Flats above Worthing's China Palace restaurant approved

The application, from Victor Hang, was given the nod during a meeting of the planning committee on Wednesday (March 22).

Mr Hang is director of the China Palace restaurant which sits on the first floor of the building in Chapel Road.

The floor above is used as a dining area and House in Multiple Occupancy but Mr Hang plans to convert both floors into a total of 11 flats, adding an in-set third-floor roof extension for two more flats.

The ground-floor shops at numbers 45 and 43 do not form part of the application.

The application included a lot of ‘green’ features including solar panels, under-floor heating in each flat and air source heat pumps.

Helen Silman (Lab, Heene) praised the architect’s ambition to get ‘as close to net zero as possible’.

As for the fact that the building sits in a Conservation Area, she added: “I do think that there is going to be an issue with Conservation Areas more and more often.

“We have to try now to reconcile the imperative to respond to the changing climate at the same time as trying to protect heritage.

“It’s not going to be easy but I feel we can’t just say we’re not going to touch Conservation Areas.

“We have to find a way and we will have to compromise on some things in favour of the net zero goal rather than the purity of the heritage Conservation Areas,”

Further alterations to the building will include adding eight recessed, enclosed balconies with decorative brickwork screens and using the outer edge of the current flat roof as terraces, enclosed by glass balustrades.

The council received one letter from neighbours in nearby Liverpool Terrace supporting the application.

The letter said: “Worthing always needs new homes and these look like large, quality new homes with bicycle storage.

“The change may also reduce noise and traffic pollution to the existing restaurant.”

To view the application in full, log on to planning.adur-worthing.gov.uk and search for 1483/22.