Union Place plans move forward after gaining unanimous approval by Worthing Borough Council

The plans for 216 homes in a mixed use development on the old Union Place car park, Worthing, were approved unanimously by the council’s planning committee at its meeting on Wednesday, February 28.

The project is to be part of a joint venture between developer Roffey Homes and Worthing Borough Council, with the council previously agreeing to purchase £6 million worth of shares in the venture once it was set up – with profits to be split 50/50 between the partners.

General Manager of Roffey Homes Ben Cheal, said the development could cost around £55 million to build, adding they hoped to start construction around the end of the year/January 2025.

Plans will see four to 11 storey blocks of flats including live/work flats, 5,500 sqm of office space, a total of 235 undercroft parking spaces, several internal ‘podium gardens’ over the new car park, a community cafe and a pocket garden.

It will include 104 one-bed homes, 100 two-bed homes and 12 three-bed homes with 43 being affordable homes – roughly 20 per cent of the development.

Samuel Theodoridi (Lab, Castle) said he was ‘genuinely excited’ for the development and what it meant for the future of Worthing, saying it would bring some ‘vitality’ into the town.

He said: “This will represent the most significant development we have had in Worthing for quite some time.”

Richard Nowak (Con, Salvington) called the current site an ‘eyesore’ in the town centre, adding the harm to surrounding conservation areas and heritage assets did not outweigh the public benefit the development would bring to the town.

Noel Atkins (Con, Salvington) said the plans are ‘outstanding’ and that the design is ‘very attractive’, adding he ‘particularly’ liked the tree planting lining the outside of the plans.

Odul Bozkurt (Lab, Central) called the development a ‘game changer’ in how people got into the town centre, as it would encourage other forms of transport aside from cars, and would hopefully inspire more sites like it around Worthing.

Two people objected to the plans at the meeting, citing concerns around overdevelopment, loss of total car parking spaces, and an ill-fitting design.

One objector was the Worthing Society, a heritage organisation in Worthing, who said the designs would ‘dominate’ surrounding conservation areas and nearby St Paul’s Church, saying it was an improvement on previous plans but still not in keeping with the area.

Cabinet Member for Regeneration Caroline Baxter (Lab, Central) said the council would be agreeing the final terms and creation of the joint venture at a cabinet meeting on March 14, now that planning permission has been granted.

She said cost and a timeline of the development might also be discussed then.

Previous plans for the site saw blocks up to 14 storeys, a 90 bed hotel, around 167 homes and an expansion to the Connaught Theatre.

These were scrapped over concerns from Historic England about affects on the historic seafront, and from the council and residents about overdevelopment in favour of the current plans.

Members raised concerns about the Connaught Theatre and a service alley used by businesses behind the site being kept, which council officers said they would be as they are not part of the development.

They also noted the lime tree on the corner of Union Place and the High Street would be kept, but the line of Leylandii trees next to it would have to be chopped down.