Owning

the future
together…
If you would like this document
in an alternative format, please
contact us, we will be happy to
work with you to meet your needs. HEART OF Annual Review
HASTINGS
COMMUNITY LAND TRUST
Rock House,
49–51 Cambridge Road,
Hastings
2018
TN34 1DT
info@heartofhastings.org.uk
Tel: 01424 235901
Heart of Hastings CLT Limited is a community benefit society registered with www.heartofhastings.org.uk
the Financial Conduct Authority: 7604 and a charity registered with the HMRC: EW82493

HEART OF
HASTINGS
COMMUNITY LAND TRUST
 Affordable WELCOME
diverse
spaces ,
diverse On the following pages you will find Our core aims
communities information about Heart of Hastings, Heart of Hastings CLT is committed to creating
and inclusive what we stand for, what we have affordable spaces, diverse communities and
inclusive neighbourhoods through:
neighbourhoods achieved in the last year, and our l Buying property into community freehold

through plans for the year to come. and capping the rents

socially driven What we are

l Supporting bottom-up development by
working closely with local residents and
investment and Heart of Hastings is a Community Land Trust,
partners, maximising local employment
gains and providing innovative ways for
long term a community benefit society registered with
the Financial Conduct Authority, a charity
locals to influence regeneration

co-ownership registered with HMRC.

We were set up in 2016 to create “affordable
spaces, diverse communities and inclusive
neighbourhoods through socially driven
investment and long term co-ownership.”
Our values
Heart of Hastings operates from three guiding
principles:
l Quality – we build homes to high standards,
homes people have pride in
Registered address:
l Affordability – for generations to come –
Rock House, rent and house sales are linked to local
49-51 Cambridge Road, earnings forever
Hastings, l Sustainability – we’re here for the long haul,
East Sussex providing the reassurance to put down roots
and the support to connect people
TN34 1DT
Heart of Hastings CLT Limited
is a community benefit society
registered with the Financial Conduct
Authority: 7604
and a charity registered with
the HMRC: EW82493
Graphic Design:
Erica Smith, St Leonards on Sea
l Focussing on partnerships with
organisations that align with our mission
and values
l Seeking the highest achievable quality
refurbishment and environmental standards,
both to reduce carbon emissions and to
address fuel poverty
l Specialising in more complex or difficult
buildings and in mixed use solutions
l Encouraging socially driven investment in
our neighbourhoods
To achieve these in Ore Valley
Our vision for the Ore Valley combines
traditional community self-build practice
with innovative building techniques and
community-led regeneration techniques to
transform a 40 year derelict industrial site into
a thriving, community-owned, permanently
affordable eco-village. Using our innovative
Bottom Up Development (BUD) approach we
aim to deliver 76 homes, 100 jobs and lasting
regeneration with wider benefits for the whole
town.
To achieve these in White Rock
In the White Rock area we are harnessing
the power of collective social investment to
purchase underused or run down properties,
renovate them using local tradespeople and
then making them available to rent at rates
which reflect the average local income for
Hastings. Rents are then capped at the rate of
inflation, guaranteeing affordability forever.

Printing: Fastprint, Gensing Road, East Sussex County Council are taking steps towards the
St Leonards on Sea community asset transfer of 12 Claremont to Heart of
Hastings. In the year to come we will repay their trust and
Thank you to everyone who has enthusiasm by creating homes, artists and community

1
allowed us to use their photographs space in this derelict building. We will work with
Project Art Works to make an inclusive amazing space,
in this Annual Review.
regenerating, not gentrifying White Rock.
 WHO WE ARE STAFF & BUD
Heart of Hastings is: These are just a few of the workers and volunteers who make up
l its members, Heart of Hastings
l the Bottom Up Development Team (BUD),
Sam Kinch, Community Organiser
l its board of directors and
Sam has been with Heart of Hastings since 2016 and
l its staff.
is enthusiastic about making his home town a better
Grassroots leadership: Our BUD team are a core part of who we are, place through community led development
making decisions about and helping to organise the Ore Valley power
station site. They are all local, all shareholders and all committed to
Dan O’ Connor, Site Steward, BUD Team
engaging and involving others in every step of the process.
Dan grew up in the shadow of the derelict power station
Directors: Our directors are elected by our members and are site in Ore Valley and is now employed as the senior site
dedicated to progressing our ideals and supporting bottom up steward, responsible for managing projects alongside
development. BUD workers and volunteers
Staff: Heart of Hastings employs local workers who are committed to Cath Cooper, Bottom up development team
making socially driven investment a reality. Cath has a background in housing, forest schools and
Local people: We employ a Community Organiser to engage and charity and non profit work. She is often to be found at
involve people living in Ore Valley and White Rock. the Ore Valley power station site involved in projects
like the gardening project.

Project groups and alliances
Heart of Hastings benefits from two project groups,
comprised of staff, board members and local experts.
This latter category include:
Kate Adams, director of Project Art Works
White Rock Project Group
Project Arts Works are based in Hastings and are
the UK’s leading artist led organisation working
with children, young people and adults who have
complex support needs. Project Art Works and Heart
of Hastings are working on a joint project in White
Rock which you can read more about on page 8.
Ian Sier, member of Ore Valley
Community Land Trust and Hastings Greenway
Ore Valley Project Group
Ian is a green space champion and has extensive
knowledge of the local area. Ian’s input into our
Steve Foreman, Ore Valley Project Group Project group The BUD team is a mix of paid workers and volunteers who have
Steve has worked in housing and he has served on participation can be the come together to make the derelict power station at Ore Valley a
the Ore Valley project group as an expert advisor first step to becoming a place where they can work and grow. Many of the BUD team live in
in social housing. We are delighted that he is now trustee, or a stand-alone the streets directly around the site, and have been affected by poor
considering joining the trustee board.
commitment. housing, poor health and poor expectations.
Tania Charman, Ore Valley Project Group Heart of Hastings
Tania has been involved with Heart of Hastings since welcomes enquiries BUD gives people space to develop their own ideas, confidence and
its creation in 2016. You can read more about Tania from people who are for some, paid work in the area they know and care about.
and her journey on page 6. interested in getting
BUD activities this year have included:
Heart of Hastings works together with local more involved in project
organisations, in the form of alliances. We have groups. Contact us using l a fact finding visit to Brighton CLTs
signed alliances with Project Art Works, White Rock the details at the end of l film showings,
Neighbourhood Ventures, owner of Rock House this review, we will be l nature surveys and
in White Rock, and Ore CLT in Ore Valley. Alliance happy to hear from you. l a gardening project
organisations share common values and vision for
Hastings and commit to working together for the
long-term benefit of the town in the future.

2 3
development plans in Ore Valley, and especially the
siting of the Greenway, has been invaluable.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
James Leathers
I hope this report shows the
ambition of Heart of Hastings.
There’s land in Ore Valley with so
many development problems, it’s
been neglected for decades. When
we succeed, there will be homes and enterprise.
Rents are rising faster than wages in our town. Our
plan guarantees there will be a growing community
of tenants in White Rock whose rents are always
linked to local wages. Next to the library, an empty
building will become a vibrant gallery, where
people with and without complex needs work and
hang out together in a way that just does not happen
now. To achieve all this, we have to believe in the
best of people, that given the opportunity, they will
transform the world around them.
4 5
12 Claremont – Photograph © Casper Cummins
We’re not just building homes in a new way. To be
part of the growing team is a privilege. On many
occasions, I’ve heard our volunteers tell a visiting
funder the moving stories of the change in their
lives. But they are too modest, too sensitive, to talk
about the support and motivation they have given
to each other in return. I have sat at Board meetings
and seen the entrepreneurial determination of
trustees to thrash out ways to get over obstacles and
make things happen. Care for one another, grit and
creativity, these are the human qualities needed on
the way. It is why we will get there.
We must thank our investors and funders for the
resources they have given us. They know we need
new ways to tackle the housing crisis and create
enterprise. Their courage has given people the
power to shape where they live and how they live
together.
Our ambition is a dream. These people will make
it real.
CHAIR’S REPORT
Rodney Buse
Over many years I have had the good fortune to
travel extensively, sometimes to the most remote
parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America. The lessons
learnt have been many, but most important is the
realisation of what people can do for themselves
given the opportunity.
Opportunity might best be described as resources,
skills and growing confidence. It is therefore no
coincidence that I find myself chairing the Heart of
Hastings CLT. Our values are totally committed to
these concepts.
Resources may be affordable housing but extend to
many others. It is skills that play an enormous part.
Skills that it is possible to learn at college, but the
lessons I have learnt is that teamwork and project
management are key skills required in so many
environments.
Our work in White Rock and the Ore valley amply
illustrate these values and our commitment.
We know this is inevitably a long game with no
huge short term gains but resulting in housing
and skills that may serve many generations. Our
purchase of 39 Cambridge Road is an important
event on our journey. Our work in the Ore valley
has been both exasperating and rewarding.
Rewarding, as it has generated team work, skills
development and confidence, particularly within
the bottom up development team. I take my hat
off to them, they are a wonderful example of
persistence and they are a credit to the Heart
of Hastings.
My thanks must go to staff, trustees, funders and
investors as we set course on this challenging
journey. In chairing national Community Land
Trust investment committees I know it takes a long
time to bring about lasting benefits. Indeed, for
many CLTs it is a journey that takes years to come
to fruition. This is valuable time, when we develop
skills and knowledge so that our eventual buildings
are homes and communities, an enduring benefit to
the area and the people within it.
This review illustrates that it has been a formative
year on our journey. I believe it will always be
important for us to remember that as a Community
Land Trust we can produce outputs. It is only
people in the community that can achieve
outcomes and impact, it is for this reason we remain
committed to playing the long-term game, however
long the journey may be.
One special thing in these pages that I would like to
draw your attention to is Tania’s report. Tania has
been involved in Heart of Hastings since the outset,
helping us get off the ground by being a founder
trustee. Tania is retiring at the AGM, having been
the voice of the Ore community on the board and as
a member of the BUD team.
I am delighted she will continue to play a key role in
that capacity in the future.
 THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Rodney Buse – Chair and CLT Specialist
Standing Trustee
Rodney has been a trustee of
many charities spanning four
decades. Initially, he was Chair
of ActionAid and also chaired
the Executive of the Industrial
Society. Rodney’s interests
grew in all forms of people
and community development.
Having qualified as an
accountant with an MBA and
running a number of businesses,
he took the unusual step of
“Acquiring funding for
community projects is often the
step forward to initiate change. It is
people who must then create it.”
Suzy Tinker
Tania Charman – Ore Valley project group member
Retiring Trustee
Tania has spent her working life in
the frontline of community centre
services in Ore valley, working
with the young, the homeless,
tenancy support, managing older
people’s services and now uses
these skills being a local Borough
and County Councillor.
Tania is proud to have been
a Heart of Hastings founder
member and trustee for 2 years
but, sadly, is no longer able to
commit to the extent that she has
been. However, she believes in the
people of the valley.
Tania says “Ore Valley has my full
support, I am also interested in the
6 7
becoming Group Personnel
Director of the WHSmith Group
before retiring early to focus his
time on the voluntary sector.
A ten-year engagement with
Community Land Trusts has
provided valuable experience.
Rodney continues to have a
number of other voluntary roles
and lives less than three miles
from the centre of Hastings.
progress in the White Rock”. Tania
will continue to be involved with
Heart of Hastings as a member of
the Ore Valley project group, and
looks forward to playing a part
in coming years, saying ‘I have
moved almost sideways’. Tania
looks forward to contributing on
site and will give time to do what
she loves, talking to local people.
Tania now runs her own business,
however adores Ore Valley, and
has invested years of time there,
she is well networked and says
‘when I moved away, I left a piece
of my heart behind’. Tania looks
forward to seeing new people join
the board.
Jess Steele, OBE – Project Co-ordinator
Standing Trustee
Jess has 25 years’ experience
of community-led regeneration
as an independent activist in
Deptford, South East London
and then in Hastings since
2004.
An active social entrepreneur,
she has established community
enterprises in publishing,
heritage, tourism, childcare,
financial management,
workspace, and neighbourhood
development. Her company
Jericho Road Solutions
specialises in supporting
ambitious local projects to
rescue the most challenging
Suzy Tinker – White Rock resident
Standing Trustee
Suzy describes herself as a
natural communicator with a
lifetime of experience in working
with people and places.
Whilst working in the private
sector with British Gas for 25
years, Suzy trained in holistic
health programmes, taking
lifestyle change to people with
physical and mental challenges.
She spent 18 years based in
Cyprus, working to fight the
stigma of living with learning
disabilities and widening access
to yoga as therapy, working
in partnership with several
international organisations.
Throughout this time, Suzy has
renovated Victorian properties
of precious buildings across
England and Wales.
Jess uses profits from Jericho
Road’s work across the country
to invest directly in projects
in Hastings, including Heart
of Hastings Community Land
Trust.
She was awarded an OBE in the
2016 New Year’s Honours for
services to community assets in
the UK. Jess has strong project
and financial management skills
and extensive knowledge of
grant funding and innovative
finance for community projects.
and agricultural buildings, often
sourcing materials from the
environment.
Since 2014, she has been an
active volunteer with Arts Forum
Gallery, giving transformational
grant funding to local
community projects.
She says: “White Rock where I
live is an area in regeneration,
with outside speculation and
new trends in ownership and
businesses. The displacement
of local people by unaffordable
rents is on the rise and an active
community land trust is the only
workable solution for housing
emerging at present.”
 11
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS FINANCIAL REVIEW
Heart of Hastings believes in community led building contractors to undertake projects that
Running since Events regeneration, bringing money into Hastings, and could be completed by local firms, who can provide

2016
spending it locally. This is the antidote to top down
regeneration and gentrification, where money is
taken from the local economy. Examples include
housing stock being bought as financial investment
by absent landlords, making rents unaffordable for
People reached
training and opportunities to local workers.
(Research on spending by local authorities shows
that for every £1 spent with a small or medium-
sized business 63p stayed in the local economy,
compared to 40p with a larger business.)

2,400
people on local wages, and the use of out of town

22
Provided work to
Where our income came from (£) What we spent on charitable activities (£)

Charitable income Staff costs 45,149

Big Local Grant 40,000 Subcontractor costs 3,486

£446,403
local people
Big Lottery 80,852 Travel expenses 
599
BPA Grants 63,486 Rent  2,631
Other small grants 550 Computer and website  1,494

3
Deferred income released  24,939 Telephone888
Hastings Borough Council  50,000 Training507
Brought into Hastings Ore Valley site costs  19,172
Other income Ore Valley professional fees  19,526

Alliances
formed with
local groups
In the last year we have:
l Become a registered charity, (you
can see our registration details on
the back page).
l Employed three more full time
members of staff, using grant money
brought into the area.
l Strengthened and expanded the
BUD team. (See page 3).
l Been invited to speak at a national
housing conference.
l Run several high-profile events in
the Ore Valley, giving us the chance
to engage with the local community
in a way that suits them.
l Bought 39 Cambridge Road, a once
abandoned office building with help
from local social investors prepared
to put their own money towards
affordable spaces in their town.
110
12
Income from the RTP Play 4,041 Events (community outreach) 4,413
Share and investment capital  17,785 Community development  30,406
Other Loans 164,750 Promotion costs 4,921
Volunteer Insurance 1,905
opportunities Members Total 446,403 Accountancy fees  722
created Consultancy fees 28,228
Subscriptions  518
Tangible Assets (£) Bank charges  1,073
In the coming year we will: 39 Cambridge Road Sundry 4,640
Continue to work towards our plans for the Ore Valley, whilst
Purchase and renovation to March 18 206,653 Professional fees (project management) 6,896
working hard in White Rock area:
Cost of transfer  1,469
39 Cambridge Road, Hastings – bought in December 2017, it is
Interest on member loans 2,308
being converted into four flats, the first of which will be ready for
occupation this summer. This tremendous achievement would This data is taken from our accounts to year end
31 March 2018. Total 180,951
not have happened without the “investors collective”, a group of
mainly local private investors who have committed their own Prepared by Third Sector Accountancy Ltd,
money to its purchase and renovation. The investors collective Chartered Accountants and registered auditors,
is still open to new members, you can use the contact details at Holyoake House Hanover Street,
the end of this review to find out more about it. Manchester M60 0AS
12 Claremont – next to Hastings library, has been many things, Full versions of our accounts for 2017/8 are available
a YMCA reading room, artists gallery, café and, most recently, a to view by appointment at our offices,
builder’s welfare office. We are thrilled that East Sussex County Heart of Hastings,
Council (ESCC) are taking steps to “community asset transfer” Rock House,
this neglected building to Heart of Hastings. In the year to 49–51 Cambridge Road,
come we will repay ESCC’s belief in us by creating an explicitly Hastings
inclusive, culturally and economically productive, perpetually TN34 1DT
affordable, neighbourhood hub. Working with our alliance Tel: 01424 235901
partner, Project Art Works, we will make this an inclusive, space, or email: info@heartofhastings.org.uk
regenerating, not gentrifying, White Rock.
to make an appointment.

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