Ore Community Land Trust

02/10/2026

Busy day in the woods yesterday. Weeded the rockery bed. Amazing to see how quick the w**ds grew back after the recent rain. More impressive is the plants that survived the heatwaves.

Also pruned back the Buddleia, to help with loads of new growth next year.

Session ended over at the community garden with tea and biscuits in the October sun.

16/09/2026

Please remember to use easyfundraising every time you shop online! Over 8,000 retailers will donate to Ore Community Land Trust for FREE, including eBay, Tesco and Just Eat! You can help make a difference to us no matter what you’re buying:

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27/08/2026

Ore Community Land Trust has been campaigning to have the proposed housing site in the Speckled Wood local green space removed from the draft local plan, through the Regulation 18 consultation on the plan.

In the agenda for Hastings Council Cabinet on 7th September, the (very long!) report on the outcome of the consultation recommends that the site is not taken forward, giving ten reasons. These are:

Local Green Space designation;
Open space, public access and recreation;
Ecology;
Earlier Planning Inspector’s Advice;
Land stability;
Transport, access, highway safety;
Viability and deliverability;
Potential for alternative uses;
Flood risk and drainage;
Water quality and pollution.

These are the reasons we put forward in our response to the consultation, so thank you to everyone who used them to submit their own responses.

However, the battle isn't over. The Regulation 19 consultation draft of the plan will now be issued, followed by an examination in public by a planning inspector, where the site could potentially be reinstated if the landowner appeals against its exclusion. But getting it removed from the plan at this stage is a significant victory!

25/08/2026

Great news for one of our local remaining green spaces

Hastings Borough Council Planning Team have refused the planning application for Sandrock Bends ❌🥳

👉 Our Green councillors have been working tirelessly with officers to progress our stronger planning policies for Hastings' new Local Plan.

ℹ️ Here's how it works:

The closer we get to adopting a new Local Plan, the more weight the new, stronger policies hold when deciding current planning applications.

✅This has helped our officers make the right decision here.

🛠️ Having strong planning policy at a local level gives our Planners the tools they need to protect our Borough from inappropriate development.

👉 The new Local Plan will be coming to Cabinet and Full Council in September. Let's give Hastings the best protection we can whilst making sure all new homes are the right type, in the right place, and at the right price for our residents ✊🌳💧🏠

28/07/2026

We’ve just launched a new crowdfunder to help us protect Speckled Wood from development.
Please help us and donate

The new Local Development Plan includes part of Speckled Wood for housing development. We need to protect this much-loved local open space.

26/07/2026

Thank you to everyone who came along to our Summer Fete yesterday! It was a wonderful day, lots of activities for all the family including our dog friends! We raised £459.35!

25/07/2026

17/07/2026

A hot, yet productive session in the woods yesterday preparing for the summer fete. Grass cut, w**d clearance, litter picking undertaken and keep8ng on top of the small knotw**d shoots which pop up every now and again.

There were about 8 dragonfly’s putting on a display in the air today, which was great to watch as we took a quick break. Quite near to the new pond we are installing.

Session finished with tea in the community garden.

18/06/2026

A misty start to our Thursday session, but much completed. Grass cut, including some of the path up to Victoria Avenue. Nettle and bramble clearance and further groundwork between the rockery and the pond. And more perennials planted in the community garden.

Session ended with tea and cake before the rain came, though the plants will be grateful for it.

12/06/2026

A wet session in the woods yesterday but that didn’t stop us from getting a lot completed.

Grass cut, footpath clearance undertaken and some w**ding on the flower bed bank.

We’d had a few plants donated and these have been planted on the flower bed bank and in the rockery.

Session finished early due to rain but we still managed tea and biscuits.