Hastings Borough Council

What Hastings Borough Council does

Hastings Borough Council is a statutory local government authority in East Sussex, England, serving the residents and businesses of the Hastings and St Leonards borough. Founded in 1974 as a district-level council within the English local government structure, it delivers the full suite of statutory and discretionary municipal services: household waste and recycling collection, planning and building control, council tax and business rates administration, housing services and homelessness prevention, environmental health enforcement, parking management, licensing, and community grants. The council also operates income-generating discretionary assets including an 87-acre cemetery and crematorium (originally opened in 1856) and a portfolio of seasonal beach huts along the seafront.

The council's service delivery is anchored by the My Hastings online portal, a Granicus-powered citizen platform offering more than 90 council services — payments, issue reporting, benefit claims, planning application tracking, and council tax account management. Supporting infrastructure is conventional: ASP.NET and JSP-based web properties, Google Analytics and Siteimprove for web analytics, the Capita e-pay payment gateway for council tax and business rates, the publicaccess.hastings.gov.uk planning portal, and a Community Contact Centre at Muriel Matters House for in-person transactions. The council does not maintain a mobile application.

Revenue is generated through mandatory and discretionary streams: council tax on residential properties, business rates on commercial properties, statutory and discretionary service fees (planning fees, parking fines, licensing, bulky and garden waste charges, crematorium fees, fixed penalty notices), and commercial waste collection. Strategic partnerships with East Sussex County Council, Granicus, and a network of local charities (Anglo Doorstep Collections, Hastings Furniture Service, St Michael's Hospice, Emmaus Hastings Rother, Sara Lee Trust, Oxfam) extend service reach without proportional cost expansion. The council is publicly owned, democratically accountable, and not subject to private equity or venture investment structures.

Name

Hastings Borough Council

Legal name

Hastings Borough Council

Website

https://hastings.gov.uk

Company type

Public

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Hastings Borough Council is a UK local government authority providing statutory and discretionary municipal services — waste collection, planning, council tax, housing, parking, environmental health, and community programmes — to approximately 90,000 residents and local businesses in Hastings and St Leonards via the My Hastings digital portal and in-person channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Government / Municipal Services

NAICS

Other Services to Buildings and Dwellings (56179), Landscaping Services (561730), Death Care Services (8122)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

Housing & Neighborhood Services (Local Housing Programs) (BPAIACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Residential Maintenance & Turnover Services (Make-Ready, Inspections) (BPAJAFAM), Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC), Affordable Housing Property Management (BPAJAGAJ)

Keywords

• Local government services
• Waste management services
• Council tax administration
• Municipal planning services
• Public sector housing

Headquarters

HQ city

Hastings

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Council Tax: Primary local taxation revenue collected from residents and businesses within the borough to fund council services
2. Business Rates: Levied on commercial properties and businesses operating within the Hastings borough
3. Service Fees: Various statutory and discretionary service charges including planning fees, parking fines, licensing fees, bulky waste collection, garden waste subscriptions, crematorium fees, and fixed penalty notices
4. Commercial Waste Services: Charges for commercial waste collection from businesses as required under Environmental Protection Act 1990

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hastings Borough Council is a UK local government authority delivering statutory and discretionary municipal services to residents and businesses of the Hastings and St Leonards borough. Core service lines include council tax and business rates administration, household waste and recycling collection (with food waste collections launching 2026), planning and building control, housing, parking, environmental health enforcement, beach hut hire, and burial/cremation services at the 87-acre Hastings Cemetery and Crematorium. The council operates the My Hastings digital portal (Granicus-powered) providing over 90 online services, complemented by in-person service at the Muriel Matters House Community Contact Centre, kerbside collection routes, and statutory enforcement functions.

Product overview

Hastings Borough Council operates a comprehensive digital service portfolio delivered through its Hastings Online platform and My Hastings citizen portal. The primary offerings include My Hastings (unified online account management), waste and recycling services (household, recycling, garden, food, bulky, and clinical waste), planning and building control, council tax, parking services with RingGo integration, housing services, beach hut rentals, cemetery and crematorium, Active Hastings sports programmes, and community grant funding. The council provides over 90 online services enabling residents to report issues, make payments, apply for permits, and access government services digitally. Services are primarily web-based with mobile-friendly access through the My Hastings portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• My Hastings Online Portal Unified online account and service access platform for residents to access over 90 council services, make payments, report issues, and track service requests.
• Waste and Recycling Collection Services Comprehensive kerbside waste management for households and businesses, including household waste, recycling, garden waste subscription, food waste, bulky waste, clinical waste, and commercial waste collection, with online booking and reporting capabilities.
• Planning and Building Control Services Statutory planning and building control service for submission, search, tracking, and commenting on planning applications and building control approvals and inspections.
• Council Tax Services Online and in-person council tax administration including bill viewing, payment processing, discount applications, and account management.
• Parking Services Parking permit applications, tariff payments, penalty charge notice (PCN) management, and RingGo phone payment system for on-street and off-street parking.
• Housing Services Social housing applications, landlord licensing, housing benefit claims, and support services for vulnerable residents, including rough sleeper reporting.
• Beach Huts and Chalets Seasonal beach hut hire services along the Hastings and St Leonards seafront with online booking and payment options.
• Cemetery and Crematorium Burial and cremation services at the 87-acre Hastings Cemetery and Crematorium, including memorialisation options and Book of Remembrance.
• Active Hastings Sport and physical activity programmes promoting health and wellbeing, including sports facilities, play areas, volunteering opportunities, and community leisure grants.
• Community Grants Programme Funding opportunities including the Intergenerational Grants Programme and the Community Leisure Capital Grants Programme (£700,000 over two years) for local organisations.
• Online Issue Reporting Digital reporting tools for civic issues including fly-tipping, dog fouling, litter, potholes, graffiti, abandoned vehicles, and street lighting problems.

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Anglo Doorstep CollectionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFree door-to-door collection service for pre-loved clothes, shoes, small electricals, kitchenware and other household items. Supports charitable causes while reducing waste. Partnership enables residents to responsibly dispose of reusable items.
• MDJ Light BrosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSmall electrical items collected for reprocessing and recycling at Greystone Quarry facility in Lewes. Items are separated into components and sold based on demand and market conditions.
• East Sussex County CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for household waste and recycling site management. County council manages recycling centres while borough council provides kerbside collections. Also partners on education services, adult learning, and social care referrals.
• Interreg Europe (DESTI-SMART Programme)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Union funded sustainable transport project (Delivering Efficient Sustainable Tourism with low-carbon transport Innovations). Funded research into low carbon and sustainable transport solutions for Hastings seafront.
• Hastings Furniture ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity that collects unwanted furniture entirely free of charge, providing affordable furniture to those in need and preventing items going to waste.
• St Michael's HospiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity providing free collection of unwanted larger items such as furniture, supporting hospice services through furniture donations.
• Emmaus Hastings RotherminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity providing free collection of unwanted furniture and household items, supporting homeless and disadvantaged individuals through social enterprise.
• The Sara Lee TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity providing free collection service for unwanted items, supporting people affected by cancer in the local area.
• OxfamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity offering free collection of unwanted items to raise funds for international development and poverty relief.
• Pledge2RecycleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational plastics recycling initiative aiming to boost plastic recycling in the UK. Council committed to aims of increasing plastic recycling in Hastings.
• GranicuscoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology provider powering the My Hastings online service portal with essential site cookies for login functionality and site preferences.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Worthing Borough Council: West Sussex coastal borough council delivering the same council tax, waste, planning, and environmental health service mix to a similar coastal-town population. Comparable in service scope and seasonality of demand.
• Canterbury City Council: Kent district council with overlapping statutory services (waste, planning, housing, licensing, council tax, parks) and a comparable heritage-tourism coastal-town operating context. Functions as a strong regional scale and complexity peer.
• Maidstone Borough Council: Kent borough council offering the same core district-level statutory services including cemetery/crematorium operations, waste collection, and planning. Useful comparable for benchmarking service delivery cost and digital service maturity.
• Tunbridge Wells Borough Council: Kent borough council with a parallel statutory service portfolio (waste, planning, housing, council tax, licensing, environmental health, parks) serving a comparable borough population. Closely matched scale and operating model.
• Folkestone & Hythe District Council: Nearby Kent district council with a comparable coastal-town demographic profile and identical statutory service mandate (waste, planning, council tax, licensing, environmental health). Strong functional parallel despite operating across a different county boundary.

Broad incumbents

• Brighton & Hove City Council: Larger South East England unitary authority delivering the same categories of local government services (waste, housing, planning, licensing, environmental health) at greater scale, including a coastal-front crematorium and cemetery function.

Direct peers

• Rother District Council: Adjacent East Sussex district council offering the same core local-authority services. Already intertwined with Hastings through joint partnerships (e.g., Emmaus Hastings Rother) and shared East Sussex operational footprint.
• Wealden District Council: East Sussex district council providing a near-identical mix of waste, planning, housing, council tax, and environmental health services. Comparable in governance model and statutory service scope.
• Eastbourne Borough Council: Neighbouring East Sussex borough council delivering the same statutory service portfolio (waste, housing, planning, council tax, environmental health) to a similar coastal-town population. Directly comparable in scale, service mix, and geographic context.
• Lewes District Council: East Sussex district council already operationally linked to Hastings through shared recycling infrastructure (Greystone Quarry in Lewes is referenced for Hastings WEEE processing). Identical statutory remit and similar coastal/rural mix.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hastingsbc
• Facebookfacebook.com/Hastingsboroughcouncil
• Instagraminstagram.com/hastingsboroughcouncil/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hastings-borough-council

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hastings Borough Council