Hastings and St Leonards Foreshore Trust
“. . . Upon trust for the common use benefit and enjoyment of all Her Majesty’s subjects and of the public for the time being for ever . . .”
The Hastings and St Leonards Foreshore Charitable Trust (often known in Hastings and St Leonards as simply the Foreshore Trust) owns and looks after a large area of land along the 4 mile stretch of seashore in Hastings and St Leonards. The quotation above is taken from the deed of conveyance of 1893 whereby the foreshore was transferred from the Crown into the name of the Borough of Hastings as trustee. Most of the land consists of actual foreshore (i.e., the land between the high and low water marks), but some – notably in and around the Stade area – includes car parking areas and amenity and amusement facilities.
The Foreshore Trust is managed by its Trustee, Hastings Borough Council, which is under an obligation to administer the affairs of the charity and keep its finances separate from those of the Council itself. As a safeguard, the Charity’s constitution requires the appointment of an independent Protector, whose function is to ensure the integrity of the administration of the charity.
This website is run by the Protector - Chris May, FCA. It provides more detailed information on the organisation and management of the charity, its background and history, the role of the Protector, as well as publically available details of meetings and documents (including annual reports).
