Decision due on 176 new Shoreham flats at Frosts Cars site in Brighton Road

The application to demolish 69-75 Brighton Road – currently home to Frosts Cars – and build 176 one and two-bedroom flats will be considered by the planning committee on Monday (March 20).

Some 53 of the homes would be classed as affordable.

The plans include 600sqm of commercial space on the ground floor, and have been recommended for approval.

A similar application for 183 flats was refused in September 2022 for reasons including over-development, the density, height, scale, bulk and massing of the buildings, concerns that they would harm the character of the area and under-provision of parking and open space.

A number of changes have been made to the development in the latest application from Shoreham Brighton Road Limited.

They include reducing the height of the three tallest buildings by one storey, keeping the riverside parts of the blocks to no more than five storeys, and increasing the height of one of the roadside blocks.

The council received 28 letters objecting to the plans, one in support, and one from the Shoreham Beach Residents Association, which included a number of suggestions/objections.

Parking was one of the main issues, with the Association describing the 79 spaces as ‘inadequate’ predicting that people would park in the streets elsewhere.

The 79 spaces – 2-8 of which would be set aside for Car Club use – fall well below the county guidance of 186-206 spaces.

A statement from the County Highways team said that because the lower number was based on access to public transport and commitments to the promotion and support of car clubs, ‘no highway safety concern would be raised to the level of parking provision’.

But it warned that the development ‘may increase pressure on on-street parking availability in the vicinity’.

A report to the committee said: “The amended proposal has responded to previous concerns regarding the height and massing of the previously refused scheme.

“The removal of a storey from each of the three largest blocks has brought the development below the height of its approved neighbours such that it now sits within the new skyline formed by these developments.”

To view the application, log on to planning.adur-worthing.gov.uk and search for 2039/22.