Homes could replace Midhurst’s Old Court House

Developers want to pull down the building, which until recently was owned by Midhurst Community Mental Health Team and replace it with eight flats around a central courtyard.

It would mean a major face lift for the area around the South Pond where the new community and leisure centre is rapidly taking shape.

And presenting their pre-planning application design and access statement to national park planners, SCD Architects acting for the developers claim the new centre will “significantly alter the current context of the courthouse.”

Their proposal which is still undergoing amendment before it is presented formally for planning permission, was put before members of Midhurst Town Council’s planning committee on Monday.

Developers say in their design statement the old Court House building “now reads as an awkward utilitarian building. The size and the horizontal division of the replacement front windows all form an inarticulate arrangement of Georgian architecture.”

Their proposal is to replace the old building with a new residential development to provide “high quality accommodation in a style that reflects the character and vernacular of Midhurst.”

The scheme consists of eight two bedroomed apartments built around a courtyard accessed from the ground floor and through controlled access gates at the southern end of the site.