Combe Valley Sports Village
The latest information in January 2018 in the form of an announcement from central government adding detail to their published undertaking to get 200,000 homes being created across the country sees government funds of £2 Million to help create 400 homes over the next 4 years in Hastings. With funds that support the Sport Village described below it would unlock land that is currently open space used for sport in other parts of Hastings. With Hastings Borough Council and HMG eager for more homes on open spaces, it seems that some existing open spaces in Hastings will end up as housing and the open land at Pebsham/Bulverhyte will be fenced and built on with sport type buildings.
A small setback to plans revealed in an announcement in the Observer made last year from Keepmoat one of the partners in this scheme seems to indicate some changes to the developers involved but football and cricket grounds that currently exist may soon be covered in houses.
A small setback to plans revealed in an announcement in the Observer made last year from Keepmoat one of the partners in this scheme seems to indicate some changes to the developers involved but football and cricket grounds that currently exist may soon be covered in houses.
Hastings Observer - provides details of the Sports Village consultation.
The details below are from Horntye Park website.
This article was edited on 06/09/17 to show detailed drawings of the new sports park.
Hastings United FC AND The Trustees of Horntye Park Sports Complex are pleased to release updated concept images of the proposed Combe Valley Sports Village Complex to be developed with their Partners.
More information and comment can be viewed on the Hastings United Football Club and Horntye Park web sites.
Since first releasing details last November about the proposed move to the Combe Valley site there has been considerable dialogue with the proposed site owner Hastings Borough Council and the planning authority Rother District Council.
Funding for the scheme has now been secured and National House builder Keepmoat Homes is taking a stake to deliver the Housing schemes as part of this important regeneration project.
Daren Burney a Director of Burney Group, the principle developer, commented ‘The response to date from both Hastings and Rother has been encouraging. The next step is for pre-application planning discussions to take place followed by pre-application submissions. The new fully sustainable Sports Hub will provide a wide range of sports facilities for the Hastings, St. Leonards and Bexhill areas, not least a brand new state of the art Stadium for Hastings United FC., together with two Cricket pitches, for Hastings & St. Leonard’s Priory Cricket Club, a much needed sand dressed hockey pitch for South Saxons Hockey Club and an indoor sports hall. The project is certainly gaining momentum and we would hope, subject to pre-application planning discussions and submissions going well, to be able to submit the planning application in early 2018 and then deliver these first class facilities for the start of the 2019/20 football and hockey season’.
From a footballing perspective the new football stadium has facilities which include a grass pitch and conference and banqueting rooms plus meeting rooms, classrooms and a sports bar. In addition the football club will have access to a 3G pitch. These facilities will enable the Football Club to generate non match day revenue to re-invest into the Hastings United Football Academy, as well as in the first team. This will give the Club the support it needs to hopefully climb through the non-league football pyramid.
The scheme will give much needed financial security to the Horntye Park Trust (Officially called The Hastings and St. Leonard’s Central Cricket and Recreation ground Trust) by providing new revenue streams and some much improved and needed sporting facilities. In addition to the cricket and hockey pitches there will be a four court sports hall, a gym for sports, fitness and healthy living activities, a dance studio, together with meeting rooms and full catering facilities. The outside facilities will also include a 3G pitch, a county size boules (petanque) court and a netball court.
This scheme will bring £70M of new investment into Hastings & St. Leonard’s, made up of £58M for much needed new homes and £12M for brand new sports facilities.
The project is the largest sports related scheme the Borough of Hastings will have ever seen or is likely to see. The project is intended to produce increased participation in sport via improved facilities for all, which will result in healthy living outcomes and savings to the NHS in the order of £28m. A substantial amount of new homes will be developed and there will be economic, social and community benefits arising, plus inward investment and vitality.
The Partners believe there will be plenty of community gains arising from the sports village these include, easier travel access, increased cross fertilisation of sports, community access to sport from a wider catchment area and more benefits for disabled and disadvantaged groups. There will also be no adverse impacts, given the increase in facilities over and above those which exist.
The sports village project, in addition to the sports facilities, would also be expected to produce the following measurable benefits:
- £70M investment in the Hastings area.
- Residential developments to assist with housing needs.
- Construction jobs over the period of implementation.
- Sports village operational jobs.
- Leisure and wellbeing benefits.
- Health benefits from increased leisure activity.
- Fiscal benefits to Hastings Borough Council.
- Implementation of flood mitigation measures at Combe Valley.
The Partners plan to formally present the latest plans to both Rother District Council and Hastings Borough Council in the very near future, as well as holding Public Consultations later in the year. This allows the Public’s engagement before submission of the Planning Application at the start of 2018.
The details below are from Horntye Park website.
This article was edited on 06/09/17 to show detailed drawings of the new sports park.
Hastings United FC AND The Trustees of Horntye Park Sports Complex are pleased to release updated concept images of the proposed Combe Valley Sports Village Complex to be developed with their Partners.
More information and comment can be viewed on the Hastings United Football Club and Horntye Park web sites.
Since first releasing details last November about the proposed move to the Combe Valley site there has been considerable dialogue with the proposed site owner Hastings Borough Council and the planning authority Rother District Council.
Funding for the scheme has now been secured and National House builder Keepmoat Homes is taking a stake to deliver the Housing schemes as part of this important regeneration project.
Daren Burney a Director of Burney Group, the principle developer, commented ‘The response to date from both Hastings and Rother has been encouraging. The next step is for pre-application planning discussions to take place followed by pre-application submissions. The new fully sustainable Sports Hub will provide a wide range of sports facilities for the Hastings, St. Leonards and Bexhill areas, not least a brand new state of the art Stadium for Hastings United FC., together with two Cricket pitches, for Hastings & St. Leonard’s Priory Cricket Club, a much needed sand dressed hockey pitch for South Saxons Hockey Club and an indoor sports hall. The project is certainly gaining momentum and we would hope, subject to pre-application planning discussions and submissions going well, to be able to submit the planning application in early 2018 and then deliver these first class facilities for the start of the 2019/20 football and hockey season’.
From a footballing perspective the new football stadium has facilities which include a grass pitch and conference and banqueting rooms plus meeting rooms, classrooms and a sports bar. In addition the football club will have access to a 3G pitch. These facilities will enable the Football Club to generate non match day revenue to re-invest into the Hastings United Football Academy, as well as in the first team. This will give the Club the support it needs to hopefully climb through the non-league football pyramid.
The scheme will give much needed financial security to the Horntye Park Trust (Officially called The Hastings and St. Leonard’s Central Cricket and Recreation ground Trust) by providing new revenue streams and some much improved and needed sporting facilities. In addition to the cricket and hockey pitches there will be a four court sports hall, a gym for sports, fitness and healthy living activities, a dance studio, together with meeting rooms and full catering facilities. The outside facilities will also include a 3G pitch, a county size boules (petanque) court and a netball court.
This scheme will bring £70M of new investment into Hastings & St. Leonard’s, made up of £58M for much needed new homes and £12M for brand new sports facilities.
The project is the largest sports related scheme the Borough of Hastings will have ever seen or is likely to see. The project is intended to produce increased participation in sport via improved facilities for all, which will result in healthy living outcomes and savings to the NHS in the order of £28m. A substantial amount of new homes will be developed and there will be economic, social and community benefits arising, plus inward investment and vitality.
The Partners believe there will be plenty of community gains arising from the sports village these include, easier travel access, increased cross fertilisation of sports, community access to sport from a wider catchment area and more benefits for disabled and disadvantaged groups. There will also be no adverse impacts, given the increase in facilities over and above those which exist.
The sports village project, in addition to the sports facilities, would also be expected to produce the following measurable benefits:
- £70M investment in the Hastings area.
- Residential developments to assist with housing needs.
- Construction jobs over the period of implementation.
- Sports village operational jobs.
- Leisure and wellbeing benefits.
- Health benefits from increased leisure activity.
- Fiscal benefits to Hastings Borough Council.
- Implementation of flood mitigation measures at Combe Valley.
The Partners plan to formally present the latest plans to both Rother District Council and Hastings Borough Council in the very near future, as well as holding Public Consultations later in the year. This allows the Public’s engagement before submission of the Planning Application at the start of 2018.
Above are the published facts towards the end of 2017 before any further pre application information concerning proposals at Pebsham / Combe Valley Park are released but it is worth considering what has, at this time not been said about the future of the vacated sites. This must also consider the implications of 4 Billion that has been promised by Central Government to fund the building of more homes in the UK. At Hastings current Borough plan proposes 3500 homes over the ten years of the plan but there is a government expectation of Hastings providing double what they might be able to provide and so Hastings Planners will be looking to achieve some 7000 homes over the ten years of the plan.
To achieve the fully sustainable sports hub that is described, it seems pretty certain that the Pebsham/Combe Valley Sport Village described will require the Pilot Field to be filled with houses and the short or long term future of The Firs being unclear.
What is more uncertain is what could happen to the Horntye Park site if the Hastings & St Leonards Central Cricket Ground Trust moves out of their site. It should be remembered that the Horntye Park site was originally provided for Priory Cricket to move from their town centre home so that Priory Meadow Shopping Centre could be constructed. One possible deal that could occur would provide a new user for the Horntye Park conference and sports centre would be for the Y centre currently operated by the YMCA at St Pauls Road to vacate their old building and move to the Horntye Park building that would suit their needs providing updated facilities for the Y centre. The current Horntye Park conference centre could earn a sustainable income for the charity with good management, however it is likely that the Sport Village will expect an income from conferences as well. With Keepmoat Homes waiting for work it is likely that that demolition of the Y centre would occur.
It is likely that homes would be built on the YMCA site in St Pauls Road and planners eager for more homes could extend a development along the Bohemia Road frontage up to the Fire Station (ESFRS)
At Horntye Park the concept of housing on the land provided for cricket has already been established, although it is over three years since a legal agreement was signed there remains a historic planning permission (now over 5 years old) to develop the now expired planning permission.
Update = 25/10/17