Plans submitted for improved yacht club in Shoreham

Adur District Council plans to build new flood defences, along with a riverside cycle and pedestrian route, along the southern side of Brighton Road.

The £4.7 million project is part of a wide-reaching plan which will transform the industrial units along the River Adur’s Western Harbour Arm into new homes and workspaces with an expansive new waterfront promenade.

However the work would make it necessary to demolish the Sussex Yacht Club’s clubhouse, training centre building, Boatswain’s workshops and car park at the northern end of the Adur Ferry Bridge.

The area has been identified as a 'weak point' for flooding along the Western Harbour Arm.

The council has struck a deal with the club and has agreed to buy some of the land, with the proceeds to be used by the yacht club to build a new and improved clubhouse.

The club’s development committee has now submitted a planning application for the site.

A spokesman said: “We have been working in collaboration with the council to design a comprehensive and attractive scheme combining flood protection and improved access to the town centre with replacement and improved facilities for the club, which is an important base and training centre for a wide variety of water sports as well as a great social centre for local people.”

The team said the proposed building would blend modern and traditional features which would ‘complement and enhance Shoreham’s historic townscape’.

The new building would be two storeys high with a pitched roof. This would be a height increase of two metres on the north side and three metres on the riverside when compared to the existing building.

Training rooms, changing rooms, showers and office space would be located on the ground floor.

The first floor would house a bar, restaurant and balcony, all enjoying panoramic views over the river.

The building will be accessible for disabled people, with ramps up to the entrances and an internal lift.

The new clubhouse would not be protected by the council’s flood defence but would be constructed on a raised plinth in order to make it more flood resilient.

Councillor Neil Parkin, Leader of Adur District Council, said the regeneration of the industrial riverside and improved flood defences were at the heart of bringing more investment into area.

He said: “Key to all of this is the Sussex Yacht Club site, which is why I’m delighted we have been able to work with the community and partners to come to move this forward.

“The end result will be a major step forward in a renaissance of Shoreham, which will transform the area and the lifestyle of the people that live and work in the town.”

A report on the Sussex Yacht Club project will be presented to Adur & Worthing Councils’ Joint Strategic Committee on Tuesday.

The scheme is part of the wider-reaching Shoreham Harbour Joint Area Action Plan, which will see hundreds of homes created along the Western Harbour Arm.

Work on the scheme will potentially start later this year and the flood prevention work, along with footpath and cycleway, could be complete by 2021, subject to planning permission being granted.

A council spokesman said the majority of flood defences in this area will be provided by private sector investment as individual sites are developed.

To view the planning application for the Sussex Yacht Club's scheme in full, search AWDM/0709/18 on Adur District Council's planning website

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