Union Place: Worthing councillors to consider change of approach

In 2022, Worthing Borough Council partnered with Roffey Homes to build Union Gardens – a new community of 216 highly-sustainable flats, with residents' gardens, a pocket park, space for a community café, and a 236-space car park at the long-dormant brownfield site.

Councillors will decide next week whether to ‘change the approach’ for the Union Place site in Worthing to ‘consider a land sale to Roffey Homes’.

This will enable the housebuilder ‘to get going’ with the construction of 216 new homes.

"At the council’s Joint Strategic Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 14, councillors will be asked to agree to the sale of the Union Place land in order to speed up the redevelopment,” a borough council statement read.

"Union Place was identified in the Worthing Local Plan as a key site for delivering new homes in the borough, and the council considers that by handing over sole control to Roffey Homes the redevelopment can progress much faster.

"Like many local councils, Worthing Borough Council is facing tough financial pressures due to significant reductions in the central government grant over many years, challenges from inflation and cost of living pressures.”

The council said it is ‘focused on finding ways’ of reducing costs and increasing income. It no longer considers the financial risk or staffing resource involved with the successful delivery of a large-scale redevelopment site ‘to be in line with that aim’, opting instead to ‘sell the land and receive payment sooner’.

Planning permission for Union Gardens was granted in March this year and construction is ‘anticipated to take place between 2025 and 2027’, the council said.

Rita Garner, Worthing’s deputy leader and cabinet member for regeneration, said: “This central Worthing site has sat barren for around 15 years. By switching to a land transaction agreement, we reduce the risk to the council tax payer, receive payment sooner and enable Roffey Homes to progress with the redevelopment of Union Gardens as soon as possible.”

You can read the latest report on the project ahead of next week’s meeting here: https://democracy.adur-worthing.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=159&MId=2128&Ver=4.