Possible retrofit designs by Urban View architects - upgrading and extending the blocks to provide additional high quality social housing for many decades to come.
11th March 2023 - Refurbish Don’t Demolish in Hastings
The Four Courts and Clifton Court
Hundreds of social housing flats in Hastings are under threat of demolition. Orbit plans to demolish Clifton Court, a block of 53 flats in Holmesdale gardens, which has now been sitting empty for over two and a half years. Southern Housing is currently moving hundreds of people out of the Four Courts flats in Hollington and intends to demolish nearly 400 flats there over the next 10 years. All these blocks are structurally sound buildings that could be refurbished to bring them up to modern safety, accessibility and energy efficiency standards.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
- Sign the petition and share it!
Ask Southern Housing and Orbit to refurbish not demolish these flats - Respond to the consultation on the Local Plan by Hastings Council.
The local plan is the legal framework determining what developers can and can’t do. If the local plan says demolition is approved then this makes it very difficult for the council to refuse planning permission to do that - and it currently does approve demolition!! The plan refers to all these flats as ‘renewal areas’ and supports Southern Housing and Orbit’s intention to demolish. If the plan had a proper Retrofit First policy, like other councils such as Westminster in London, then Orbit and Southern Housing would have to fully explore retrofit options before they decided to demolish - and the council could then refuse permission to demolish if retrofit is the best option for our community and our environment. - Submit an objection by April 7th 2026:
USE THIS LINK to submit your comment on the council website
It is in the local plan as Policy H6: Housing Renewal in section 7. Development Management Policies. The most important thing is for lots of people to submit a comment!EXample comment one
The plan should have a proper ‘retrofit first’ policy like other councils such as Westminster, so that Orbit and Southern Housing have to fully explore the viability of refurbishment options before deciding to demolish. The council should be able to refuse permission to demolish if retrofit is seen to be the best option for our community and our environment. There has been no public consultation or options appraisal for these buildings and the council housing waiting list is already hugely impacted by the loss of these homes without any guarantee they will be replaced by social rent level housing.
Example comment two
The plan references a 'retrofit first' policy but it endorses Southern Housing plans to demolish the Four Courts stating they 'were constructed in the 1960s and no longer meet modern safety, accessibility, and energy efficiency standards." Many buildings in Hastings were built in the 1860s and do not meet modern standards which does not make it self evident they should all be demolished. It means they should be upgraded. Building 'a broader mix of housing types, including family homes, independent living homes, and accessible properties' can all be achieved through retrofit and infill on the estate and also does not require demolition. -
Call on our local MP and councillors
to demand value for money from this public investment. Refurbishing (and adding new housing at the same time) would be significantly cheaper than demolishing and rebuilding everything. It would not provide opportunities for private investors or private buyers - but why should we want our social housing to be traded by speculators?! Another cynical reason to demolish is that by emptying the flats immediately there are no ongoing maintenance costs. Orbit and Southern Housing can then choose to redevelop the site whenever market conditions are most conducive, and in the meantime the land stays on their books as an asset that is only appreciating in value. Hundreds of homes sit empty for years while the cost of finding housing for homeless families in the town is borne by the council (us) not the Housing Associations. The idea that new buildings are always better than old is also very misleading.
WHY REFURBISH?
In the past, council housing was built by the government and the cost was paid back in full over the years, by tenants who had affordable rents and secure tenancies. This allowed people to have housing security and build stable communities. Many people who live in these blocks facing demolition want to stay in their community, and many more would love to join it in order to escape the insecurity and hardship of renting privately. Refurbishing these blocks would provide secure, accessible, affordable and high quality social housing for many generations to come. We say:
- Keep these buildings as social housing. If they are demolished there is NO guarantee they will be replaced by social housing. Many regeneration schemes are financed by selling off a lot of the new homes or by renting them out at much higher ‘affordable rents’ rather than social rents. For example social rent on a 2 bed flat in the Four Courts is currently £386 per month with a £151 service charge which includes heating, but a 2 bed flat in Alexandra Park mansions which is also managed by Southern Housing is advertised as 'affordable' (80% of market rate) but it costs £964.
- Protect our environment. Demolition and construction - particularly traditional construction in bricks and concrete - is a hugely polluting process. As well as causing years of noise and air pollution it creates 32% of all landfill waste in the UK. It also contributes to climate change because demolition wastes huge amounts of ‘embodied carbon’ that is in the existing buildings and then creates even more carbon emissions during construction of the buildings that replace them.
- Improve life in our communities
WHY DEMOLISH?
Orbit and Southern Housing claim that these buildings are not ‘fit for purpose’. New legislation since Grenfell makes it a requirement for all high blocks to have two stairwells, and the current lifts and layout are not as accessible for people in wheelchairs as some new build properties. All of these problems could be addressed through refurbishment but it is often seen as less 'risky' to demolish and build conventional ‘sausage machine’ new buildings rather than do this kind of bespoke retrofit work.
New houses are a safer bet to get quick access to private finance because they are easy to value and market to investors - or sell outright to private buyers - whereas direct investment in the existing stock is paid back over a longer time frame through rent from the tenants. Housing associations do need cash but a lot of the money used to redevelop these sites will not come from private finance, it will come from the government.
A block of 12 flats in Earl street that is also slated for demolition by Orbit has been empty since it was evacuated in December 2023 due to problems with its construction - and it was built less than 20 years ago! We call on our local MP, our council and our Government to show real leadership and fund the cheapest, most environmentally sustainable option, of retaining and upgrading our desperately needed social housing.