Portland Road revamp gives renewed hope

LAST year a walk down Portland Road would have revealed nearly half its shops standing empty and unwanted.
Plans for pedestrianisation of Portland Road, Worthing. Pictures courtesy of ECE SUS-140515-145219001Plans for pedestrianisation of Portland Road, Worthing. Pictures courtesy of ECE SUS-140515-145219001
Plans for pedestrianisation of Portland Road, Worthing. Pictures courtesy of ECE SUS-140515-145219001

But in a remarkable turnaround, confidence is returning to the street, with exciting plans for a revamp attracting interest from a host of ‘unique’ new businesses.

A sports bar, two new restaurants and a spa are proposed, with bold claims that the previously forgotten area of town could be transformed into a vibrant ‘new Warwick Street’ within three years.

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Town centre manager Sharon Clarke said: “There’s going to be some real activity in Portland Road and there’s a lot of potential. There is still a way to go because these things don’t happen overnight but certainly things are more positive as to how the future will be. In two to three years, it will be another Warwick Street.”

Mrs Clarke said feedback from agents suggests increased confidence in Portland Road is in part down to proposals to incoporate it in the imminent redevelopment of Montague Street.

For the full feature and reaction from traders, see the Worthing Herald, out Thursday, May 22.

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