Mid Sussex District Council announces next steps for regeneration of Clair Hall in Haywards Heath

The District Council held a cabinet meeting on Monday, July 29 (1pm), where the future of the site was discussed.

Members agreed a mixed-use development should be built with the land value from the housing funding a new cultural facility.

Speaking to the Middy at 3pm, after the meeting, the Leader of the Council Robert Eggleston said this had been a large project.

He said: “We’ve been working on this both in the previous administration and now in the new administration for at least two years.”

He said the current building was built in the 1970s and has reached ‘the end of its useful working life’. Mr Eggleston said: “It needs around about £3million spent on it just to bring it back into a good condition.”

The council want to create something new that will last for 50 years and the cabinet originally approved the mixed-use option in September 2023 when community groups were asked to come up with alternative proposals. Mr Eggleston said the council received a number of proposals from the community and appointed a technical panel with legal, financial, architectural, cultural expertise to examine proposals and assess viability.

He said: “We had six proposals in terms of community proposals and there was one that had some real legs to it. The technical panel met with everyone, and they met with the Save Clair Hall Group twice. There was a thorough examination of their proposal they came forward with, but unfortunately the technical panel’s conclusion was that what they were proposing wasn’t viable.” He said the panel’s strong recommendation was not to proceed with it.

Site of former Haywards Heath theatre should be developed say councillors

Mr Eggleston said: “The next step is to go to market, to seek the regeneration of the site through a mixed use development, whatever that might be, but crucially to provide a new cultural facility and we would fund that through the land value. Where we are today is a clear commitment that we will go forward to try and find someone who wants to take the site on.”

He continued said: “We’ve soft tested the market previously so we’re hopeful there are people out there who will come back and go ‘yes, this is what we can deliver’. On the assumption that organisations do come forward, we will then be able to go to the next phase, which will involve all of the necessary procurement and then how partners in this will do the design work etc. It will go to planning and so on.”

He said the council wants a modern building for Haywards Heath (and the surrounding areas) that is fit for purpose in the 21st century ‘for the next 50 or so years’ and one that can host live events and be a community space.

He added that the council has done multiple rounds of public consultation already, including several events at Clair Hall last summer. He said that said over about three years MSDC have had engagements with 18 Clair Hall user groups, more than 8,500 visits to the engagement hub, and hundreds of attendees and workshops and public events.

Mr Eggleston said: “We’ve done a lot of work around identifying needs and identifying passion and enthusiasm.”