Agenda item

To receive any questions from members of the public.

Questions should be submitted by noon on Monday 6 November 2023 to  Democratic Services, democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk  

(Note: Public Question Time will operate for a maximum of 30 minutes.)

A resident asked the following question: How does the Sub-Committee justify marketing the Grafton site at this time when the Union Place and Teville Gate developments have not yet been built?  No one wants another vacant site for years and there is no suggestion that the Grafton Car park poses an immediate danger to users and needs to be demolished urgently.

Response from the Cabinet Member for Regeneration: The redevelopment of Grafton is another example of a strategically important site that has eluded previous administrations.  As you may know, we are working with Homes England on a plan for Teville Gate and as you may also have seen, the plans for Union Place brought forward in a joint venture with Roffey Homes are ready to be submitted for planning permission. So it makes sense to focus attention on Grafton.  We know that there is investment interest out there and the responsible thing to do is to test that interest to determine how it could benefit the town centre and our local communities. This is such an important site - it has the potential to connect the seafront and the town and to contribute to re-imagining our public realm.  The Council has directed CIL contributions to a major improvement of Montague Place and other developers have come forward with their proposals for the town centre - to bring more people and make it a more vibrant place.

A resident asked the following question: Where and how many are the ‘new and proposed’ car parking spaces in the town centre to replace the 440 lost in this proposal?  Currently there are no buses on many routes after 6.30 pm. and some routes have been severely curtailed, such as the No. 7 route which now only runs at 90 minute intervals, making car journeys to the town centre a necessity.

Response: There will be alternative MSCP facilities - refurbishment and new being constructed for the town which will off-set the loss of this underutilised parking facility. We are also committed to working with local bus partners to improve access to the town centre, and in that spirit have re-established the bus partnership as we look to work together to improve access and accessibility.

A resident asked the following question: Finding parking spaces is already becoming increasingly hard for local residents. Has any consideration been made of the effect of closing Grafton car park on the local residents that have to use their cars?

Response: There will be alternative MSCP facilities - refurbishment and new being constructed for the town which will off-set the loss of this underutilised parking facility. The meeting was also told of an upcoming WSCC review of on street parking.

A resident asked the following question: The green space next to the car park was due to be planted and set up as a gardens. Is this going to be built on?

Response: Should the committee agree to market the site, we will work with potential partners, stakeholders and through the planning system to develop an attractive new mixed-use development in this core, central site. However, it is too early to consider the specific configuration of any redevelopment at this early stage.

The Chair read out a question on a Resident’s behalf: If Grafton car park is removed where will the 440 car parking spaces go, if the car park was sold or repurposed?

Response: There will be alternative MSCP facilities - refurbishment and new being constructed for the town which will off-set the loss of this underutilised parking facility.

The Chair read out a question on a Resident’s behalf: Will there also be more disabled parking as so much of this has been lost with all of the local changes to disabled parking access and carparks?

Response: Accessibility is a priority for the council. Redevelopment of this central, core site, in addition to alternative MSCP facilities, will allow us to work with partners to better enable disabled access to the town centre.

A resident asked a question about the effect a development would have on resident’s access. It was explained to the meeting that potential developers would be asked to be sympathetic to the needs of local communities and businesses. There would be further consultation with residents in the future

A resident asked how the development would affect the local businesses in the area and was told that there would be engagement with local businesses and residents.

A resident asked for details about how the site would be marketed. Details of the marketing process were given and it was advised that it was too early in the process to give details of how the legal marketing pack would be published.

A resident asked about parking at the new medical centre and was told that 200 spaces were being provided as part of the development.