Prime Hastings land to be sold by county council

On Tuesday (July 26), Cllr Nick Bennett, lead member for resources and climate change, approved proposals to dispose of council-owned land known as the Ridgeway in The Ridge in Hastings.

While details have not been made public due to commercial sensitivity, the council says it has received seven offers to buy the site and has already identified a preferred purchaser.

The site was formerly occupied by three buildings — Ridgeway, Pinehill and the Mount Denys Care Home — but these have now been demolished. The demolition work took place after a series of fires at the vacant properties in 2019.

The fires, which were suspected to have been set deliberately at the time, came within a short period of one another. There were four in total, taking place on April 30, May 8, May 18 and May 20.

Officers said: “ The site was well received in the marketplace, with seven commercial/business sector offers received. Detailed information on the offers received is contained in the Exempt report later in the agenda.

"ESCC has reviewed the offers from the prospective purchasers and an analysis has been undertaken with some due diligence that is normally undertaken by the property agent. In assessing the offers, ESCC has taken into account the requirement for it to secure Best Value in accordance with Section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972. The preferred purchaser has been identified based on an analysis of their proposal, as outlined in the Exempt report later in the agenda.”