Hastings Commons, Hastings for Hastings Commons Neighbourhood Ventures with IF_DO, Purcell, Buxton, 8Build, Webb Yates, Max Fordham and Simple Works

This community-driven project spans 8,500 sq m, with a core regeneration value of £20 million, extending to £35 million with additional grants and collaborations. The initiative focuses on transforming Hastings Pier and surrounding assets following its 2006 closure, aiming for neighbourhood revitalisation without gentrification. Rents are set at Living Rents, tied to one-third of the median local income, and increase only with inflation, ensuring long-term affordability and community benefit.

Who is on the project team?

Architects- IF_DO, Purcell

Structural Engineers - Simple Works

SE & MEP - Webb Yates

Consultants - Northgate, Measur, CBE

Contractor - Buxton, 8Build

Describe the context of this project and the point it has reached in its development. Who was there in this place before development, where have they gone, who is there now and who will be there in future? When is the project expected to be complete?

The story of Hastings Commons begins with the community-driven rescue of Hastings Pier after it was closed in 2006. By 2013 massive community engagement and DIY activity had raised £14.5M and brought the pier into community ownership. It was always about the neighbourhood, not just the pier. White Rock was ignored and neglected, facing serious poverty and extreme dereliction, but also the threat of gentrification. The massive Observer Building - closed in 1984 - was the ‘rotting heart of the neighbourhood’. We tried to buy the OB in 2014 but ended up with Rock House, the 9-storey office block next door. Using a process of ‘phased organic development’ we converted it over time into mixed use, with capped rents and collaborative self-management, while establishing a community land trust to spread and sustain the impact. We now steward 12 buildings within this tiny area, including the Observer Building itself, having acquired it in 2019. We currently have two 1860s buildings under renovation (Eagle House and 12 Claremont) and are completing the OB roof garden.  Key assets, such as the Observer Building and Rock House, are mixed-use spaces supporting commercial and residential needs. Currently, Hastings Commons offers 12 flats housing 15 residents, with 12 more homes being built in the Observer Building. These may house up to 19 more residents which could bring our total up to around 34 people.

How are you seeking to foster community, welcome visitors and attract tenants? How are you responding to changing demographics, behaviour, market context, policy, transport habits and the climate crisis since winning planning?

Hastings Commons’ community work centres on the principle of commoning. Rooted in historic land management where communities shared and stewarded resources, commoning today means people collaboratively improving their environment and their lives in a mutually supportive community. This complements another of our 6 principles, ‘Building on what you already have,’ which includes both retrofitting buildings and fostering local talent and skills, finding solutions by, with and for the community. Our work builds local capacity through community engagement, forming networks between residents, community actors, and organisations, such as a newly formed heritage forum now influencing local heritage policy. As more creatives and professionals relocate to Hastings, we’re balancing new economic energy with long-time residents’ needs. We maintain affordable, predictable rents to keep residential and commercial spaces accessible, ensure local representation on our board, and engage with residents through events and partnerships. By welcoming small businesses committed to local impact, we create links between newer residents and locals through engagement events and tenant socials, supporting a socially conscious and balanced growth.

Please explain the governance of the project, such as its viability, purpose, motivation and any consultation and community engagement undertaken. 

Hastings Commons reduces both embodied carbon and operational emissions through high-standard retrofits, preserving historic assets while enhancing energy efficiency. The formerly derelict Observer Building alone is projected to save 81 tonnes of CO₂ annually through high-performance windows, insulation, and heat pumps, now achieving an energy efficiency rating of B. Similar retrofits are underway for the historic 12 Claremont and Eagle House, bringing them to comparable standards, with 12 tonnes and 16 tonnes of projected annual CO₂ savings respectively. Working with the Green-led council, our climate efforts extend to biodiversity, with local greening projects and a planned rooftop garden. According to the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), “deep retrofit” projects like the Observer Building can achieve energy savings of 60-65% and reduce whole-life emissions by 267.07 kgCO₂ per m² compared to new builds. For the Observer Building’s 4,000 m², this means an estimated whole-life CO₂ savings of over 1,068 tonnes, equal to the energy used by 1,400 homes for a year or 14 homes for a century.