The Process – HASTINGS TOWN OF CULTURE

Town of Culture Consultation:

Summary Report

Background

In February 2026, the government announced the launch of the first-ever Town of Culture award. Given Hastings’ reputation as a place steeped in creativity, culture and history, the decision to submit an Expression of Interest was natural and inevitable.

Town of Culture is a new government competition that invites towns across the UK to enter. The winning town will be awarded £3 million to deliver a cultural programme in 2028, and the two runners-up will receive £250,000 each to deliver elements of their bid.

This stage of the process involved answering three questions: how we want to tell our Hastings story, how culture can be used to build on local strengths and look to the future, while addressing local priorities, and how we will empower communities to shape the eventual programme.

Hastings’ bid will be project-managed and written by Arts Hastings CIC, with input from across the cultural community and creative industry sectors, to develop a strong, inclusive, forward-looking, and ambitious bid that reflects the breadth and diversity of cultural activity in Hastings and St Leonards. The council will remain the accountable body for the bid, providing governance, oversight and strategic support throughout the process.

The first deadline is Tuesday, 31 March.

The bid will align with Hastings’ wider regeneration priorities and the Pride of Place programme, supporting year-round cultural activity that revitalises urban centres, attracts visitors, and strengthens the town’s innovative and creative economy.

Methodology

The data upon which the report has been written is based on

Two public meetings were held, with over 200 people signing up. Attendees included representatives from our talented and expansive community of artists, creative practitioners, and craftspeople, as well as cultural and creative organisations, businesses, and entrepreneurs. People from our respected and valued voluntary and community organisations, reflecting communities and interest groups across the town, also attended, alongside developers, entrepreneurs, and public sector service providers.

An online questionnaire, which asked the same 5 questions as in the public meeting, was administered to respondents. This online survey was available for completion from 19^th February until 1^st March. Respondents to this online questionnaire cover all elements of Hastings communities.

The online questionnaire was completed by over 300 respondents

All responses from the public meetings and online sources were consolidated and analysed to produce the findings for this report. These results will guide the core themes and objectives of the EOI bid. It will provide an evidence-based framework that centres on our communities’ needs.

Vision: The Story of Hastings

The findings of the Consultation to gather views, expectations, and perceptions of what the people of the town want, should Hastings be awarded the Town of Culture title, reveal a town where its residents are highly proud of the place in which they live.

Overall, the respondents to this consultation see Hastings as an independent and unconventional town with a progressive attitude and radical spirit. It is regarded as a place that proudly celebrates its eccentricity, its rich historical background, and its identity as a sanctuary for pioneers, innovators, mavericks, and misfits.

Central to the town’s identity and sense of itself are the expanse and depth of its creative proficiency, cultural expression, and historical bonds.

Historical & Built Heritage: The town’s story spans the planet’s Jurassic period, the universally recognised 1066 Battle of Hastings, which paved the way for the England we recognise today, the smuggling caves, and the beguiling Victorian architectural heritage of Burton’s St Leonards.
Innovation & Subversion: Hastings is proudly the birthplace of television (John Logie Baird) and modern computing, but equally proud of its “America Ground” history of anarchy and independence.
The Sea and the Stade: The survival of the largest beach-launched fishing fleet in Europe are central to the town’s working-class and historic identity.
Cultural Colossus: The town boasts more festivals per capita than anywhere else in Europe. Traditions like Jack in the Green, Pirate Day, Fat Tuesday, and the Bonfire celebrations highlight a town that takes “being silly very seriously” and values dressing up, music, and pagan/folklore celebrations.

It is a town where culture is not solely consumed; it is created from the grassroots up.

“High culture and DIY culture share the same postcode.”
“Hastings is a place where old rituals, working-coast reality, and unapologetic DIY creativity keep remixing each other until the whole town sounds like its own genre.”
“A place where people don’t talk about doing something, they just do it! Rule breakers who DO!”

2. Local Needs: The Challenges of the Town

However, alongside its abundance of creativity, historical pedigree, and cultural magnitude, there is an unwelcome reality, but honest recognition. The levels and rates of poverty and deprivation in the town are among the highest in the country. This unpalatable fact is a source of discomfort for all. In addition, whilst acknowledging the town’s creative and cultural reputation, respondents also highlighted areas where greater effort is needed to achieve the societal equilibrium people desire.

However, respondents believe the town’s needs also serve as a rallying point and focal area. It offers an opportunity for the town’s community and volunteer groups, creative and cultural practitioners and organisations, public service providers, businesses, and entrepreneurs to pool resources and collaborate. It was felt that the town’s skills and human resources should be directed towards addressing the challenges faced by many of its residents.

Moreover, among the reasons and benefits cited for what the Town of Culture for Hastings should be, alleviating the poverty and deprivation experienced by many people in the town is far from the most common or passionate reason.

“I’m most proud that Hastings is seen as one of the most deprived coastal towns in the UK and yet the spirit here to rally as community and create feisty beautiful things is off the charts!”
“It’s grassroots, it’s passionate, it’s penniless, and it’s eccentric (in true seaside town tradition). There are poets and painters everywhere you turn.”
“How open, welcoming and unique it is. It’s a place that’s a bit of an anomaly in the British landscape of towns, with a genuine organic creative energy, made by people with warm hearts full of hope.”

3. Empowerment: Community Involvement

Amongst the respondents, there is a widespread belief that, if the changes desired in the town are to be made, harnessing people’s enthusiasm and willingness to contribute to meeting the town’s needs will be essential. The consultation reveals an undeniable willingness amongst respondents to play a part in the town’s development. Recognising the role local people play and genuinely facilitating practical ways they can contribute will enhance the sustainability and resilience of the town’s creative and cultural offer and, by extension, social-value improvements. Utilising the creative ‘can-do’ attitude can become one of the town’s key assets.

With strong community involvement, the respondents want the UK Town of Culture 2028 title not for a 12-month period of self-congratulating, revelry and hyperbole. Instead, most see it as laying the groundwork for a sustainable and resilient transformation across structural, psychological, and economic domains.

Overall, it was felt that there can be no genuine Hastings Town of Culture unless there is authentic community involvement. The foundation for this should be built on openness and transparency among those leading the bid, along with strong mechanisms to ensure community contributions receive the attention and inclusion they deserve.

“We are at the end of the road, and at the end of the line, so we have to entertain ourselves and we really do.””
Hastings is a place where culture is layered, contested, lived, and ongoing… Culture as something done by people, not imposed.”
“That Hastings keeps its edge. Not polishing away the grit, the fishing boats, the folk sessions, the pirates and the park life in favour of something safer.”

4. Town of Culture and its Legacy

Respondents to the consultation believe the Town of Culture will enable Hastings to undergo a co-creative transformation.

Analysis of the consultation process indicates that comments referencing the following are common.

Shared and inclusive decision making
Youth voice, participation and co-creation
Accessibility, physicality, social, psychosocial, geographical and economic
Sustainable investment in people and places
Remaining true to the authentic nature of the town’s people and character
Creating a legacy with enduring benefits

A fitting quote from a respondent to the consultation was “Winning is theatre. Legacy is substance.”

Respondents believe Hastings has the grit, talent, and irrepressible spirit to deliver the most authentic, participatory, and vibrant Town of Culture. Overall, it is felt that the town consistently demonstrates that it already produces the most engaging, vibrant, enjoyable, creative, and culturally rich collection of events and activities. In 2028, Hastings can demonstrate that cultural investment can bring about lasting change more effectively.

The people of Hastings regard the award of the Town of Culture title as a great honour. They believe such a prize has the potential to trigger the transformation of the existing cultural scene, which is already rich in artistry, enterprise, joy, interest, and talent.

“A legacy of self-sustaining connectivity in real space and online.”
“It’s vitally important to create projects that have a lasting legacy… The legacy is not just the one-off bid, but the other money it will pull in LATER!”
“The impact of investing in art, music, theatre and dance on young people’s aspirations will be felt for many years to come.””A legacy of freedom in our children’s minds and hearts.”
“We didn’t waste it. We built systems, not just stages. We left something measurable. It changed trajectories.”