GAIL's bakery to open new branch in Worthing - with vacancy for a head baker

GAIL's bakery has submitted a planning application, via consultancy company Planning Potential, for signage at 16 Warwick Street, Worthing.

The site used to be occupied by Masterchef winner Kenny Tutt’s flagship Worthing restaurant, Pitch, which closed in July 2023.

A poster on the building reads: “Hello Worthing – we’ll be baking here soon.”

There is also a QR code for people to fill out a job application and download the Gail’s loyalty app to ‘get barista-made drink’.

On its website, the bakery chain said it is ‘looking for head bakers’ who ‘have a passion to join the GAIL’s family’ and for training and developing others.

The job advert read: “Head baker vacancy at GAIL's Worthing - New Bakery Opening!

"You should be motivated by taking charge and want to be a positive role model. With no day being the same, you must be organised and clear talking to maximise your teams’ potential and to deliver our fresh food, bread and cakes to high standards whilst maintaining food safety standards.”

Click here to apply.

The application for new signage at the Warwick Street site is under consideration by Worthing Borough Council.

A planning document read: “This commercial floorspace is currently vacant, having most recently been occupied by Nonna’s Kitchen.

“Gail’s are seeking advertisement consent for the following signage installations:  

• 1 no. halo-lit fascia lettering sign, to be installed to the existing fascia;

• 1 no. non-illuminated hanging sign, to be installed above fascia level.

"The proposed fascia lettering sign and hanging sign are of a high-quality finish, complimentary to the building’s façade, and result in no change to the shopfront’s existing structure or arrangement, thus ensuring the overall appearance of the site remains unaltered.”

The Worthing Society – which serves to ‘conserve and preserve’ the architectural amenities of Worthing – has submitted a letter in response.

This read: “Whilst we can appreciate the need for a hanging sign we consider it does not need to be illuminated. Given the scale of the building, an illuminated sign could be overly dominant and set a precedent.

"In summary, we consider illuminated signage would not be consistent with Section 72 (1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 in that it would not enhance the conservation area.”

The first GAIL’s bakery opened in London’s Hampstead High Street in 2005. Today, the company has bakeries in neighbourhoods in and around London, Oxford, Brighton and beyond. in Sussex, there are branches in Horsham, Brighton, Hove and Lewes.