Hastings Community Justice Panel

This blog post is about Hastings Community Justice Panel and "Ethical Outings"

For Friday 5th October 2012, the second anniversary of the pier fire, a team is preparing a performance of the "Ethical Outings in Hastings" play (http://ethicaloutings.blogspot.com)

I have begun to write a scene convening the first 
Hastings Community Justice Panel :

Paul Crosland: Thank you for accepting my invite to consider joining this team committed to a deep sense of justice. I've head-hunted you as the people I'd most like to have disputes with over the issue of whether justice has been done in Hastings. We might annually review which matters in our two towns we most wish to see brought to justice. For the time being we start with Hastings Pier Fire.



http://ethicaloutings.blogspot.com

the longest book never written

The 3rd June 2011 Hastings Observer, on page 20, reported Cllr Godfrey Daniel suggesting that

"if a witness statement about the impact of the crime on all those affected was taken, it would be 'longer than most books in the universe'"

We live in an age whereby as well as writing statements, anyone affected has the option of recording YouTube videos (anonymously or more publically); so my questions are:

1.  Where is the material for those who were on the pier to watch or read so they can get a sense of what the impact was? 
2. What we can all do to move on in our lives, once the harm has been acknowledged and justice done?

Having shown the pier trustees a film called 'Burning Bridges' (about community meetings to deal with the consequences of an arson on a historic wooden bridge) in January 2011, by April (and before the lottery decision and the Crown Prosecution System's decision to drop the case against two individuals) Ray Chapman, chair of the Hastings Pier & White Rock Trust, recorded a video for those who were on the pier on the night of the fire. (That video is stored privately).

Now that Mediation Support Ltd (whose CEO, Paul Crosland, edits this blog), have moved into the Southwater Area Community Centre, Ray Chapman called in to record this public film about Hastings Justice:


If you want to see the words from Ray Chapman's YouTube video in print, here they are:

"Hi, I'm Ray, the chair of trustees  of the Hastings Pier & White Rock Trust and this is a communication to those of you who were on Hastings Pier on 5th October 2010. 

Some of our trustees have been involved in the Hastings Pier & White Rock Trust for over four years in preparing the business case for the Heritage Lottery Foundation, in partnership with the Hastings Borough Council and English Heritage.

We have obviously heard repeatedly from a number of sources particular names and also a rumour that there may be more than two of you who were on the pier that night. If you were on the Pier on  5th October 2011, we have a conversation to have, its is in the interests of our community that we  get a clear understanding of what happened on the pier that night.  Many people were effected and want to live in a community without buildings catching alight under mysterious circumstances.  The key is now for the town to get the pier up and running again as soon as possible. I hope that you'll be able to engage with the community and build bridges. 

I've seen  a film made in America called 'Burning Bridges' where six young men burnt a heritage bridge and they met with the community and got a deeper understanding of how everyone was affected. The community supported them to carry on living in that area and contributing to get them involved to repair the bridge. Who knows what the community will have, or even you will have, for us all to have a better future in Ore, St Leonards and Hastings? We learned, sadly. that not 'everyone loves the pier'. However some of the ideas from the recent consultation include concerts, raves, music, theme park rides and scoring most boat trips, cruising, lagoon, fishing, angling and green energy encompassing our heritage and also engineering and tourism for our local education providers. What do you think?

I am aware that other members of the community will be watching this and will have been affected by the pier fire. You too can also voice an opinion publicly or privately that will be passed on in due course to those people whose names we have been given.

The way we are doing this safely is through the -website www.peoplesjustice.org.uk  "

If you care to help this process, then please add a comment to this blog post. Alternatively, submit words and video eg via www.peoplesjustice.org.uk or just straight to YouTube, and drop a line to the mediation support ltd email or the peoplesjustice email so that I can put your message on this page.