Hastings ‘not yet ready for influx of tourists’

As lockdown restrictions ease, the council maintains its priority throughout the ongoing coronavirus crisis is to keep residents safe and support businesses.

A council spokesman said: “As Hastings’ town centre and local high streets start to re-open for trade the council has been working hard to support businesses coming out of lockdown.

“As well as ensuring as many businesses as possible have received the grants they are entitled to the council has continued to make advice on safe re-opening practices available on its website.

“Although hotels, pubs and many tourist attractions remain closed, and the town is not yet ready to welcome an influx of tourists, many of the town’s shops are open for business with social distancing measures in place, and there are many takeaway outlets offering food and drink to people out shopping or visiting the beach.”

Kevin Boorman, manager of 1066 Country Marketing, said: “Across 1066 Country our tourism businesses welcome a cautious approach to re-opening, because although they are raring to go the ‘new normal’ means quite different ways of working for customers and staff, and they don’t want to be overwhelmed from the start.”

Council leader, Cllr Kim Forward, said: “It is well-known that Hastings has one of the lowest infection rates in the country and I want to personally thank everyone who has helped this happen.

“Our priority throughout this crisis has been, and continues to be, keeping residents healthy, supporting businesses financially, and helping them keep their employees safe.

“Many vulnerable residents have been assisted through the Hastings Community Hub, which has been a great success, and I’m really delighted how the voluntary sector and other partner agencies in the town have helped us make this happen.

“For businesses we‘ve paid out nearly £20m in support grants and our new discretionary scheme has been developed to allow as many other businesses as possible to apply.

“It’s great to see the high streets re-opening. We are keen to see our shops do well and the council is backing the buy local campaign, which is based on the fact that if everyone in the borough spent just £10 per week in local shops rather than online it would lock £20m into the local economy each year.

“We are also keen for this re-opening to happen safely. This week has been about retailers re-opening and getting ready to do business again in line with new guidelines.

“We don’t want to see them overrun immediately. Next week we will be working with businesses to plan for welcoming tourists back to the town again.

“We want to reiterate that the council is here for advice if businesses need it and they can come to us for help with adapting their operations to fit guidelines. Similarly, residents can also come to us to report any concerns they have about health and safety regulations being complied with.

“However, as lockdown measures ease, protecting our residents is perhaps even more important than before and may be more challenging than ever.

“I therefore want to thank the local community for the positive response to our position and their efforts to keep staying safe. When they do go out they should continue to plan accordingly, follow social distancing, and act sensibly.”

John Bownas, manager of Hastings Business Improvement District, said: “The council has been really supportive in loads of ways and we were pleased they shared information with us that allowed us to find around £1/2m of grants that businesses hadn’t yet applied for – often because they didn’t realise they were eligible.

“We’ve also had brilliant help from the community safety team, who agreed to redirect funding normally used for marshalling the taxi rank for other security measures.

“During lockdown we had a night time patrol to keep business premises secure, and this week we have re-tasked the contract to provide daytime retail patrols.

“We’re having almost daily contact with various parts of the authority – from environmental health and licensing through to street cleaning and economic development and everyone is bending over backwards to help the borough’s high streets get back on their feet.”

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