Plans for new West Durrington community building to go before council
Plans for a community building in West Durrington will be considered by Worthing Borough Council on November 11.
The application was submitted by the West Durrington development consortium, comprising Persimmon, Vistry and Taylor Wimpey, as part of the 700 home scheme in 2012.
The proposed building would be located on the north side of Celandine Road, at the southern end of the West Durrington Community Park.
It would include a main hall, two meeting rooms, kitchen and storage, toilets, a large entrance lobby and an associated buggy store.
Outside, there would be a landscaped terrace for potential external seating, a 37-space car park and storage for five bicycles.
The original application in 2012 included changing rooms within the building to serve an 11-a-side football pitch.
However, following a consultation with the community it was decided that a larger number of junior sized pitches was better suited to the site.
The outdoor space was subsequently amended to include two 5-a-side pitches and one 7-a-side pitch instead. This was approved under reserved matters planning permission in 2024.
Due to this change, changing rooms were no longer needed, allowing the proposed building to be reduced in size and more space for outside seating to be provided.
A further public consultation took place in November 2024 to establish how the building could be used. A flexible, accessible and multi-use space which is capable of accommodating a range of activities was most favoured.
When completed the community building will be transferred under the Council’s ownership, and the authority will be responsible for its future management.
The proposed car park would have two vehicle entrances onto Celandine Road, positioned either side of the existing bus gate.
Retractable bollards would separate the two sections of parking to prevent motorists using the car park as a cut-through to bypass the bus gate.
However, West Sussex County Council’s highways authority has requested further information about how the bollards would be managed and maintained to ensure they operate correctly and prevent unauthorised traffic.
A response from the highways authority is expected to be reported to the committee.
The proposed opening hours would be 8am to 11pm on Monday to Saturday and 9am to 10pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
Planning officers have recommended approval subject to satisfactory responses from highways, waste services and the fire safety officer.