Development opportunities for former West Sussex village police station will be 'carefully examined'

Adur District Council said the decision – for the site, which backs onto Monks Recreation Ground – was made to ‘help the community benefit from the building again’.

The council bought the building in North Road in 2021 after it had sat empty for a number of years.

"With the help of flexible office company Freedom Works, the building was converted into a community, charity and small business space known as Fabric," a council spokesperson said.

“Workspaces, meeting rooms, hot-desking facilities and event space were leased to local groups to help support the community and up-and-coming businesses taking their first steps.”

Since then, the council has been ‘reviewing how the whole site could be redeveloped’ as part of the ‘long-term regeneration of the centre’ of Lancing’s shopping area.

This included ‘discussing potential uses for the site’ with the community as part of its Lancing: Now and into the Future project, which aims to ‘prioritise projects that meet residents' needs and aspirations’.

The council decided in January that the ‘best option’ would be to sell the land to ‘someone who will be able to bring the important site back into use’.

In an update on May 2, the council reported: “Back in January we told you that we were putting the former Lancing police station building up for sale so that the site could be brought back to benefit locals again.

"We asked anyone interested to submit bids, explaining how much they were offering and what they would like to do with the land.

"These opportunities are being carefully examined to see what each option can contribute to our community.

"This process will take a little bit of time because it's important to understand exactly how each bid would help Lancing.”

The council said it will keep residents updated on the police station site ‘when we have more news’.

Becky Allinson, Adur’s cabinet member for regeneration, said: “The police station site is a prominent location in Lancing with a huge amount of potential for redevelopment.

“We’re looking for someone who wants to invest in this great location and help us transform North Road for everyone who lives and works in the area.”

Income from the sale will be ‘invested in other community projects and programmes’ across the district. This is in line with the council’s approach of putting its funds into those assets that ‘bring the greatest benefits for residents’.