Work Due to Start on Worthing’s Union Gardens Development Within Weeks

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, and a 236-space car park at the long-dormant brownfield site.

The Union Gardens site, formerly including Worthing’s Police Station, is just over a hectare in size, and runs from High Street in the east to the wall of the Connaught cinema in the west.

Last year the council agreed to change the approach for the Union Place site, by offering Roffey Homes the chance to purchase the land and get going with construction.

Contracts for the sale of the land for £4.1million have now been exchanged and Roffey Homes will start enabling and preparation works from February.

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.

Planning permission for Union Gardens was granted in March 2024 and Roffey Homes is anticipating it will complete construction at the end of 2029/30.

Roffey Homes is working with the council to find land in Worthing that can be used to develop affordable homes on. Part of the Union Gardens development originally included affordable homes, but due to Roffey Homes not being able to find a registered provider to buy and manage the affordable housing units, despite marketing the units to over 43 providers, the council’s planning committee has agreed these units can be sold at market rates and the affordable housing explored offsite instead.

The small High Street surface car park opposite Waitrose forms part of the sale and will close immediately. The Union Place NCP car park is also part of the sale, but will remain open until early March. Roffey aims to open a new 236 space public car park, with 146 spaces available for public use, as part of the Union Gardens project in summer 2028.

Cllr Rita Garner, Worthing’s deputy leader and cabinet member for regeneration, said: “We are extremely pleased to get to this point. It is great that these complex negotiations are finalised. Once complete Union Gardens will create a vibrant new community that will breathe new life into this corner of the town centre.”

Ben Cheal, managing director of Roffey Homes, said: “Union Gardens will deliver sustainable new homes in the centre of Worthing that are centred around three gardens built over public and private parking. The development has been carefully designed to appeal to a broad market, delivering one, two and three bedroom homes at a range of prices. During the construction period, we will work with the community to minimise impact and will look to immerse ourselves in local initiatives.”