Hastings council to discuss sale of Grade II listed building

Among the assets, owned by Hastings Borough Council, earmarked for sale is 12–13 York Buildings in Hastings town centre.

This Grade II listed building has a shiny black tile frontage and bay windows. The ground floor retail unit is currently home to Millets.

It also has basement storage and three upper floors converted to six one-bedroom flats.

The council had been working on ways to use the flats for social housing but it has decided that due to the unique nature of the property, it is unsuitable for this.

Plans are to sell the whole building, including the retail unit.

Two other sites marked for sale are land at rear of 419 to 447 Bexhill Road and Mayfield E.

Both these sites have outline planning consent for residential development and the full planning application for Bexhill Road is currently going through the planning process.

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The council said selling this land would allow social housing to be built more quickly than if it was to develop them itself.

Upper Wilting Farm in Rother could also be sold.

The site is approximately 188 acres and is made up of a main block with two smaller parcels of grassland and woodland. 

Much of the southern area of the main block is SSSI (site of special scientific interest).

The land is in the strategic gap in the Rother Local Plan which is designed to restrict built development.

Plans for the sale of these four assets will be discussed at a cabinet meeting on Monday, August 7.

Councillor Paul Barnett, leader of the council, said: "We believe that selling these four assets is the best way forward for the council in terms of raising revenue to help with the financial situation and, in the case of Bexhill Road and Mayfield E, that the sale of the land will mean homes are built more quickly than we could build them.

“The housing crisis is the council's top priority and any additional finances we can raise will help us address this and also ease the pressure on our budgets."