Supporting the local community

The Marianne North Centre Hastings

The Marianne North Centre is more than just a vision to bring a botanic garden to Hastings and St Leonards-On-Sea. It will be a modern accessible community space that people will enjoy, relax, learn and draw inspiration from the life and achievements of Marianne North.

We aim to create a beautiful and peaceful environment that honours her legacy and inspires visitors to appreciate the natural world around us.

Engaging with the whole community is a cornerstone of The Marianne North Centre vision.

This is a striking example of one of the concept designs completed by students at East Sussex College.

This design providing a cost effective dome shape and creative Octopus feature represents Hastings natural affiliation and dependence on the Sea.

The Marianne North Centre vision is a community asset where Hastings Botanic Garden will be the focal point and main area, providing representative environments of the regions which are most influential in the Marianne North paintings.

This will include plants which have been attributed to Northia species from Borneo, South Africa and Australia.

Set alongside the Botanic Garden will be an interactive education gallery and

digital space promoting educational

courses, visits and workshops.

Improving Hastings bio-diversity and promoting ‘think local’ the outside space will provide a series of design led

plots curated to inspire visitors to take ideas home.

Pollinating, Community, Edible, Coastal and

Dry weather planting appropriate to the climate

here on the South Coast are all considered choices.

Helping Hastings become an all year round location

1904 image of Hastings Winter Garden proposal

A Winter Garden has been proposed in Hastings since the 1870’s

A design featured in a local newspaper supplement in May 1904

The idea re-emerged in early designs for Priory Meadow Shopping Centre, and the White Rock Masterplan 2017.

Significant developments in building design, materials and technology provide solutions which allows for traditional high energy building to be completed which are energy efficient, or carbon neutral, through reductions in waste and energy recycling.

The life cycle of the building is also considered in design.. Increasingly ‘footprint’ builds are being considered to re-use existing footprint

Hastings Winter garden representation c.1904

The Benefits of the Marianne North Centre

Sustainable job creation

Protecting indigenous plants and house endangered species

Honour Hastings’ botanic heritage

Economically regenerating the locality into a year-round tourist attraction

Provide Hastings landmark to connect with greenery on national scale

Create links with local schools, colleges and charity or voluntary organisations

Providing a community hub for the people of Hastings

Promoting public education with respect for Nature, especially towards the areas of the world Marianne North visited.