St Mary in the Castle - Maintenance.
St Mary in the Castle for sale £500,000
Below are details that record the most recent history of this building that the owners HBC often refer to as "the jewel in the crown" but the news in November 2022 that the entire building is for sale or lease may be a solution if a hospitality type user can be found who is able to perform the necessary maintenance and also open the building for the public to enter and enjoy.
The entire building is available for £500,000 The poor performance of charity-type arts organisations has failed to deliver a sustainable solution for the long-term future of this important Hastings building.
Dyer & Hobbis who were marketing the building in 2023 seem to have removed any details from their website and HBC wants to cloak any inquiry concerning the building with issues of confidentiality, when in January 2024 the cabinet member with responsibility replied with "I can neither confirm or deny" what was said regarding the Hastings "jewel in the crown." In March 2024 the building was briefly used for a couple of days when the BBC was filming in Hastings for a proposed drama.
Meanwhile, the retail space on the seafront is looking very neglected and the wrought iron screen below the portico and peeling doors remain without any attention as the building continues to decay.
www.dyerandhobbis.com/find-a-property/properties/130892-st-mary-in-the-castle-7-pelham-crescent-hastings
The entire building is available for £500,000 The poor performance of charity-type arts organisations has failed to deliver a sustainable solution for the long-term future of this important Hastings building.
Dyer & Hobbis who were marketing the building in 2023 seem to have removed any details from their website and HBC wants to cloak any inquiry concerning the building with issues of confidentiality, when in January 2024 the cabinet member with responsibility replied with "I can neither confirm or deny" what was said regarding the Hastings "jewel in the crown." In March 2024 the building was briefly used for a couple of days when the BBC was filming in Hastings for a proposed drama.
Meanwhile, the retail space on the seafront is looking very neglected and the wrought iron screen below the portico and peeling doors remain without any attention as the building continues to decay.
www.dyerandhobbis.com/find-a-property/properties/130892-st-mary-in-the-castle-7-pelham-crescent-hastings
A charitable trust was formed in 2013 and a full maintenance 10 year lease agreed between HBC as the owner and the St Mary in the Castle Charitable Trust, in June 2015, in order to safeguard the future of the building as a centre for the arts. The coming of the pandemic meant that the last show at the venue was held on 16th March 2020 and staff were furloughed and eventually made redundant with a couple of trustees running the business as volunteers.
A Story in Hastings Online Times -The best deal "by far" for St Mary in the Castle sums up the situation in 2012..
An important feature of the building is the wrought iron screen fronting the portico that was at one time an attractive feature but a visit to the portico of the building in March 2022 reveals what appears to be ten years of neglect where peeling paint on the doors and the heavily corroded metal screen is clearly visible. It is not possible to draw any conclusions on the parts of the building that are not visible where water penetration is often a problem in old buildings.
Some funding for the arts centre is hoped for in the form of the Covid19 rescue package but that is hardly likely to deal with the sorry and neglected state of the parts of the building that are visible.
A glance at the SMIC Charity report for 2021 has these words."The future of St Mary in the Castle is uncertain" It has not been possible to get any meaningful information from the charity that concerns the maintenance of the building where the owners of other heritage buildings in the town are very eager to speak about structural problems and funding activity where the heritage building is as important as their arts activity.
Hastings Borough Council own the structure currently used as an arts / performance venue and is the likely organisation that will need to pick up the costs of essential repairs and ongoing restorations that have not occurred during the all repairs/maintenance lease. In 3 years time 2025 HBC will know if the SMIC Charity will remain in place as an arts venue taking responsibility for the maintenance of the building or whether there is another Pandora's box of costs for the residents of Hastings due to an arts project that has failed to deliver as promised.
At the bottom of the photos is an "Important Announcement" made by the St Mary in the Castle Charity by email sent on Wednesday 20th July 2022. The Charity were never willing to discuss the issues of maintenance of the building they occupied and Hastings Borough Council seemed to be aware of the maintenance issues and elected members and the HBC Estates department chose not to make any comment on the lack of maintenance during the seven years the lease was held.
Wednesday 20th July 2022 Important Announcement.
It is with great sadness that we inform you, that as of November 2022, after a tenancy that has run for nearly ten years, the St Mary in the Castle Charitable Trust will be ending our lease with Hastings Borough Council. This means the venue will no longer be operational or open to the public after this time, under this trust.
Unfortunately, the trust is unable to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic without further financial subsidy to allow St Mary in the Castle to return to pre-pandemic operations, we projected this would not be until Spring 2023. Any money made from events after covering costs is reinvested into the ongoing maintenance of the building. Since the pandemic, we have had fewer venue hires and lower audience numbers, meaning we are unable to cover these costs going forward.
We would firstly like to thank all of those who have supported us over the years to maintain this marvellous Grade II* listed building which has been at the forefront of everything that we do. We hope the next occupants continue to underpin the needs of this unique gem within Hastings. In 3 years, the building is 200 years old so must be one of the oldest assets in the town’s portfolio.
The age and listed status of the building comes with its challenges. During lockdown we successfully secured funding from various sources to enable us to re open in September 2021. We have invested over £80,000 in the last year, ensuring the venue is safety compliant, which allows us to legally welcome in members of the public. Another recent challenge has been the sharp price increase in our utilities, electricity alone is £5,000 a month.
We have had many communications regarding financial help from Hastings Borough Council and despite providing numerous business plans and financial documents at the request of HBC, to this date, they have not formally responded to our request. Having looked at all other funding opportunities to no avail, we now have no choice but to close.
The St Mary’s Cafe & Bar is leased from the Trust and its future is therefore also in doubt subject to further discussion with Hastings Borough Council.
The venue will run as usual from now until November. All the booked events will take place and the office will be open as usual. We look forward to hosting and animating the space right up until the very end.
We hope that you please continue supporting St Mary in the Castle and the wider infrastructure it provides, including community events, promoter-led events, service providers and of course our staff and amazing volunteers. We will be ending on a high as we have the very talented Aba Shanti hosting our last event on Saturday 29th October 2022.
Please be assured, organisers of any events booked beyond November have been personally contacted and their events cancelled, with any deposits being repaid in full.
Any ticket holders for events beyond November, please contact your ticket provider who will fully reimburse you.
Yours sincerely,
The St Mary in the Castle Charitable Trust
Unfortunately, the trust is unable to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic without further financial subsidy to allow St Mary in the Castle to return to pre-pandemic operations, we projected this would not be until Spring 2023. Any money made from events after covering costs is reinvested into the ongoing maintenance of the building. Since the pandemic, we have had fewer venue hires and lower audience numbers, meaning we are unable to cover these costs going forward.
We would firstly like to thank all of those who have supported us over the years to maintain this marvellous Grade II* listed building which has been at the forefront of everything that we do. We hope the next occupants continue to underpin the needs of this unique gem within Hastings. In 3 years, the building is 200 years old so must be one of the oldest assets in the town’s portfolio.
The age and listed status of the building comes with its challenges. During lockdown we successfully secured funding from various sources to enable us to re open in September 2021. We have invested over £80,000 in the last year, ensuring the venue is safety compliant, which allows us to legally welcome in members of the public. Another recent challenge has been the sharp price increase in our utilities, electricity alone is £5,000 a month.
We have had many communications regarding financial help from Hastings Borough Council and despite providing numerous business plans and financial documents at the request of HBC, to this date, they have not formally responded to our request. Having looked at all other funding opportunities to no avail, we now have no choice but to close.
The St Mary’s Cafe & Bar is leased from the Trust and its future is therefore also in doubt subject to further discussion with Hastings Borough Council.
The venue will run as usual from now until November. All the booked events will take place and the office will be open as usual. We look forward to hosting and animating the space right up until the very end.
We hope that you please continue supporting St Mary in the Castle and the wider infrastructure it provides, including community events, promoter-led events, service providers and of course our staff and amazing volunteers. We will be ending on a high as we have the very talented Aba Shanti hosting our last event on Saturday 29th October 2022.
Please be assured, organisers of any events booked beyond November have been personally contacted and their events cancelled, with any deposits being repaid in full.
Any ticket holders for events beyond November, please contact your ticket provider who will fully reimburse you.
Yours sincerely,
The St Mary in the Castle Charitable Trust
Voluntary write off suspended 11th July 2023
The St Mary in the Castle Charity 08534774 has still not disappeared as of the 11th July 2023 they informed Companies House that they wished to suspend the voluntary write off request.