Worthing multi-storey car park can only reopen if £17m is spent – at the very least

The 440-space Grafton car park was closed on May 16, after inspections found some of the concrete inside the car park was failing, because of the structure’s age and seafront location.

Worthing Borough Council, which owns the car park, said a number of companies submitted proposals to redevelop the site after expressions of interest were sought from potential bidders in 2024. These were still being considered when the car park was closed.

Meanwhile, a council statement revealed on Tuesday, August 5: “A new independent report suggests that the minimum work to allow Worthing’s Grafton multi-storey car park to reopen would cost well in excess of £17m.

"Worthing Borough Council closed Grafton in May to carry out urgent investigation work because of concerns that its condition had visibly deteriorated suddenly.

"The council brought in HOP Consulting, a specialist civil and structural engineering firm, and chartered surveyors MacConvilles to outline what could be done to make the car park safe to reopen to the public.

"The team from HOP have concluded that the most basic set of repairs and renovation required to make the structure safe to use would cost an estimated £17.1m at least.”

The council said ‘this does not include’ any work to the building’s lifts or drainage, which ‘would also be needed’.

"It also does not include the additional cost to the council of borrowing the money required to fund the work, nor any planning or legal costs,” the council added.

"The report outlines four potential solutions to the car park’s issues, ranging from the installation of new steel support beams for the existing deck and refurbishment of the site at an estimated cost of £17.1m to a complete replacement of the deck and refurbishment of the car park at a cost of more than £32.3m.

"The options would extend the life of the car park to between 10 and 25 more years.”

The options outlined by HOP will be considered by the council’s joint strategic committee at its next meeting, on September 11.

Sophie Cox, leader of Worthing Borough Council, said: “The estimates for the work are far beyond what we can afford using our reserves and our own funding over the coming years.

“Such a huge bill could saddle the borough with borrowing costs that would need to be met through significant increases in fees, charges and council tax for years and years, as well as reductions in the services we could offer.

“We now need to weigh up exactly how much it could cost in total to reopen Grafton against the remaining parking capacity and demand for spaces, alongside the fact the site is in our Local Plan for regeneration in the near future.”

The Grafton site – ‘roughly the area of a football pitch’ – also includes the Hollywood Bowl bowling alley, the Level 1 food and drink area, a small number of shops in Montague Street and access roads to neighbouring buildings. Despite the car park’s ongoing closure, these businesses ‘remain open and safe to visit’.

The council has also bought the leases to the shops from Clarks to Argos on the southern side of Montague Street to ‘make it easier to develop the whole area’.

In July, the council’s joint strategic committee agreed to relaunch the search for a developer, to ‘help transform the Grafton site for the benefit of the whole community’.

On Monday, August 4, the ‘process to find a developer resumed’, with the site being marketed to potential bidders, the council said.

The council engaged global real estate advisor CBRE to market the 1.9-acre Grafton multi-storey car park site for sale.

Ryan Harris, director at CBRE Southampton, said: “Worthing Borough Council’s Grafton car park site is in a prime waterfront location. The site could suit a variety of different uses, including leisure, residential and mixed-use, subject to planning, making it an attractive prospect for investors and developers who want to be part of the future regeneration of Worthing.”

The council said offers that come in ‘will be explored and evaluated’, before a preferred option for the redevelopment of the site will be selected.

A spokesperson added: "The council could then be in a position to be able to select a developer for the project in Spring 2026.

"The government’s announcement of £39 billion of investment to support the construction of affordable homes across the country could help drive forward the project.”

The council said officers are also continuing to meet with local businesses and residents to ‘discuss what can be done to help them’, whilst the car park is closed.

Although, the council did stress that there is ‘no shortage of parking capacity in the town centre’.

It is also ‘looking for ways to better support’ residents of Knightsbridge House with ‘accessibility issues’.