Where will Hastings' new homes go, and how far has the plan got?
From the papers of Hastings Borough Council, built by fixed rules on
30 October 2026, 21.58. More on The Local Plan.
The short account
Where it started
On 26 January 2026 the borough council's Cabinet agreed to publish the draft Local Plan, at its Preferred Options (Regulation 18) stage, for a six-week consultation. 2
The papers for that meeting put Hastings' need at 697 new homes a year, or 12,546 over the 18-year plan period, a figure set in May 2025. 2
The draft assessed about 140 potential development sites. 2
That consultation closed at 11.59pm on Tuesday 7 April 2026. 3
Where it stands
On 7 September 2026 a report asked Cabinet to recommend to Full Council that the Pre-Submission Local Plan (Regulation 19) be published for six weeks of formal representations on soundness and legal compliance. 4
A report to Full Council on 23 September 2026 asked councillors to approve that publication, and the minutes of neither meeting are on the record yet. 45
The council's Regulation 19 consultation closes at 11.59pm on Thursday 12 November. 6
The pre-submission plan sets a housing target of 2,970 net new homes for the plan period. 9
The report to Full Council gives Hastings' local housing need as 686 homes a year. 10
What comes next
The Cabinet report says Full Council will be asked in December 2026 to agree to submit the plan, with the representations and evidence, to the Secretary of State, who will appoint an independent inspector to examine it. 7
The deadline for submitting the plan to the Secretary of State is 31 December 2026. 8
Drafted from the timeline and the papers below by a language model, checked sentence by sentence against the items it cites (the numbered links), and approved by the editor on 14 October 2026. Steps added to the timeline since then aren’t in it. How the checking works.
The report recommends: “That the Hastings Local Plan Preferred Options Regulation 18 consultation document is published for a six-week consultation period between February 2026 and March 2026.” (and more)
The minutes record: Agreed. “RESOLVED (unanimously): 1. That the Hastings Local Plan Preferred Options Regulation 18 consultation document is published for a six-week consultation period between February 2026 and March 2026. 2. That the Director of Place, or her nominee, has delegated authority in consultation with the Cabinet Portfolio holder for Planning to agree any necessary minor editorial changes to the draft Plan before it is published…” minutes ↗
The report recommends: “Cabinet recommends to Council that:” (and more)
The minutes record: Recommended to Full Council. “RESOLVED (unanimously): Cabinet is asked to recommend to Council that: 1.The Pre-Submission version of the Hastings Local Plan and the accompanying Sustainability Appraisal and Habitats Regulations Assessment is approved for publication for a six-week period for formal representations on matters of soundness and legal compliance.” minutes ↗
Hastings Borough Council. The closing date is the one its own page gives: “Closes: 11.59pm, Thursday 12 November”.
Planned
Full Council to be asked to agree to submit the plan
“This will be presented to a meeting of Full Council in December 2026, where agreement will be sought to submit the Plan, along with all the representations and Evidence Base, to the Secretary of State, who will appoint an Independent Inspector to examine the Plan.”
Proposed: Put forward in a paper or a consultation. Nothing decided yet, as far as the record shows.
Decided: The minutes record a decision, or the paper states one was taken.
Funded: The minutes record agreement to money for it.
Started: Work began, or a rule came into force, on the date a paper states.
Delivered: Finished, as a paper states.
Noted: A meeting received it for information, or its minutes mention it. Nothing was decided.
Planned: A date a council paper gives for a step not yet reached.
Coming up: a meeting with papers published that hasn’t happened yet.
What happens next
Once the council submits the plan, the Planning Inspectorate appoints an inspector, on behalf of the Secretary of State, to examine it.
Hearing sessions are the main part of the examination. People who made a representation seeking a change to the plan by the Regulation 19 deadline have a right to be heard. The inspector may invite others. Anyone else may watch, but has no right to speak.
Changes the inspector recommends to make the plan sound and legally compliant (main modifications) go out for public consultation for at least six weeks.
The inspector's report isn't binding, but the council may not adopt a plan the inspector finds unsound. The council decides whether to adopt the plan.
The council's own page says representations received after its deadline may not be taken into account by the inspector, and that each one is published with the name of the person who made it.
The timeline is built by fixed rules from the councils' papers dated from 1 January 2025; no language model chooses what is in it. A meeting is one step: its papers on the story, what the main report recommended, and the resolution its minutes record for that item, matched the same way as on Coming up. A step is “Decided” only when the minutes record that the item was agreed or not agreed, or the minutes' checked summary says a decision was taken. The rules:
A report to Cabinet, Full Council whose title matches: local plan|regulation 1[89]\b|\bplan v\d|policies map; not titled with: consultation report|community involvement|forward plan|business plan|audit plan|action plan|mobilisation plan|climate. Every paper filed under the same agenda item joins it.
A consultation the councils list whose title matches local plan, on the closing date its own page gives.
Full Council to be asked to agree to submit the plan: shown when a council paper states the date (December 2026) in a sentence matching Full Council in December 2026, quoted.
The government's deadline for submitting the plan: shown when a council paper states the date (31 December 2026) in a sentence matching deadline for submitting the Plan, quoted.
The rules live in config/stories.yaml. If we have got something wrong, it is corrected in place and logged on the about page.