Worthing's West End: A thriving community of independent shops, bars and restaurants – pictures and video

But cross over Crescent Road, and venture a little further west into Montague Street and then Rowlands Road, and you’ll find a thriving hub of independent businesses.

One of the longest-running shops is F. Silverthorne, the fishmongers run by Michael Brown. Michael has been there for 42 years, but the business itself has been in Montague Street for 115 years.

In that time, Michael said he has seen a lot of changes in the West End, but one thing that remains is the sense of community. He said: “When I first started here, there used to be a lot of food businesses like greengrocers, butchers, etc. Now, there are a lot more cafés and nail bars, but I know most of the business owners still.

"Back in the 80s, there used to be a market round the corner in Surrey Street, which was great for business – I’d like to see something like that come back. We could also do with better parking for customers to be able to drop in. But, overall, it’s a good place to be.”

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Over the road is Greenfingers florist, which celebrated its 35th anniversary at the end of last year. Rachel Matthews’ parents started the business in 1987 when she was just 10, and after completing her floristry training at Brinsbury College when she was an adult, she took it over from them.

She said the West End has changed a lot since the 80s, but she’s still happy to be based there. “Footfall is still good, and even though we had Covid, which was very strange, business is still good.

"I know a lot of the business owners and residents, and it’s nice to have that sense of community.”

Simon Feurstein, owner of Malt café, has a background in hospitality. He had run businesses in Brighton, but decided to make the leap to Worthing by opening Malt almost five years ago.

"We moved to Worthing because we wanted to do something different, and we saw an opportunity to do that in this end of town. There weren’t that many cafés here at that time, and thankfully, people were so welcoming to us.

"We have a lot of regular customers, which is so important as a small business, and we’re so grateful people choose to keep coming back to us.”

Covid was a tough time for Malt, as it was forced to close for several months, so during that time Simon launched his mobile food truck Taco Look at Me Now. He said both businesses have had a great reception.

"When we did manage to reopen the café after Covid, everyone in the West End was so friendly to each other. All the businesses here, pretty much, are independent, so it has a good spirit.

"The guys at Pizza Face over the road actually gave me their keys, so I could use their outdoor seating area when they were closed. Who does that? It just shows how friendly it is here.”

Sussex Flooring and Interiors will celebrate its 20th anniversary in the West End in 2024. Owner Adam Harding said he’s very happy he chose the location for his business, despite living in Steyning, and finds the West End a friendly place to be.

"When I’m walking to the shop, people often say hello, and chat to you, which is really nice.

"Like all areas, we’ve seen some changes over time, but I have a lot of lovely customers and everyone knows each other down here.”

Baked, which sells the most delicious-looking brownies, was started in Rowlands Road by Lauren Roffey nine years ago.

"I really like this area,” Lauren said. “A lot of us have been here for a similar length of time, and we get on really well, so it’s great.

"I feel really lucky that a lot of my customers make a special trip to this end of town to buy our brownies. I think it’s great that people come to the West End and experience what we’ve got to offer here.”

Just down the road, at art-ful pottery café, is Nina Reid. The business offers a range of creative experience, from pottery painting to UV slime making, and even runs events from an American school bus.

Nine said she was drawn to the West End because of the reasonable rent, the independent community vibe and the beautiful Victorian shop where her business is based.

She added: “I don't feel like the road has changed much, but the people coming here definitely have.

"As more people move to Worthing from London and Brighton, the people coming in are getting much younger and trendier. And since Covid, there’s definitely been more of a demand for adults to take part in the workshops and explore their creative sides.

"This is a lovely place to be based. We have lots of regular customers. I’m definitely invested in the West End as I’ve just signed a lease for another five years.”

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Lee Milner and Roger Foxwell launched West End Gallery just ten weeks ago. They took over the gallery because they are passionate about making sure independent businesses don’t shut down.

Both artists themselves, they display and sell work from 15 local creators, none of which people would find exhibiting elsewhere.

Roger said: “When we heard the previous owners were closing the business, Lee and I had a chat and decided we wanted to try to keep it going as we don’t like to see independent businesses closing.

"We’re running it as a not-for-profit. We don’t take a salary. Any money is put back into doing up the gallery. We’re very excited to be in this end of town as it’s all independents here.

"We’d encourage people to explore the West End, and to come and see us. There is lots to offer and a reasonable amount of free parking. We hope people will come and see us.”

The Signal Post bar hasn’t even opened yet, but owners Joel and Fleur Penny are excited to join the West End community.

Selling craft beer, wine and hot deli foods, the venture should be open by the end of August.

Joel said: “This is going to be something a bit more specialist, with craft beer and wines and deli foods. We also hope to host events like ‘meet the brewer’ or ‘meet the wine merchant’. We love the area here because it’s really busy, has a really mixed demographic and is not too far from the seafront.

"Since we have been painting, lots of people have been stopping off and chatting and saying how excited they are for us to open, which is really reassuring. We’re hoping people will come along when we open and come and explore this part of town.”