Can you give me your opinions on the houses pasted here - Hastings and Bexhill

[SarfEasticatedMumma]

Good morning ladies, can you give me your opinions on these houses please? Firstly on the houses themselves and then the areas they are in?
We are looking for a nice spacious 3/4 bed house with a big garden in a good neighbourhood. Happy to have a bungalow or house, but detached would be favourite. We have on DD who is 7, so near a nice school (we're not religious) with the potential of a good senior school. Am not fussed about being near the beach, but would ideally love to be by Alexandra Park or woodland.
So here we go:

1. St Helens Rd £270k
2. Tower Road West £340k
3. Banhorn Road Bexhill £450k
4. St Helens Rd £330k
5. Glenleigh Ave, Bexhill SOLD but just to give you the idea

My favourite is no 2, but I have no idea if its a good area or not.

Any guidance would be much appreciated :)

We live in Bexhill and love it. I'd be wary about buying on Barnhorn Road though as there is a big development planned for the woodland behind it, which is why there are lots of houses for sale there (if you Google Barnhorn Green development you can find out more). There are lots of lovely areas to buy though. There are several excellent primary schools and St Richards (catholic) secondary, which is outstanding. Bexhill High (secondary) was put into special measures a few years ago but is now on the way up and getting lots of investment etc. with a very ambitious new head so likely to be much improved in the next few years.

Can't help with St Leonards & Hastings info I'm afraid as not that familiar with them, except to say Hastings Old Town is fab for a night out!

Crikey faye that's very valuable local knowledge - especially as the access to woodland was one of the things I liked about the house.

I have removed it from my list!

Thanks also for the info on the schools, much appreciated too.

2 or 3. You couldn't pay me enough money to live in Hastings. It's a shit hole. Bexhill for definite.

Have you lived in Hastings area before? If you're moving there from elsewhere, just curious what brings you? I love Hastings but not really any jobs in my field unfortunately.

I like all of the houses you posted. I don't know much about schools these days though as they have all turned into new academies. I think Sussex Coast College is pretty good especially for arty/design subjects for 6th form/college age DCs.

I disagree about Hastings being a shithole. It's just like any other town - lovely areas and rough areas. None of the houses you posted are in a particularly rough area. The ones next to Alexandra Park are appealing, it's a lovely, huge park. Great for kids, and for walks if you ever plan on having a dog!

Hastings Old Town is brill, reminds me of Brighton lanes. Lots of alternative/hippy/arty/pagan/hipster types round there, great atmosphere. Lots of artists and writers! Lovely bars and restaurants. Much more character than Bexhill and Eastbourne although it's definitely less polished.

I'd say there is more to do for families/kids in Eastbourne direction though, in terms of days out and leisure facilities.

We have friends and family that live in Pett and the Old Town of Hastings, so do have some knowledge of the area. I felt that the areas away from the seafront might be better. I grew up in Thanet so know how seaside towns work, and am very sick of London. Fancy some fresh air, a dog and more space.

Pett is lovely. So is Fairlight. Battle and Rye are ok too.

Not much in our price bracket for sale in Fairlight/Pett unfortunately though Batman.

Yeah, sorry Sarf, I wasn't thinking about budget. Bexhill & Leonards will do you well though..

I'm hoping I'll get a decent flat white in St Leonards! :)

slight problem with house no 2 is that both nearby schools don't have fabulous ofsted reports. St Paul's which is half a mile away looks ok though

Christ Church CofE Primary School 0.3 miles -- 2
St Leonards CofE Primary School 0.4 miles -- 4
St Paul's Church of England Primary School 0.5 miles -- 2

does anyone have any words of hope for me! Or any recommendations of good schools? Ofsted isn't everything after all

I lived in Hastings Old Town years ago and moved away through necessity rather than dislike of the area. It wasn't rough, and people were friendly. Some friends moved to Bexhill for a quieter location but they were on one of the main 'touristy' streets of Hastings old town and they were also getting on in years - Bexhill at the time seemed rather geriatric (it may have changed but haven't visited it for years, unlike Hastings). I was on the edge of the East Hill which would have been great for dog walking (my cat used to follow me up there!) But if I ever moved back again, I wouldn't live so close to the sea as where my house was positioned it was v. windy in winter and the salt air was pretty damaging to brickwork/paint etc. St Helens was fine as far as I can recall.

Avoid tower road west like the plague!

Thanks Flora, sounds promising. Margolotta tell me why? my mind is boggling. I liked that it was close Markwick Gardens...

Most of the houses are converted into flats, or full of foreign students 9 months of the year.

A few others... Bexhill Road, Ninfield
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-35861871.html

Mill Lane, Hastings, East Sussex
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-49694893.html

Seem to be near decent schools and have good gardens... Not Much near Alexandra Park sadly

And this one perhaps?

Amherst Close, Hastings, East Sussex
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53835455.html

Looks like a nice area

Hi OP, there isn't anything wrong with Tower Rd West at all IMO. The MarkwickTerrace end in particular is almost all detached houses, not flats. It's a nice quiet residential road but still in the town, IYSWIM, definitely a quieter road than St Helen's road. Regarding the foreign students, the whole town is full of them over the summer, AFAIK it's not a problem and I have never heard of it being a problem in Tower Rd W!

Detached houses are hard to come by in Hastings/St Leonards, especially near the park for your budget. Plus parking can be an issue, not only in the Old Town but in a lot of roads that have nice terraced housing. A lot of semis are half house, half flats.

Anyway, it's a great place to live, really friendly, loads going on, good places to eat, music, great community vibe, relaxed and fun. No idea about schools. If you're used to London you might find Bexhill a little staid.

Thanks for that thisishow, we always had foreign language students stay with us when I was growing up and they were lovely. I'm not so wedded to the idea of a detatched house, it's a bit of a dream really, especially after living surrounded by so many people for so long in London.
It's hard to find a nice area without much local knowledge, we have friends/family who will help us when we know for definite if we are going or not, I'd just like to do my research first. As an escapee from Planet Thanet back in the 80s, I know that short distances make a huge difference in an area, and I would like to live in a road where my daughter can make some nice friends. I am nervous of leaving our friendly, flat-white sipping, creative, Guardian-reading enclave of SE London and going into the unknown, but what we saw of St Leonard's in March made me think we could be happy there.

So (I know you're all dying to know) this is my up to date shortlist...

1. Tower Road West £340k

nearest school: Christ Church CofE Primary School 0.3 miles Ofsted - good love this because of style of house, near Markwick Gardens

1. St Helens Rd £330k

nearest school: Silverdale Primary Academy 0.4 miles Ofsted - requires improvement I like this one because of it's secluded position

1. Mill Lane, Hastings, East Sussex £335k

nearest school: Guestling Bradshaw Church of England Primary School 1 mile Ofsted-good Needs work, but is on the way to Fairlight, Pett etc

1. Amherst Close, Hastings, East Sussex £320k

nearest school: St Paul's Church of England Primary School 0.2 miles Ofsted-good Not my favourite, but does have nice garden and near park and good school.

You sound like you'll fit in perfectly. Hastings/St Leonards is, on the whole, very left-leaning and very inclusive. There are a lot of Down From Londons (DFLs ). Loads of creativity, mainly visual arts I think, but always stuff going on. There are plenty of decent places for coffee and food.

Coming from London, everyone seeming to know each other takes a bit of getting used to, but if you're looking for community you'll find it.

Good luck with your search!

Thank you!

There is a tennis club around the back I think Coconutty. There are lots of odd photos on the estate agents info, I have seen a very worried looking golden retriever (see picture 17) in one of them!

That's hilarious! Maybe worried it was included in the sale?

I know - poor old chap!