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£1m goodwill fund for Hastings
Learn more about the Hastings and St Leonards £1 million goodwill fund, where the money is going and how to apply for a grant.
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Who can benefit from the goodwill fund?
Businesses and community groups in the Hastings and St Leonards area are receiving a share of a £1 million goodwill fund following recent weather-related flooding and loss of water supply incidents.
“We care about Hastings and its community, with many of our colleagues working and living in the area, so we hope this gesture will help make a positive difference following such challenging times.” - Tim McMahon
The £1m goodwill fund will be shared between
Grants for community projects
In partnership with Sussex Community Foundation, we’re pleased to announce that the first window for grant applications for community projects from the Hastings and St Leonards Goodwill Fund is now open. The first application window will be open for six weeks from 13 December 2024 to 24 January 2025.
A community panel, made up of members of the Hastings and St Leonards communities, and local youth groups have shared their views to guide Sussex Community Foundation on the priority areas that the fund should focus on over the next 12 months. The criteria, application and grant giving process will be managed by Sussex Community Foundation with further information on their website.
Local events and festivals
So far, we’ve donated over £100,000 to local events and festivals including:
- Old Town Carnival Week
- Nearly on the Beach fundraiser
- Hidden Beach Hastings Music Festival
- Hastings Pride
- Skinny Sunday Youth Festival
- Coastal Currents
- Hastings Seafood Wine and Music Festival
- Hastings Storytelling Festival
- Hastings Bonfire Celebrations
- The St Leonards Frost Fair
- Hasting Fat Tuesday 2025
- Fringe Festival 2025
- Jack in the Green 2025
- Hastings Garden Festival 2025
- St Leonards Festival, Warrior Square 2025
- Hastings Pirate Weekend 2025.
Local business payments
£380,000 has gone to support local businesses. All businesses that are eligible for payments have now been contacted directly
Why we're offering this fund
We've supported this fund in recognition of the disruption and distress caused by the early May loss of water supply, and the ongoing local improvements to prevent further weather-related flooding incidents in Hastings town centre following two events in 2023.
Tim McMahon, Director of Water – who led the company’s response to the loss of water supply in early May – said: “We recognise that the services we provide have not met all of the expectations of our customers in St Leonards and Hastings in recent months – and we are very sorry.
“This community has faced both weather-related floods and a major loss of water supply, and we have seen the toll this has taken on local businesses and households. We accept that we need to put things right so far as the community and businesses in Hastings and St Leonards are concerned, and therefore want to give something back as a meaningful goodwill gesture.