Hastings council leaders have named a ‘preferred partner’ to deliver the West Hill Café and Castle Project.
On Monday (September 2), Hastings Borough Council’s cabinet approved the selection of Troika Projects Limited as the authority’s preferred partner in a project to improve the area between the West Hill Café and Hastings Castle.
While still at an early stage, the project is expected to see the construction of a new visitor centre and restaurant in place of the current café building.
The proposals also include the potential for access improvements between the cafe and castle, although these elements are not expected to form part of the initial phases of the project. Concept drawings show a new elevator linking the cafe to the Ladies Parlour and a bridge linking the Ladies Parlour to the castle as potential forms these improvements could take.
Cabinet members also agreed to offer its preferred partner an exclusive lease of both the castle and the new facilities for up to 15 years, as well a £3m grant for the construction works, which would be taken from Town Deal monies set aside for the project
Council leader Julia Hilton (Green) said: “I think this is really exciting; we’ve finally got to this point. I know there is still lots of work to do, but I think you can see … the huge amount of work that went into this stage and the ambition they are setting for a low carbon build. We had presentations even mapping where all the different materials were going to come from, which was really impressive.
“They are thinking about how the operation can be zero carbon and low waste. They are talking about sustainably sourcing and locally sourcing food and drink. So they are really committed to what should be a model for our future aspirations around tourism.”
While agreed by cabinet, some concerns were raised about the decision by Cllr Andy Patmore, leader of the council’s Conservative group.
Cllr Patmore said: “Obviously the project as a whole is what we need. The restaurant on the West Hill has been poor for a long, long time and the way the castle integrates with the town and everything else is really poor too. Obviously this project is really important to try and marry all of those things up.
“My concern … is just about the three companies that have put forward their bids; they all seem quite average. In fact the winning bid has an overall rating of ‘moderate’, where the other bids are ‘low-to-moderate’ and ‘low’.”
He added: “Troika Projects has only been incorporated for nine months as a vehicle to put forward a bid for this. I am just really worried … that the bids that have been put forward are not very good bids and we are rushing it through.
“We have already given quite large sums of money to other operators in the Town Deal who have gone bust.”
Cllr Hilton disputed part of what Cllr Patmore said, however, arguing the ratings were based on the ‘risks’ of the bids rather than their quality. The cabinet report lists some of these risks, which include cost overruns and delays to delivery.
The report also notes how the council’s appointment of Troika Projects Limited is contingent on approval from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). As part of this, an application will be made to MHCLG for an extension of time to deliver the project together with a Project Adjustment Request (PAR) confirming the new delivery partner and arrangements.
The council also intends to retain £338,000 of the project’s overall budget for the purposes of supporting and overseeing the work. This would include funding for public consultation work.
During the same meeting, cabinet members also agreed to submit a first stage funding application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) to establish the condition of the West Hill Lift ahead of a potential refurbishment and accessibility project.
If the initial funding application is successful, officers are expected to undertake condition surveys and report back prior to submitting the next stage of funding application for any capital works.
