Hastings

:This is about Hastings in England. There are other uses of the name Hastings.

Economic and social status

Hastings has long been known as a retreat for artists and painters. For example, the pre-Raphaelite painters including Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt admired the town for its light and clear air. In the 19th century the towns became prosperous on the basis of the tourist trade from London and the Midlands. With the rise of international tourism from England it has declined substantially.

Related Topics:
Dante Gabriel Rossetti - William Holman Hunt - 19th century - London - Midlands - Tourism

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The town expanded as part of the Government policy to disperse population out of London in the 1960s and 70s. This brought with it some light industry. The policy was discontinued and further town growth is considerably restricted by planning policies of Rother District, which has administrative control of much of the undeveloped land adjoining Hastings. It is now one of the most economically disadvantaged districts in south-east England.

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There is, at first glance, no immediate clear reason why Hastings should suffer from disadvantage when compared, for example, to its large neighbour to the west, Brighton. It has a very attractive setting, many very fine houses and a remarkably conserved Old Town, and contains within its Borough boundaries a major clifftop country park. It has a well documented depth of history. A key work is Historic Hastings1 by a former curator of Hastings Museum. Its principal drawback must be the considerably longer commuting times by rail to London and poor roads.

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Hastings is currently the site of major regeneration. Already a new rail station has been built and the University Centre Hastings (UCH) has been created to provide higher education in the town for the first time. (Hastings College of Arts & Technology and University Centre Hastings ) Further major capital investment is committed and a range of vocational training, community development and neighbourhood regeneration projects are in place. This is hampered by the split administration of the combined Hastings and Bexhill economic region between Hastings and Rother councils.

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