Some of the most deprived towns in the UK are beside the sea. Although the White Rock neighbourhood of Hastings has a rich heritage, it is now close to the top 1% of most deprived neighbourhoods in the country after decades of neglect. According to the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019, it ranks 333 out of 32,844 deprived neighbourhoods in England.

With the loss of industries such as fishing and fish processing, a visitor economy has taken over. This generally employs people seasonally, pays low wages, provides little job security and offers low-skilled work. Educational attainment is often low in seaside towns. Those that can, move away. Those who are left are more likely to live in social housing, or in low quality, badly maintained, shared or multiple occupation accommodation. Second homes and short-term holiday lettings reduce housing supply and push up housing prices that become unaffordable for local people. Deprived neighbourhoods are vulnerable to profit-driven developers who do not serve local community interests.

Objectives:

To tackle decades of neglect and deprivation, Hastings Commons developed this project to:

• Rescue and protect the legacy assets10 of Hastings through regeneration.
• Provide a sustainable portfolio of unique assets to thousands of people across the local community in perpetuity.
• Create an environment where people can take ownership, improve their quality of life and shape the neighbourhood they live in.
• Demonstrate, inspire, and share, to create the conditions for a viable alternative to traditional models of regeneration.

Hastings Commons is an ecosystem of organisations working together, united through the concept of ‘commoning.’ Commoning is an ancient land management practice, where people had access to and responsibility for common land and resources to fulfil their basic needs. Within this project, ‘commoning’ involves people working together to positively change their environment, and in doing so taking opportunities to improve their own lives within an open and mutually supportive community.

 Hastings Commons is formed of four entities:

1) Hastings Commons Community Land Trust (CLT) - Formerly Heart of Hastings CLT, Hastings Commons CLT is a Charitable Community Benefit Society established in March 2016. It is a membership-based body that provides the governance, leadership and engagement to this project. It was built to hold long-term responsibility for the community assets (the buildings) in perpetuity.

2) Hastings Commons Neighbourhood Ventures – Registered in 2014 as White Rock Neighbourhood Ventures, is an asset-locked social enterprise property developer with a charitable purpose that takes and manages risk. Already 1/3 owned by the CLT, it buys the buildings and then finances, renovates and manages them. Once the buildings are financially stable there is a pathway in the Shareholders Agreement for the founder investors to be bought out at sub-market value so 100% will be owned by the CLT.

3) Leisure and Learning - A Company Limited by Guarantee with charitable status established in 2019. It is referred to as the creative animator, as it develops and funds learning and training programmes across Hastings Commons. 

4) Living Rents - A Company Limited by Shares set up in 2016 to provide and manage high quality and affordable housing. It is owned by Hastings Commons Neighbourhood Ventures. In December 2023, Hastings Commons submitted for Living Rents to become a Registered Provider i.e. to make it a mini housing association. Hastings Commons is governed by a single board made up of trustees and directors from the above four entities. The board, of which 93% are local residents, meets quarterly. Board members also attend regular Development Meetings and Programming Meetings.

Key Features:

Retain and refurbish. Renovating existing buildings conserves important historical assets for the local community and reduces the embodied greenhouse gas emitted by new construction.

Community Land Trust (CLT). This project uses the Community Land Trust model, which is open to all who support its goals and objectives. Members join by buying at least one community share at £1 GBP ($1 USD). All members have equal voting rights, regardless of how many shares they hold. They 6 receive regular updates on progress and activities, have the right to stand as trustees and to elect the trustees, and must approve changes to any governing rules.

Partnerships. Hastings Commons collaborates with local and regional partners across the charity, public, corporate, creative and cultural sectors to achieve their objectives. It works with Hastings Borough Council and East Sussex County Council, where it sits on the Town Deal Board; a board managing the Hastings Town Investment Plan (including housing).

 Affordability. Housing affordability is to set and protect rent levels at one-third of local median income. Rents then only rise with inflation in line with the Regulation of Social Housing’s Rent Standard, thereby protecting affordability in perpetuity. As a Registered Provider, Hastings Commons will continue to keep that policy. Until then both the Community Land Trust and Neighbourhood Ventures entity are mission-locked to provide affordable capped rents.

Community ownership in perpetuity. 100% of the shares in Neighbourhood Ventures (which owns the assets) are owned by the CLT. CLTs are defined by UK law to further the social, economic and environmental interests of a local community by acquiring and managing land for their benefit. Legally they cannot allow assets to be sold or developed unless members think it will help the community. The growing CLT membership itself ensures democratic control of the assets and that they continue to provide community benefit.

Local allocation. Hastings Commons works closely with Hastings Borough Council to ensure that homes are allocated to those in housing need, receiving nominations from the Council’s Housing Register and using its selection criteria to select those with local connection, enthusiasm for the commoning ethos and willingness to contribute. Hastings Commons also receives applications directly and reserves some housing for those who would otherwise be at risk of becoming homeless. Decision making opportunities are heavily promoted to local people, as this project recognises that decisions on how spaces and buildings are used should be shaped by those impacted by them.

Methods of engagement (Open Doorways). Hastings Commons has different ways to encourage people to take part in decision making, including consultation events, the CLT Annual General Meeting, Board meetings, focused workshops directly involving community members on certain areas i.e. types of home needed. Other engagement methods include social spaces such as the public living room, youth club and a programme of events and activities.

Advocacy. Hastings Commons is committed to influencing national policy and funding conditions for community-led regeneration, through participation in commissions, reviews, national networks and membership bodies (e.g. the CLT Network). Hastings Commons is one of Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s ‘emerging future pathfinders’ to help their Trustees better support community-based action for alternative futures. They have also set up the Hastings Housing Alliance, in collaboration with NGOs across the Borough.

The founder investors in Hasting Commons Neighbourhood Ventures (HCNV) - Jericho Road Solutions and Meanwhile Space CIC – provided early stage and high-risk investment of about £350,000 GBP ($446,706 USD). They gifted one-third of the shares to Hastings Commons Community Land Trust (CLT). The remaining shares will be bought by the CLT at below market value when the building portfolio has been ‘de-risked’ and reaches financial stability.

Hastings Commons is funded through a combination of capital and revenue grants, capital loans and income generated from the use of the buildings (rental income, events etc), plus community shares12 and loan stock13 provided by local people and organisations. Funders include national and local government; trusts and foundations; government bodies such as Historic England; private-public partnerships like the Local Enterprise Partnership; and a range of social lenders, including the Ecology Building Society.

The Community Last Trust’s operating costs are £400,000 GBP ($508,556 USD) per year. They are currently met by the combination of grants listed above and earned income.

Since 2014 Hastings Commons has raised a total of £29,000,000 GBP ($36,870,310 USD) in capital and revenue, funded by a total of 94 different grants and loans from 53 different funders. It is actively involved in national work to shape and expand the funding environment for community asset development. For example, it advocated to Historic England to expand its funding to community-based organisations and is currently working with Power to Change to convene a ‘Financing the Future Task Force’ to attract pension and mortgage investment (20+ year funding) into community asset development. The goal is to reach a steady state, when all the buildings are earning more than they cost to run. At that point, all the assets and HCNV itself will be completely de-risked and will be 100% owned by the Community Land Trust in perpetuity.

Hastings Commons has created a rare, collective ecosystem and framework which provides affordable, safe and secure housing to a deprived and at-risk community. The place-based, community-led institution has shifted power and agency away from potential profit-driven developers to the people of Hastings, enabling them to lead their own development and create their own spaces.

▪ Neighbourhood Regeneration 8,500 square metres have been regenerated in a neglected, heritage-rich seaside town in the UK, for both housing and business and community support programmes.

▪ Community Land Trust 541 shareholding members have community ownership over affordable properties in-perpetuity.

▪ Broad Alliance of Stakeholders The Commons is broken down into four entities and works with local organisations, charities, municipality, businesses, and the cultural sector. It is heavily involved in advocacy efforts through national commissions and networks.

Social Impact 
At its core, Hastings Commons is all about active citizenship—the idea that local people are the best caretakers of their community, rather than relying solely on public sector or profit-driven entities. The focus is on putting people first, making sure that housing decisions are made with the community’s needs in mind, not on the basis of how much money can be made. 

This hands-on approach has created a strong sense of ownership amongst those involved. Many residents and workers within Hastings Commons have participated in the decision-making process, whether as trustees or youth leaders. This level of involvement gives them a personal stake in the community’s future, making them more invested in its success. 

There’s a deliberate curation of who gets to live and work in the Commons, using selection criteria to ensure that the residents, businesses and their services align with the Commons values. 

Environmental Focus 
Environmental sustainability is a key priority. Instead of demolishing old buildings, Hastings Commons is repurposing them, which reduces the embodied carbon footprint associated with new construction. The renovations are undertaken as retrofit for the long term, in line with Hastings Commons’ climate commitment, using air-source heat pumps, high insulation and low UV windows, PV panels, and rainwater harvesting. 

Hastings Commons has broken the cycle of real estate speculation that has blighted the town. Private companies have in the past bought empty historic buildings and left them to sit idle, waiting for their value to increase. Rather than letting these buildings decay, Hastings Commons property development arm purchases the buildings and renovates them to a high standard. For example, the Observer Building, once a historic print factory and an iconic building, has been transformed into a vibrant community hub and construction will soon begin on 12 affordable apartments. 

Jericho Road Solutions, on behalf of Hastings Commons, was a finalist for ‘Placemaking and Affordable Housing Design’ category in the William Sutton Prize 2019.

Awards and media

This project has been featured in national media:

• BBC Sunday Politics Southeast broadcast, (link no longer available).

• ‘People tell me they’re not ready to work’: how long-term sickness blighted a town – The Guardian

• The Housing Battle of Hastings - New Statesman

• Battle to Save Hastings’ Cursed Pier - The Telegraph

• Artists are taking over old supermarkets and derelict buildings. Can they escape artwashing? - Big Issue

• Empty Homes: How a group of Hastings resident are turning the tide on the housing crisis - Big Issue

• No Place Left Behind Commission, BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, (link no longer available).

White Rock, Hastings, is amongst England’s most deprived places. Its story is similar to many seaside towns in the United Kingdom, which experience deprivation, dereliction and eventually profit-driven development.

In Hastings, the local council has faced potential bankruptcy over the lack of affordable accommodation in both the private and social housing sectors, with many people placed in temporary accommodation. There is a shortage of affordable housing in good condition, with 200 fewer homes being built in Hastings each year than was recommended by the government’s Housing Need Assessment.5 In March 2024, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities committed over £13,000,000 GBP ($16,511,300 USD) to provide more affordable housing in Hastings.

Hastings Commons is a leading example and inspiration for other communities in need of affordable housing, regeneration and empowerment. It demonstrates what can happen when a community takes charge of its own future. By rethinking what community-led housing (CLH) can be and exploiting a multitude of opportunities, Hastings Commons is providing a legitimate alternative to conventional housing models: one that prioritises community ownership, affordability, active participation, and long-term sustainability.  

The problems affecting Hastings, like a lack of affordable housing and underinvestment, are common in many towns and cities, especially those in the northern hemisphere. Hastings Commons offers a proven and practical solution to these challenges. On top of that, one of the organisations within Hastings Commons, Living Rents, is on track to become a registered social housing provider. This will unlock even more funding opportunities and make it easier to work with the local council. 

The knowledge gained is already being passed on to other community-led housing projects. Hastings Commons has advised other CLTs, like the Stour Trust in London. A new ‘hosting centre’ is being established as a space for community practitioners to learn and share, and there is even a course to teach people about development economics being planned. The goal is to keep spreading the lessons learned and core principles – community ownership, active citizenship, and sustainability – to other communities looking to take a similar path.