Hastings grant boosts Bexhill development

Labour councillors in Hastings criticised the decision taken by HBC Cabinet, arguing the money should be ring-fenced for their town.

And Hastings and Rye MP Michael Foster said: "When I spend my time lobbying for more government money for Hastings I tend to assume it will be spent in our town and not the one next door."

But the money will create up to 120 jobs in the Bexhill-Hastings area through high-quality units for start-up businesses, and a revamp of the yard's energy efficiency measures.

Tory HBC Cllr Peter Pragnell said: "This is about creating jobs.

"Eco-friendly and cheap to run units are more likely to attract businesses and therefore create more jobs for people in the long run.

"There is just as much chance of someone from Hastings getting a job here as someone from Bexhill."

Rother District Council, which is not being asked to repay the money, will keep the park's rent.

A 13 million pot was allocated to HBC in April 2008 by the government's Area Based Grants programme.

The 250,000 support for Bexhill's Sidley Goods Yard comes from this pot, specifically from an initiative called Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI).

This provides for the wider area around Hastings, defined as: "within the Hastings economic and travel to work area and thus within close and affordable commuting distance for Hastings residents".

Rother chief executive Derek Stevens said: "This is yet another example of good partnership work, which has seen Rother giving its full support over the past eight years to the substantial government and private sector funding which has gone into Hastings.

"In the same way that we view a job created in Hastings as an opportunity for one of our residents, this scheme will provide job opportunities not just to Rother residents, but also to people from Hastings, and we see that its benefits will impact across the wider Bexhill and Hastings economic area."