate for unavoidable damage,
or as a last resort compensate for unavoidable damage.
Objective 4:
Addressing the impacts of climate change
This will be achieved by:
- ensuring that development is located and designed so as to minimise
susceptibility to the impacts of climate change, resource demand and
the risk of flooding
- identifying opportunities for renewable energy and combined heat
and power schemes
- recognising the potential of green infrastructure to help combat
the harmful effects of climate change
- requiring all development to be designed to include appropriate
climate change mitigation and adaptation measures such as green roofs
and walls, sustainable drainage systems, multi-functional green space,
biodiversity enhancement and protection, waste reduction and recycling
facilities and flood risk management
- requiring developers to demonstrate how energy efficiency and carbon
dioxide reduction is being achieved through their development proposals
Objective 5:
Supporting sustainable communities
This will be achieved by:
- working with partners to improve the quality of life in the town
- particularly in most deprived neighbourhoods
- supporting the hierarchy, vitality and viability of the Town, District
and Local centres, with an emphasis on
maintaining access to local shops and services
- providing an adequate and accessible network of health facilities
to improve health, emotional wellbeing and life expectancy
- co-locating services and community facilities to maximise access
and efficiencies
- enabling an increased take-up of sports, leisure and cultural activities
by residents and visitors through the provision of accessible and
affordable facilities and programmes
- ensuring developers provide or contribute to the infrastructure
needs arising from new development e.g. access, education, open space,
play areas
- reducing crime and the fear of crime through a design led approach
- promoting access to a healthy natural environment that contributes
positively to our physical and mental health and education
Objective 6:
Provision of an efficient and effective transport system
This will be achieved by:
- working at a local, county and national level to secure improvements
in strategic transport infrastructure such as the Bexhill - Hastings
Link Road and improvements to the A21 and A259 roads
- working at a local, county and national level to secure improvements
to rail and regional services to the town.
- working with East Sussex County Council and Rother District Council
to deliver the Local Transport Plan 3 and
measures for the Hastings and Bexhill priority area
- working with transport providers and the Quality Bus Partnership
to improve local bus services, including through the creation of bus
priority lanes
- supporting development which reduces the need to travel, especially
by car
- providing and improving a network of safe, good quality walking
and cycling routes and ensuring provision of appropriate facilities
for sustainable transport users.
Objective 7:
Making best use of the Seafront and promoting tourism
This will be achieved by:
- ensuring the seafront has a range of day long and year round activities
and facilities that attract residents, workers and visitors
- supporting the growth and development of the tourism industry in
Hastings by retaining and encouraging day visitors and attracting
high spending staying visitors, maximising the value of visitor spend,
and spreading tourist activity throughout the year.
- resisting the loss of seafront visitor accommodation to other uses,
and encouraging the provision of new visitor accommodation
- working with local communities to secure a sustainable future for
Hastings Pier, the redundant White Rock Baths, and other key landmark
sites along the Seafront such as St Mary in the Castle and West Marina
- encouraging artists and related tourists and visitors through increasing
opportunities for vibrant art and craft studios, markets, chalets
and retail
- helping to promote water based leisure, including the coastal based
sports clubs
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