Design of major Shoreham Harbour development heavily criticised

After debating the application for 255 flats and a business centre on Monday night, members of Adur District Council’s planning committee asked for more work to be done on the design.

Stephen Chipp (Con, Southwick Green) questioned whether the design of the flats – a trio of four to eight-storey blocks – were of a high enough quality for what would be a gateway site, next to the river Adur.

Borrowing a quote from a resident he spoke to about the development, Mr Chipp said: “I think my four-year-old son with a box of crayons and paper could have come up with three oblong buildings stuck together, which is what it feels like.”

Lee Cowen (Lab, Mash Barn) agreed, describing the design as ‘blocky’ and looking like ‘a level of Minecraft’.

The committee was not opposed to the idea of the development and all recognised the need for more affordable housing.

That was something the applicant, Hyde Housing, had pledged to deliver, submitting a memorandum of understanding to the council that it intended to make the entire development affordable.

But it was the look of that housing – described as ‘the lowest common denominator’ by Mr Chipp – that could not be resolved.

Joss Loader (Ind All, Marine) said the development had ‘the potential to be an eyesore’.

She added: “While the principles of affordable housing are obviously very laudable and something that we need to support, I think we can do very much better than this on what is, after all, a key gateway site.”

There were concerns from some that information was missing from the application, with reports from Southern Water and the council’s housing and parks teams not included.

Others felt the plans did not do enough to meet the council’s environmental standards, and questions were asked about the single point of access to the 207-space semi-basement parking.

The committee voted unanimously to defer the application to a later meeting while aspects of the design were looked at again.

A spokesman for Hyde Housing said: “We are obviously disappointed that the granting of planning permission on Kingston Wharf has been deferred following last night’s meeting.

“We are looking forward to working with the planning committee to agree a way forward for what will be a great development for Shoreham, bringing much-needed affordable homes and delivering real economic benefits for the town, as part of the regeneration of the harbour.”

If eventually given the nod, this development will join a string of others approved along Shoreham harbour – 132 homes and a food store on the former Parcelforce site, 540 homes at the ongoing Free Wharf development and a 50-home project in Albion Street.

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