final report economic research - employment land - adur district
TRANSCRIPT
Final Report
Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council
October 2009
Prepared by
Knight Frank
55 Baker Street
London
W1U 8AN
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
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Contents
Executive Summary 2
1.0 Introduction 12 2.0 Economic Audit 14 3.0 Planning and Economic Development Policy Review 31 4.0 Audit of Existing Employment Stock 46 5.0 Property Market Assessment 76 6.0 Forecasting Employment Demand and Floorspace 103 7.0 Appraisal of Key Sites 113 8.0 Conclusions and Policy Recommendations 137
Appendices
Appendix I Stakeholder Questionnaire Appendix II Map of Town Centre and Edge-of-Centre Offices Appendix III Forecasting Methodology Appendix IV Potential Protected Office Areas
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Executive Summary
Introduction
Knight Frank LLP was commissioned by Worthing Borough Council in July 2009 to undertake
economic research into the supply and demand of employment space within Worthing Borough as an
aid to formulating policies within the new Local Development Framework over the period up to 2026,
and devising actions and tasks within the new Economic Development Strategy.
This report presents an update to the 2005 Worthing Employment Land Review produced by Step
Ahead Research Ltd taking into account the current property market conditions prevailing in Worthing
Borough, as well as an assessment of how the local economy is set to change in future years.
Socio-Economic Profile
The economy of Worthing is diverse with a strong manufacturing base with key employers such as
GlaxoSmithKline, Eurotherm, and B&W Loudspeakers, as well as a significant service sector, led by
large public sector employers such as Inland Revenue, West Sussex County Council, Worthing
Borough Council and the Environment Agency, and financial firms such as Equiniti.
Despite major concerns expressed by the business community about the transport network, there is
unlikely to be any major investment in the strategic road network in the short / medium term. This
may impact on inward investment and future growth prospects of existing businesses.
Population change has a direct effect upon the workforce available to businesses in Worthing.
Population forecasts suggest that Worthing will experience a slight increase in population of 3,000
people between 2006-2026. The growing resident population and rising prices have contributed to
increasing competition in the borough for land between different uses. In addition, while the town still
has a high proportion of elderly residents, this has been reduced over the last 30 years by some
15%.
The major increase in jobs has been in the service sector, which has increased from 32,760 (83.3%)
in 1995 to 39,200 (88%) in 2007; the main increase has been in public administration, education and
health. The continuing growth of service sector employment is likely to increase demand for office
space, specifically modern office accommodation in more accessible locations with good parking.
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Employment forecasts suggest that services are projected to be a key foundation for economic
growth, with prospects of growth appearing to be strong after the recession. Growth of business
services will require the provision of high quality office space.
Worthing has above average employment in lower-value employment sectors, specifically
elementary occupations. Attracting inward investment projects will be important to provide higher-
value employment opportunities.
The rate of business formation in Worthing over the period 1994-2007 (i.e. growth of VAT registered
businesses) at 21% has been lower than in West Sussex, at 26%, and in the South East and 32%.
As with the rest of the country, Worthing is experiencing a significant increase in unemployment,
specifically among those with low skills (elementary occupations) and in traditional industrial sectors.
As with the rest of the Sussex coast, Worthing has some significant pockets of economic and social
deprivation.
Planning Policy Framework
The emerging national planning policy guidance on employment uses seeks to promote sustainable
economic development through the promotion of existing and new sectors of the economy, and the
regeneration of derelict land and buildings that are well served by public transport. This is a
particular challenge in Worthing, as the Borough has major congestion issues, that makes certain
out-of-town areas more accessible by car than public transport and therefore attractive to the
developer and occupational markets.
There is also a greater emphasis placed on local planning authorities, not to carry forward historic
employment allocations, where the prospect for development is unlikely.
In addition at the national level, the reaffirming of the ‘sequential approach’ to site selection for B1
office uses within the draft PPS4 is another challenge that needs to be thoroughly considered when
spatially planning office uses. Whilst, office uses help to bring activity and expenditure to a town
centre, the respective values compared to retail and residential uses, coupled with the complexities
and significant costs associated with developing in town centres, often make new office
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developments unviable in town centres. A more pragmatic approach may therefore be needed to
ensure that local planning policies do not stymie the development of new offices in future years.
At the regional level, the Adopted South East Plan seeks to promote the development of key sectors
(which are identified in the Regional Economic Strategy), by ensuring a flexible approach to planning
for land and buildings that promote the elements of ‘Smart Growth’ through the use of ICT, whilst
helping to drive economic competitiveness. How we work is constantly changing and evolving, as
the use and power of ICT allows companies and individuals a greater freedom to work footloose, and
in some cases without a permanent work base. The challenge for Worthing is to ensure that there is
a range of workspace choices for different types and sizes of businesses within the Borough, some
with support services and the latest ICT advances to ensure that businesses can grow and stay in
Worthing.
As a linked point, the supply of employment stock also has to evolve and change as working
practices and sectors of the economy change, and in this regard, there will be certain elements of the
existing Worthing employment stock that are not ‘fit for purpose’, requiring regeneration. The South
East Plan promotes the renewal and upgrading of existing employment stock, although along the
Sussex Coast, including Worthing the values in some cases will not merit a comprehensive
refurbishment or redevelopment, and therefore the challenge will be to unlock these sites.
At the local level, the Revised Core Strategy sets out a series of policies protecting the loss of
employment uses and identifies a number of key sites that require a bespoke employment policy to
protect and promote employment uses.
Supply-Side Characteristics
The general trends in the Worthing property stock over the last ten years (1998-2008) have been a
rise in the quantum of office space, a fall in factory space, and a rise in warehouse space. This
mirrors the wider economic trend, with a decline in manufacturing, and growth in the service sector,
with demand for warehousing space driven by changes in the retail sector.
The Borough has ten key industrial estates or business parks, providing 70% of the total employment
stock. These, predominantly industrial areas, are well occupied, with an average vacancy rate of
only 8.5%, and only two estates (East Worthing and Goring Business Park) with vacancy rates over
10%.
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The quality of the key industrial estates and business parks is mixed, with the predominant type of
space classified as ‘Grade B’. ‘Grade C’ or derelict space (Grade D) accounts for 30% of the stock.
Several estates have a high proportion of Grade C and D space, including Canterbury Road, Station
Road and Ivy Arch Road, although these areas also have some of the lowest vacancy rates in the
Borough. This demonstrates that poorer quality stock appears still to be attractive to certain
occupiers. Within the other estates, there are pockets of under-utilised or vacant Grade C and D
space that require investment, including:
o The large unit fronting Southdownview Road at Broadwater Business Park;
o The cluster of vacant units at Dominion Way West within East Worthing Industrial
Estate;
o Former Whiteheads Fabric Building within East Worthing Industrial Estate; and
o The large derelict building at Woods Way, Goring Business Park.
Of all of the key employment areas, Station Road is perhaps the one area that has major locational
constraints, being situated along a narrow residential street. Whilst the eastern end of Station Road
has a cluster of modern units, the remainder of the street has pockets of predominantly car repair
garages. There have also been some recent changes of use to residential.
The office stock is located across the Borough, although the majority of space can be found at out-of-
town locations, due to the presence of some major occupiers, such as Inland Revenue and West
Sussex Primary Care Trust at Goring, Southern Water, Equiniti and West Sussex County Council at
Durrington, and EDF Energy at East Worthing. The most recent office development within the
Borough can also be found out-of-town at Yeoman Gate. This demonstrates that out-of-town
locations remain attractive to occupiers, especially those requiring large floorplates that are difficult to
secure within the town centre.
There are some important office areas in edge-of-centre locations, especially around Worthing
Station, Little High Street/High Street (north), Farncombe Road, and Grafton Road and Crescent
Road. In these locations, there is mixture of Regency, 1960s/70s and more modern buildings. The
most recent stock has been developed in the Little High Street/High Street (north) area. There are
generally more opportunities within edge-of-centre locations, compared to the town centre, to create
stand-alone office buildings with larger floorplates. The majority of the stock is classified ‘Grade B’,
although there is also a considerable amount of ‘Grade C’ stock. Key occupiers include MGM
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Advantage at Heene Road, Inland Revenue at Railway Approach and Parexel MMS Europe at High
Street (north).
Within the town centre, there are several large occupiers, such as Worthing Borough Council at
Richmond Road, Environment Agency at Chatsworth House, and Department of Work and Pensions
at High Street, although the majority of businesses occupy offices of up to 5,000 square feet. There
are some key office areas within the town centre including Liverpool Terrace/Liverpool Gardens,
Chatsworth Road, Chapel Road, and North Street/High Street. The majority of space tends to be
‘Grade B’, although there are pockets of ‘Grade C’ space, along Chapel Road and Warwick Street in
the form of 1960s buildings and low grade suites above shop units.
The cost of car parking has been highlighted as a key issue for office occupiers within the town
centre, and can be viewed as a key ‘push’ factor. This issue requires a collaborative response from
the Council, landlords and occupiers to find an appropriately satisfactory solution.
The provision of serviced or managed workspace within the town is limited, especially as Worthing
has a good base of small businesses, with the opportunity to develop more business start-ups in
future years. A business incubator or innovation centre is lacking within the Borough, and the
presence of such a facility would help to develop the business base of the town, especially in key
sectors such as pharmaceuticals, advanced engineering and creative industries.
Demand Dynamics
The UK commercial property market has been severely impacted by the economic downturn.
Investment and development activity and, more recently, levels of occupational demand have
reduced substantially amid the recession. Worthing has not been immune to these developments
and it therefore is important that local policy aspirations takes into account the weaknesses in the
commercial property market over the short to medium term and their impact on occupational and
development activity.
Worthing is not a key employment location within the South East, with Brighton, Crawley/Gatwick and
Southampton/Portsmouth the more attractive destinations for office and industrial/warehousing
occupiers. Reflecting this, the level of inward investment into Worthing has been extremely limited for
the past 20 years, and agents do not view Worthing as a key employment location to cater for major
requirements within the wider national and regional market.
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In the Worthing office market, demand is characterised by churn from either long-established or
indigenous firms seeking better quality space or space for expansion. Large requirements are rare,
with the focus of the demand comprising sub 5,000 square feet units, especially within the 500-2,000
square feet range.
Close to 50% of the office take-up has occurred out-of-town, due to a combination of two large
transactions occurring in this area and the recent development of Yeoman Gate. Yeoman Gate was
taken-up aggressively, offering high quality space with good accessibility and car parking which is
lacking in the town centre and relieving pent-up demand for new freehold units.
This outward movement westwards by office occupiers reflects both the issues of the town centre
stock, in terms of quality, size and car parking, the congestion issues in the town, as well as the fact
that development tends to be more viable in out-of-town locations. Lack of supply of Grade A stock
in the town centre, rather than lack of demand, is key to explaining the apparent westward movement
by occupiers in recent years. Potential exists for high quality multi-let office buildings within the town
centre, similar to Chatsworth House, which has proved popular. However, the quality of town centre
supply will be difficult to address given the lack of sites and the costs of development. There is likely
to be continued demand for space in out-of-town locations, especially if new development is not
forthcoming in town centre or edge-of-town locations, and if the issues of town centre car parking
persist.
Our analysis has revealed that the amount of available office space on the market in Worthing is not
considerable, equating to 14% of total stock, or just 8% where The Warren at Hill Barn Lane (a large
single occupier building) is excluded. This equates to a supply of between 3-5 years based on
historic take-up levels.
In terms of the current mismatch between supply and demand, the office market is generally in
balance, although there is an apparent under-supply of available units of 5,000-10,000 square feet,
and a couple of requirements for circa 15,000 square feet. The former Lloyds Building at The
Causeway and The Warren, Hill Barn Lane, if ‘broken-up’ and offered to the market for multi-
tenanted occupation could help to address this mismatch.
Grade C office stock is generally oversupplied and not attractive to the market, and within the town
centre there is cluster of poor quality suites and buildings at Chapel Road and Warwick Street, which
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needs to be reconsidered in terms of its long term role, especially with the significant costs of
refurbishment.
The industrial market is holding up well in the recession, although landlords have been under
pressure to reduce rental values to secure lettings to avoid Empty Rates. Demand is also
characterised by local and sub-regional occupiers seeking expansion space. Demand is focused at
the smaller end of the market, with units of less than 5,000 square feet in demand, followed by some
demand for units between 5,000-10,000 square feet. Transactional activity has also been focused
on Grade A stock at locations such as Downlands Business Park and Northbrook Business Park. In
the case of Northbrook Business Park, the availability of new freehold units was key to its success,
and agents consider that there is scope for additional such schemes in Worthing when the market
returns.
Our analysis has revealed that the amount of industrial stock on the market in Worthing is not large
at 8% of the total stock. This equates to a supply of 2.5 years based on historic take-up level, which
is considered low in a stable market.
In terms of the current mismatch between industrial supply and demand, there seems to be a general
undersupply of Grade A stock, with historic take-up significantly above the current available stock,
with Grade B more or less in balance, and an over-provision of Grade C stock. There also appears
to be a dearth of units to cater for demand between 5,000-10,000 square feet and to a less extent
between 20,000-50,000 square feet.
Due to the general low industrial vacancy rate, and lack of Grade A stock, there should be scope for
renewed development activity for new space when the market returns.
Economic Forecasting
The use of economic forecasting and other indicators of future employment floorspace requirements
always need to be treated with caution, due to the timing and nature of the forecasts. They should
be used as a guide, requiring regular updating.
The Experian employment forecasts applied for Worthing indicate that growth in the service sector of
circa 4,900 jobs should result in an increased need for additional office stock up to 2026. In addition,
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the manufacturing sector, and sectors driving demand for warehousing will experience a decline in
employment of circa 200 jobs to 2026, and at face value potentially no additional need for industrial
stock.
The amount of office floorspace required to be delivered in Worthing up to 2026 is anticipated to be
circa 240,000 square feet, with the completion of Yeoman Gate taken into account.
However, for industrial and warehousing, we also consider it important to assess other indicators of
future floorspace demand – i.e. completions. The analysis of data held by the Borough Council
indicates that where the stock of Grade C/D premises can be renewed over the period up to 2026,
there is still likely to be a shortfall of circa 180,000 square feet, which will need to be developed on
vacant land.
Key Opportunity Sites
The land at Martlets Way has some significant deliverability issues, particularly in relation to the costs
of accessibility and off-site highways works. Due to the separate ownership within the site, and the
nature demarcations, it will be difficult to bring forward the entire site for employment uses, especially
given the development issues. However, there may be an opportunity to enable the development of
new employment uses through residential development that helps to fund the necessary highways
improvements. A masterplan for the whole site is recommended.
The plans for upgrading Northbrook College are still in a state of flux, with both the Durrington and
Broadwater Road campuses being assessed in terms of capacity and value terms. Both sites would
be attractive for employment development, especially the Durrington site, which could deliver both
industrial and office floorspace, as an extension to Yeoman Gate. In addition, the concept of a
business incubator should be explored with Northbrook College as this would provide an important
base for innovation and business generation in the Borough.
The Warren, Hill Barn Lane is a large office complex, set within a mature campus, and the impending
vacancy by Aviva will release a significant amount of office stock onto the market. The site should
provide an opportunity to ‘break up’ the building to provide smaller office units for the market,
although the amount of space available on site is unlikely to make it an attractive proposition for an
investor in the current economic climate. As an alternative, a mixed-use solution for the site should
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be tested with, in the first instance, other employment-generating uses, such as hotel, educational
and where appropriate care home facilities.
Decoy Farm, East Worthing Industrial Estate has significant deliverability issues, given the site’s
previous use as a landfill site. West Sussex County Council are set to expand its household
recycling facilities on the site, and without the prospect of the East Worthing Access Road being
constructed in the foreseeable future, the site is more suited to additional ‘bad neighbour’ and open
storage uses that avoids costly building works.
The former Lloyds Building at The Causeway is a late 1960s building with dedicated car parking
spaces. The building has the potential to cater for future office requirements, where the building is
refurbished to a good specification.
Policy Recommendations
In terms of industrial and warehousing uses it is recommended that the Council implements the
following:
• Identify renewal opportunities for under-utilised and vacant premises/sites such as:
- The large unit fronting Southdownview Road at Broadwater Business Park;
- The cluster of vacant units at Dominion Way West within East Worthing Industrial Estate;
- Former Whiteheads Fabric Building within East Worthing Industrial Estate; and
- The large derelict building at Woods Way, Goring Business Park.
• Protect all key industrial estate areas within the Borough, with the exception of Station Road,
which due to its constrained setting is not considered to be a prime industrial area.
• Seek to allocate vacant land to meet the expected shortfall in industrial demand of circa
180,000 square feet up to 2026, focusing on the following key opportunity sites:
- Former sewage treatment works, Martlets Way, Goring Business Park;
- Land at Northbrook College, Durrington Campus; and
- Decoy Farm, East Worthing Industrial Estate.
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In terms of B1 office uses, it is recommended that the Council implements the following:
• Seek to deliver the future office need of circa 240,000 square feet up to 2026 through a
pragmatic approach that:
- Delivers new town centre office floorspace through major mixed-use schemes;
- Maximises the opportunities of vacant office sites in out-of-town locations such as the
former Lloyds TSB Building and The Warren for continued office use; and
- Promotes new B1 office develop at Northbrook College’s Durrington Campus.
• Protect key office locations within, and at the edge of the town centre, including:
- Liverpool Terrace/Liverpool Gardens (and parts of Grafton Road, Portland Road and
Shelley Road);
- Chatsworth Road;
- North Street/High Street (including Little High Street and High Street north);
- Railway Approach;
- Crescent Road (northern end); and
- Farncombe Road.
• Outside of these areas, the presumption should be against the loss of office space, although
a criteria- based policy should be adopted to enable the ‘worst cases’ to be brought back into
beneficial use for alternative uses.
Other recommendations for the Council to progress include:
• Investigate the opportunity for a business incubator with key partners and promote the
concept through the Core Strategy and Economic Development Strategy.
• Work effectively with regional and sub-regional bodies to ensure a co-ordinated approach to
promoting Worthing to prospective inward investors.
• Set up appropriate mechanisms and systems to effectively engage with local landowners,
agents and developers.
• Improve the monitoring of the local economy and enquiries for business premises, including
seeking to update the Industrial Estate Survey at regular intervals, say every 24 months.
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1.0 Introduction
Knight Frank LLP was commissioned by Worthing Borough Council in July 2009 to undertake
economic research into the supply and demand of employment space within Worthing Borough as an
aid to formulating policies within the new Local Development Framework, and devising actions and
tasks within the new Economic Development Strategy.
The report seeks to assess both the existing industrial estate areas within the Borough, plus key
office locations, including the town centre, edge-of-centre office areas, and out-of-town clusters. This
has been achieved through primary research in the form of an update of the 2005 Coastal Industrial
Estate Survey undertaken by Coastal West Sussex Area Investment Framework Partnership, an
evaluation of the office stock through external surveys, and discussions with local agents, economic
development agencies and some landowners and occupiers.
The report provides an update to the 2005 Worthing Employment Land Review produced by Step
Ahead Research Ltd.
The findings of our research are set out in the following order:
• Chapter Two: Economic Audit – sets out an overview of the Worthing economy with
analysis of various economic indicators, as well as qualitative evidence from key economic
development agencies;
• Chapter Three: Planning and Economic Development Policy Review – summarises the
key spatial planning and economic development targets, objectives and policies at the
national, regional and local level;
• Chapter Four: Audit of Existing Employment Stock – describes the current supply of
industrial and office space within the Borough, focusing on the industrial estate areas, and
the key office locations, especially the town centre;
• Chapter Five: Property Market Assessment – evaluates indicators of market demand in
Worthing, such as take-up, availability and prevailing rents for both the office and
industrial/warehousing markets.
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• Chapter Six: Forecasting Employment Demand and Floorspace – presents the longer
term economic demand for employment floorspace within Worthing Borough, based on
employment forecasts to 2026.
• Chapter Seven: Appraisal of Key Sites – assesses key employment sites that are either
undeveloped, vacant or in need of regeneration in terms of their future role within the
Borough from an employment perspective;
• Chapter Eight: Conclusions and Policy Recommendations – presents our opinion on the
balance of supply and demand, including the provision of start-up units, future site
allocations and the policy response to offices and industrial uses; our findings on the
organisation of economic development activities at the local/sub-regional level, and guidance
on the on-going monitoring required to regularly update the report.
Additional information is provided in a series of appendices.
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2.0 Economic Audit
2.1 Background
It is important to understand the nature of the economy in the study area in order to provide suitable
employment opportunities to allow sustainable growth. The following sets out key socio economic
trends and indicators that influence demand for employment space. The profile is a result of analysis
of national / regional statistics and secondary research, drawing together a number of existing
studies and background documents.
Worthing is one of the largest towns in West Sussex and is located within an environmentally
sensitive setting with the sea to the south and South Downs National Park to the north. The
economy is Worthing is dominated by a small number of larger companies that help to support a
range of local businesses. Like the rest of West Sussex, Worthing has a high percentage of small
firms (83.5% of firms employ up to ten employees).
2.2 Communications
Worthing is served by the A27 trunk road passing through the northern edge of the town.
Considerable congestion and delay occurs where the A27 shares a section of route with the
strategically important A24 London-Worthing road, the main route into the town centre and at the two
level crossings in Central Worthing.
The A259 seafront road also runs east-west and carries predominantly local traffic, but also acts as
an overspill route for the A27, which can also cause congestion.
The south coast railway line provides good connections east (Brighton) and west (Chichester and
Portsmouth) and a reasonably good service to London.
The major concerns expressed by the business community relate to congestion on the strategic road
network, specifically the A27, which affects the reliability of local businesses to deliver their goods
and services on time. An added concern expressed by consultees and the business community is
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congestion within the town centre, particularly at peak hours. This impacts on the movement of
people, goods and services and is perceived as having a detrimental effect on the local economy.
Sufficient and affordable parking provision, particularly in the town centre, is also identified as a
particular concern. A high proportion of businesses in Coastal West Sussex (52%)1 say the road
network falls short of business needs.
There is unlikely to be any major investment in the strategic road network in the short / medium term.
The planned East Worthing Access Road (EWAR), which would have improved access from the A27
to the East Worthing industrial area, is now unlikely to go ahead and has not been included within the
Core Strategy.
2.3 Population
Worthing has a total population of 98,700. Between 1993 and 2003, the resident population of the
borough rose by 2%, below both national and regional trends and significantly lower than the 7%
growth seen in West Sussex as a whole.
Table 2.1 sets out projected changes in population growth in Worthing up to 2026.The table reveals
that the Borough is set for a modest increase in population of just 3,000 people between 2006 –
2026.
Table 2.1: Total Population 2001 – 2026 Age 2001 2006 2011 2016 2021 2026
0-4 5,300 5,500 5,200 5,200 5,200 5,300
5-19 16,400 16,800 17,200 16,900 16,600 16,100
20-64 53,300 55,000 57,100 57,600 58,100 58,200
65-79 14,200 13,500 13,300 14,400 14,800 15,600
80+ 8,300 7,900 7,500 6,700 6,500 6,700
TOTAL 97,600 98,700 100,200 100,900 101,200 101,900
Notes: Populations at 2001 and 2006 are mid-year estimates made by ONS Projections to 2016 reflect policies in the approved WS Structure Plan, 2001-2016 Projections for 2021 and 2026 reflect housing policies in the draft S E Plan as submitted to Government, March 2006 1 Voice of Business 2009 Survey, Sussex Enterprise
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Despite experiencing population growth, Worthing remains the third least populated district / borough
in West Sussex.
The percentage of working age population (includes males aged 16-64 and females 16-59) is lower
than both the regional and national average, indicating the elderly profile of the population.
Table 2.2: Working age population (2007) Worthing Worthing % South East % GB % All people – working age
57,500 57.7% 61.3% 62.2%
Males – working age
30,000 63% 65.4% 66.2%
Females – working age
27,500 52.9% 57.4% 58.3%
Source: ONS mid-year population estimates
While the town still has a high proportion of elderly residents, this has been reduced significantly over
the last 30 years. In 1971, over 40% of the population were over retirement age; by 2001, this has
fallen to just over 25%. A fall in over 65s is projected in the next 5 years but there will be an increase
again after this date (the ‘baby boom’ of the 1960s).
2.4 Employment Structure
The table below outlines the employment structure for Worthing Borough. Table 2.3: Employee jobs (2007) Sector Worthing SE Agriculture and fishing 0.0% 0.4%Energy and water 2.3% 0.5%Manufacturing 8.0% 8.8%Construction 2.3% 4.4%Distribution, retail, hotels and restaurants 23.6% 25.8%Transport and communications 3.5% 6.1%Finance & commercial business services 22.2% 23.9%Public administration, education and health 33.8% 24.8%Other services 4.4% 5.3%Total 45,200 Source: ABI
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Further analysis of employment structure indicates that there has been a reduction in manufacturing
employee jobs in Worthing (12.5% in 1995 to 8% in 2007). This mirrors the national long term decline
of the manufacturing sector, although it is important to stress that decline in Worthing has been at a
slower rate than the national average. In addition, firm level data (ABI) shows that the number of
manufacturing firms in the UK fell by 13% between 1998 and 2007, which was a faster rate of decline
than that seen in Worthing (7%). Although declining, manufacturing continues to be an important
sector for the local economy.
The major increase in employee jobs has been in the service sector, which has increased from
32,760 (83.3% in 1995) to 39,200 (88%) in 2007. The main increase has been in public
administration, education and health, supported by Distribution, retail, hotels and restaurants and
Finance & commercial business services.
The table below lists companies in Worthing with over 100+ employees.
Table 2.4: Large Firms of Worthing – 100+ employees (non-retail) Name Business Allergy Therapeutics plc Treatment and prevention of allergy B&W Loudspeakers Ltd Hi-fidelity equip manufacturers Bond International Software Software compilers Electronics Temperature Instruments Digital thermometers Environment Agency Government Agency Equiniti Financial Services Eurotherm Controls Ltd Data recording and process control manufacturers Eurotherm Ltd Design of data acquisition & industrial process GlaxoSmithKline Manufacturer of pharmaceuticals Littlehampton Book Services Book publishers distribution service Marine & General Mutual Life Assurance Life assurance Aviva Insurance company Southern Water plc Water supply Stagecoach South Ltd Public transport operator Ultra Motive Test & lab for automotive industry Worthing Borough Council Local authority Source: WSCC Annual Survey of industrial estates, Feb 2009
In terms of employment by occupation, Worthing has an above average proportion of Professional
occupations and an above average proportion of employment in lower-value employment sectors,
specifically elementary occupations. This demonstrates the diversity of jobs within the Borough.
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Table 2.5: Employment by occupation (Jan 2008 – Dec 2008) Occupational Groups Worthing
(numbers)Worthing
(%) South East
(%) Great Britain
(%) Soc 2000 major group 1-3 21,000 45.5 47.7 43.41 Managers and senior officials 7,400 16.0 17.5 15.72 Professional occupations 8,000 17.4 14.5 13.03 Associate professional & technical 5,600 12.2 15.6 14.5Soc 2000 major group 4-5 8,800 19.1 21.2 22.34 Administrative & secretarial 6,000 12.9 11.2 11.45 Skilled trades occupations # # 10.0 10.8Soc 2000 major group 6-7 7,200 15.5 15.1 15.86 Personal service occupations 4,400 9.5 7.7 8.27 Sales and customer service occs # # 7.4 7.6Soc 2000 major group 8-9 9,200 19.9 15.9 18.58 Process plant & machine operatives # # 5.4 7.19 Elementary occupations 6,200 13.4 10.5 11.4Source: ONS annual population survey
In 2001 less people worked in Worthing than there were workers living in the borough, making it a
net out-commuting area. However, with a relatively large local economy providing employment
opportunities, levels of commuting are not significantly high. The majority of those leaving the
borough to work travelled no further than Brighton and Hove, Adur or Arun, with only 3% of residents
working in Greater London (compared with 6% on average in Sussex).
2.5 Sector review: future prospects
Various research reports are available at both a regional and sub regional level to review future
growth prospects amongst key sectors, particularly reports to support regeneration plans at
Shoreham Harbour. We have reviewed this information to assess future growth prospects for key
sectors in Worthing. Further information on employment demand forecasts is set out in Chapter 6.
The business services sector includes a diverse range of activities and is a significant sector in the
sub region2, accounting for over 34,400 jobs. The three largest business services sub-sectors in the
sub-region are labour recruitment, legal, accounting and auditing activities and consultancy and
computer and related activities. Worthing specialises in software consultancy and supply and
advertising. The sector currently provides around 6,600 jobs in Worthing, but the sector has
2 Adur, Brighton & Hove and Worthing
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experienced a 4% decline in employment between 1998-2007 (unlike Adur which has experienced
growth rate of 102%).
In the short term, the sector (specifically the financial services sector) is being hit hard by the
recession. However, employment forecasts expect that business services will be one of the key
growth sectors for the sub region, with growth forecast for Worthing.
There are a number of high technology manufacturing companies which make this sector
particularly important for Worthing, specifically pharmaceuticals, aerospace and electronics. In the
sub region, approximately one-third (32%) of manufacturing employment can be considered high-
tech, which is considerably above the national average (12%).
Worthing has by far the largest proportion of high-tech manufacturing (60% of manufacturing
employment), reflecting the presence of a number of firms in the pharmaceuticals sector and in the
manufacturing of medical, precision and optical instruments.
The national picture has seen a significant decline in employment in the manufacturing sector (-30%
fall in employment); Worthing has seen a slower rate of decline (-9%). However, there has been a
significant decline in high-tech manufacturing employment in Worthing.
Forecasts suggest a continued decline in the manufacturing sector as a whole to 2026. It is difficult to
assess the future prospects of the high-tech sector, particularly because of the sectors reliance on
the fate of a few large employers. For example, the on-going restructuring of GSK could have
significant implications for the Worthing plant (which employs over 1,000 people). The plant has a
specialism in manufacturing penicillin based products, which has seen declining demand world-wide.
The creative industries sector is relatively strong in Worthing and has been identified as offering
future growth prospects. The sector employs over 16,000 people in the sub region, of which 3,400
are employed in the sector in Worthing (8% of total employment). Worthing has particular strengths
in architectural and engineering activities and software, computer games and electronic publishing.
There has been significant growth in creative industries in the region, but employment in the sector
has remained static.
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Given the high land prices for commercial property in the BN1 postcode (where the main regionally
creative cluster is located), there may be an opportunity for Worthing to accommodate those
companies who are finding it difficult to locate or expand within Brighton itself.
The retail sector has seen modest growth in Worthing, but the borough has a slightly greater
concentration of employment than the national average (12%).
Forecasts predict growth across the sub region as a whole, with employment growth forecast to be
strongest in Worthing. Indeed, the retail sector has seen growth over the last year, with jobs being
created at the new Morrisons store, located at the old Co-op store in Newland Road.
The tourism sector employs around 18,200 people and accounts for one in ten of all local jobs in the
sub region. In terms of the local position, some economic impact data is available from recent
research undertaken by Tourism South East (TSE) on behalf of WSCC. Key facts include:
• 287,080 staying trips were spent in the Borough;
• 1.72m tourism day trips were made to the Borough (lasting more than 3 hours);
• Total visitor spend is estimated to be in the region of £56,10m in 2007;
• Trip expenditure and additional tourism related expenditure translates to £146,52m worth of
income for local businesses through direct, indirect and induced effect;
• Declining accommodation stock: 1,200 bed spaces – around 50% reduction in hotel bed
spaces over last 10 years;
• Short break coach market (grey £) remains important: however, in decline;
• Declining business / conference market ; and
• Average levels of satisfaction are expressed by visitors in relation to the Worthing’s beach,
seafront, access and location.
The sector, which includes restaurants and bars, employs around 3,200 people, 7% of local
employment. Growth in Worthing is likely to be in line with the national average.
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2.6 Business Structure
Table 2.6 below indicates the number of VAT registered businesses in the borough. VAT registered
businesses are those which has an annual taxable turnover of £67,000, but businesses below this
threshold can also register.
Table 2.6: VAT Registered Businesses by Industry (2007) Sector Worthing W Sussex South East No. % No. % No. % Agriculture; forestry and fishing 25 0.8 1,445 4.9 136,100 6.9Mining and quarrying; Electricity, gas, and water supply
0 0 20 0.1 1,1885 0.1
Manufacturing 220 7.4 2,290 7.8 147,980 7.5Construction 405 13.7 3,745 12.7 233,415 11.9Wholesale, retail and repairs 660 22.3 5,410 18.4 388,235 19.8Hotels and restaurants 240 8.1 1,745 5.9 141,765 7.2Transport, storage and communication 105 3.6 1,145 3.9 83,150 4.2Financial intermediation 35 1.2 375 1.3 21,335 1.1Real estate, renting and business activities
965 32.7 10,220 34.8 634,315 32.3
Public administration 230 7.8 2,470 8.4 144,605 7.4Education; health and social work 60 2 500 1.7 32,130 1.6TOTAL 2,945 99.7 29,365 100 1,964,915 100Source: Nomis
As with West Sussex, the highest percentage of VAT businesses in Worthing is within the real estate,
renting and business activity sector. This is the case for Great Britain and the South East. This sector
includes a wide range of services including estate agencies, letting agents, renting of transport and
equipment, computer related activities, market research, call centres, accountancy services and
business consultancy. Worthing employment growth over the last 15 years has been dominated by
the service sector and the trend is expected to continue.
The proportion of hotels and restaurants in Worthing is higher than for West Sussex and the south
east demonstrating the continuing importance of the tourism sector to the local economy. VAT
registrations and de-registration are the best official guide to the pattern of business start-ups and
closures. They are an indicator of the level of entrepreneurship and of the health of the business
population. Table 2.7 indicates the changes in VAT registered businesses in Worthing between
1994-2007.
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Table 2.7: VAT Registered Businesses 1994-2007 (stocks at end of year) Date Worthing West Sussex South East 1994 2,435 23,355 243,1251995 2,440 23,490 244,9301996 2,485 23,895 249,3051997 2,630 24,785 257,9651998 2,720 25,570 267,2401999 2,840 26,380 274,3052000 2,890 26,935 279,9602001 2,845 27,250 284,3452002 2,780 27,495 288,7152003 2,835 27,875 294,8802004 2,815 28,035 299,9602005 2,840 28,330 305,4052006 2,895 28,765 311,0602007 2,955 29,375 319,860% change 94-07 21.4% 25.8% 31.6%Source: Nomis
The growth of VAT registered businesses in Worthing has been lower over this period than in West
Sussex and in the South East. Indeed, within West Sussex, only 3 districts (Adur, Horsham and Mid
Sussex, have seen growth above both national and regional figures).
The table below indicates enterprise births and deaths, which again demonstrates a lower birth rate
in Worthing compared to the regional and national percentage average.
Table 2.8: Enterprise Births and Deaths (2007)
Worthing South
East England
All Active Enterprises Count Enterprises May-08 3765 369240 2007180Births Count Enterprises May-08 395 44860 266165Births % Enterprises May-08 10.5 12.1 13.3Deaths Count Enterprises May-08 360 35520 203100Deaths % Enterprises May-08 9.6 9.6 10.1
Source: Nomis
2.7 Economic activity and unemployment
The economic activity rate is the proportion of the working age population that is available for
employment – essentially the activity rate is employment and unemployment expressed as a
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proportion of the working age population. The economic activity rate is important for two main
reasons – firstly unemployment in an area can be ‘masked’ by relatively high levels of economically
inactive population, these typically comprise of sick or disabled people, people who are at home
looking after family or students. The second reason to look at economic activity and inactivity is that
economic inactivity is often a greater contributor to differentials in economic output between local
economies than unemployment.
Economic activity rates in Worthing are slightly above the national average but below the regional
average.
Table 2.9: Employment and Unemployment (Jan 2008 – Dec 2008)
Worthing (numbers)
Worthing (%)
South East (%)
Great Britain (%)
All people Economically active 48,300 80.2 82.3 78.8In employment 46,200 76.5 78.5 74.2Employees 39,300 66.2 67.8 64.5Self employed 6,400 10.3 10.4 9.2Unemployed (model-based)§ 2,400 5.0 4.4 5.7Males Economically active 26,600 86.4 86.6 83.2In employment 25,600 83.0 82.7 78.0Employees 21,400 71.6 68.2 64.7Self employed 3,900 11.4 14.2 12.9Unemployed # # 4.4 6.1Females Economically active 21,700 73.5 77.6 74.0In employment 20,600 69.6 74.0 69.9Employees 17,800 60.4 67.3 64.4Self employed # # 6.4 5.1Unemployed # # 4.5 5.3Source: ONS annual population survey
As with the national picture, Worthing continues to experience falls in the employment rate and
number of people in employment. The number of unemployed people, the unemployment rate and
the claimant count have all increased.
Table 2.10 indicates the significant increases in JSA claimants in Worthing since 2001.
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Table 2.10: JSA Claimants Total Persons Worthing South East England Aug-08 1050 75860 744980 Aug-07 760 66080 676965 Aug-06 870 79250 772275 Aug-05 745 71370 700500 Aug-04 640 66130 643120 Aug-03 680 72270 713055 Aug-02 650 71065 742590 Aug-01 590 64660 753720
Source: Nomis
Increases in unemployment have been greater among those with low skills (elementary occupations)
and in traditional industrial sectors. However, unemployment has also increased among managerial
occupations, particularly in the financial and business services sector.
2.8 Qualifications and skills
The table below sets out the level of qualifications achieved in Worthing alongside the south east and
GB.
Table 2.11: Qualifications and skills
Worthing (numbers)
Worthing (%)
South East(%)
Great Britain (%)
NVQ4 and above 16,600 29.4 31.5 29.0 NVQ3 and above 28,300 50.1 50.8 47.0 NVQ2 and above 38,100 67.6 68.9 65.2 NVQ1 and above 47,700 84.7 83.4 78.9 Other qualifications 3,900 7.0 7.7 8.7 No qualifications 4,700 8.3 8.9 12.4 Source: ONS annual population survey
The table indicates that Worthing has a lower percentage of people with NVQ4 qualifications
compared to the regional position, but also a smaller percentage of people with no qualifications.
This demonstrates a modest level of educational attainment.
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2.9 Productivity (GVA) and earnings
The economy is measured by its share of the GVA and share of national employment. In West
Sussex, Crawley has the largest economy with Adur having the smallest. (Adur GVA 0.07, Worthing
0.18. Share of total national employment Adur 0.07, Worthing 0.17).
The following table shows earnings by residents in Worthing, which indicates significant less gross
weekly pay for fulltime workers residents of Worthing compared to the regional average, reflecting a
modest economic performance.
Table 2.12: Earnings by residence (2008)
Worthing (pounds)
South East (pounds)
Great Britain (pounds)
Gross weekly pay Full-time workers 486.4 523.2 479.3Male full-time workers 513.6 584.4 525.0Female full-time workers 444.6 437.4 412.7Hourly pay Full-time workers 12.66 13.26 12.01Male full-time workers 12.72 14.37 12.72Female full-time workers 11.85 11.61 10.96Source: ONS annual survey of hours and earnings - resident analysis
2.10 Deprivation
Worthing is the 172nd (2007) most deprived Local Authority level in England (ranking out of 353
areas), and is the second most deprived area of West Sussex. At a local neighbourhood area, 7.7%
of local SOA’s in Worthing fall into the 10-20% most deprived in England. Heene, Broadwater,
Cenbral and Northbrook are within the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England.
Worthing has some contrasting areas, some with a high proportion of older, affluent people and other
areas are amongst the most deprived in West Sussex. Patterns of relative deprivation are reflected
particularly in housing, health and social care.
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2.11 Local consultation: qualitative review
Establishing the views of key stakeholders involved in the economic development arena has been an
important strand of activity to provide a qualitative assessment on the current and projected nature of
business activity in the town. Appendix 1 sets out the list of consultees together with the
questionnaire used to illicit views.
The findings of the consultation exercise were generally consistent across the range of key
stakeholders.
2.11.1 The Business Community
Part of the process in preparing the Economic Development Strategy for Worthing included a survey
of the local community. In total 300 businesses responded to the survey. In addition, we have
reviewed responses from the Voice of Business (2009) undertaken by Sussex Enterprise, that had a
business response rate of 671 businesses, of which 158 are located in Coastal West Sussex.
Interestingly, within the Council’s survey, 79% of respondents rated Worthing as average or above
average business location, which is a positive response from the business community as a location
for business.
In terms of other relevant responses:
• 32% of businesses rated reducing crime and anti-social behaviour as their top priority.
Clearly, crime and anti-social behaviour has a detrimental impact on the economy of
Worthing and can significantly increase business operational costs, deter inward
investment and adversely effect business retention.
• 69% of respondents rated the quality of commercial premises in Worthing as average or
below average. The town has a proportion of out-of-date employment floorspace, which
requires redevelopment to support changing market needs and population increase. In
addition, 70% of respondents rated availability of commercial premises in Worthing as
average or below average.
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Within the Sussex Enterprise survey, 25% of businesses located in Coastal West Sussex
indicated that inadequate premises and a lack of new premises has been a major
constraint on business growth over the last 12 months.
• 21% of respondents rated improving transport and infrastructure as their top priority.
Parking has also been identified as a major concern, with 40% of the comments received
from the business community relating to parking, specifically the issue of affordability.
• Again, 56% of businesses along the coastal strip identified the issue of local traffic
congestion as having a negative impact on their business. 89% of business believe that
better transport links east-west along the coast are vital for the future health of the local
economy.
• Of particular concern, 14% of businesses are considering locating outside Sussex unless
the transport infrastructure improves soon.
2.11.2 Inward investment There is a lack of information regarding inward investment projects and enquiries, including
information about growth and expansion of local firms. Some information is available from WSCC
about job losses / jobs created, which is collected from various sources, mostly local press.
At a regional level, information provided by SEEDA and UKTI about trade and investment figures
indicates:
• 17% increase in the number of companies relocating in the region;
• 90 investors, within the target industries, locating in the south east, creating or safeguarding
3,846 jobs over the next three years.
An analysis of SEEDA assisted inward investment trends in West Sussex between 2004-2009,
indicate that there have been 19 successful projects, creating 496 jobs and safeguarding 314 jobs. 5
of these projects were in Worthing, creating 76 jobs and safeguarding 184 jobs. Worthing has, with
Crawley, been the highest recipient of successful projects in West Sussex.
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Attracting inward investment projects to an area depends on being able to offer locations where all
the critical ingredients are in place (particularly location, communications, labour supply, sites and
premises, environment, suppliers, access to grants etc.).
Whilst the Worthing area would score well in many of these areas, the business community has
concerns about the availability of suitable sites and premises, access and communications problems.
The area is likely to be more competitive for smaller projects.
Discussions with local economic development agencies indicated a general consensus as to the
sectors that are likely to drive forward the local economy over the next 5 – 10 years:
• Tourism & leisure;
• Manufacturing, specifically high-tech, and
• Health and social care.
Each of the sectors is already important and offer potential for future growth. In addition, finance and
business services (although currently under intense pressure during the recession), education and
retail were also identified as offering future growth prospects.
A number of agencies highlighted the importance of the Community and Voluntary sector in
Worthing. Within the town, there are ‘almost 900 voluntary, charity and community organisations,
over 50% of which are designated as SMEs.’3
Many organisations identified the general environment, particularly the South Downs, as being a
particular assets contributing to Worthing being seen as a good place to live and work. However, all
agencies highlighted the poor quality of the property offer as an issue that deters businesses setting
up or growing in Worthing.
Business Link Sussex (BLS) is the business support organisation responsible for providing
information, advice and support for new businesses or for existing businesses that want to grow. All
business enquires received by local authorities will be forwarded to BLS for action except those
relating to specific local authority services and, in some instance, property enquiries.
3 Worthing Council for Voluntary Services
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Clearly, there are a range of organisations, notably banks and accountants, which provide business
advice. BLS categorises its support as:
• Non-intensive assistance (information provision), and
• Intensive assistance (diagnostic and brokerage services).
In total, 1,846 businesses received non-intensive information (Q1 2009/10), of which 425 were pre-
starts and 74 were start ups. These figures are comparable to other authorities in Sussex, slightly
more than Adur (7%) but slightly less than Arun (15%).
In terms of intensive assistance, 189 businesses have been supported (Q1 2009/10) of which 14 are
start ups. The majority of business supported are real estate, renting and business activity (40%
compared 36% for West Sussex), wholesale and retail trade (19%) and manufacturing (9%).
Discussions with BLS confirm that the most significant source of demand has been from smaller
SMEs. The majority of enquires over the last 12 months relate to support measures to address
problems caused by the current recession, specifically cash flow, finance and other grant support.
2.12 Issues and Implications
• The economy of Worthing is diverse with a strong manufacturing base with key employers
such as GlaxoSmithKline, Eurotherm, and B&W Loudspeakers, as well as a significant
service sector, led by large public sector employers such as Inland Revenue, West Sussex
County Council, Worthing Borough Council and the Environment Agency, and financial firms
such as Equiniti.
• Despite major concerns expressed by the business community about the transport network,
there is unlikely to be any major investment in the strategic road network in the short /
medium term. This may impact on inward investment and future growth prospects of existing
businesses.
• Population change has a direct effect upon the workforce available to businesses in
Worthing. Population forecasts suggest that Worthing will experience a slight increase in
population of 3,000 people between 2006-2026. The growing resident population and rising
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prices have contributed to increasing competition in the borough for land between different
uses.
• In addition, while the town still has a high proportion of elderly residents, this has been
reduced over the last 30 years by some 15%.
• The major increase in jobs has been in the service sector, which has increased from 32,760
(83.3%) in 1995 to 39,200 (88%) in 2007; the main increase has been in public
administration, education and health. The continuing growth of service sector employment is
likely to increase demand for office space, specifically modern office accommodation in more
accessible locations with good parking.
• Employment forecast suggest that services are projected to be a key foundation for
economic growth, with prospects of growth appearing to be strong after the recession.
Growth of business services will require the provision of high quality office space.
• Worthing has above average employment in lower-value employment sectors, specifically
elementary occupations. Attracting inward investment projects will be important to provide
higher-value employment opportunities.
• The rate of business formation in Worthing over the period 1994-2007 (i.e. growth of VAT
registered businesses) at 21% has been lower than in West Sussex, at 26%, and in the
South East and 32%.
• The rate of business formation (i.e. growth of VAT registered businesses) has been lower
than in West Sussex and in the South East.
• As with the rest of the country, Worthing is experiencing a significant increase in
unemployment, specifically among those with low skills (elementary occupations) and in
traditional industrial sectors.
• As with the rest of the Sussex coast, Worthing has some significant pockets of economic and
social deprivation.
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3.0 Planning and Economic Development Policy Review
This section of the report presents a brief overview of the key planning and economic development
policies that influence the development of employment uses within Worthing Borough. The review
focuses on national, regional and local policy documents and the implications for employment
planning within the Borough.
3.1 National Policies
3.1.1 DCLG – Consultation Paper on New Planning Policy Statement 4: Planning for Prosperous Economies (2009)
The Government’s consultation paper on the new PPS4, incorporates updated policies from the
existing PPG4: Industrial and Commercial Development and Small Firms; PPG5: Simplified Planning
Zones, PPS6: Planning for Town Centres, and PPS7: Sustainable Development in Rural Areas.
This ‘all encompassing’ document is designed to bring together the Government’s key planning
policies relating to the economy in one place. The uses to which the policies with the draft PPS
apply include the ‘B Use Classes’, town centre uses (retail, licensed leisure, offices, arts, culture and
tourism) and other development that provides employment opportunities, generates wealth or
produces or generates an economic output or product (excluding house building).
Once adopted the PPS will need to be taken into account in formulating policies within the Worthing
Borough Local Development Framework.
Draft Policy EC4.1 sets out a series of policy objectives for local authorities to consider in their
approach to economic development. These are summarised as follows:
1. positively and proactively encourage sustainable economic growth;
2. make full and effective use of the planning tools available (e.g. simplified planning zones);
3. Prioritise previously developed land which is suitable for re-use setting out criteria based policies;
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4. Support existing business sectors, and make provision for the location, expansion and promotion
of clusters of knowledge driven industry;
5. Plan positively for the benefits that can accrue when certain types of businesses locate within
proximity of each other or with other compatible uses such as Universities and hospitals;
6. Facilitate new working practices such as live/work or the use of residential properties for home
working;
7. Ensure that site allocations for economic development are not carried forward from one version of
the development plan to the next without evidence of the need and reasonable prospect of their take
up during the plan period;
8. Encourage new uses for vacant or derelict buildings, including historic building; and
9. Seek to make the most efficient and effective use of land and buildings, especially vacant or
derelict buildings (including historic buildings).
From these planning objectives, draft Policy EC4.2 states that Local Development Frameworks
should contain policies which:
1. “Plan for new or emerging sectors likely to locate in the local area or which the local planning
authority wish to attract to the area, but maintain flexibility in their policies on the supply and use of
land to accommodate sectors not anticipated in the plan and allow a quick response to changes in
economic circumstances.”
2. “Make provision for a broad range of business types such as small start-up businesses, through to
small and medium sized enterprises as well as larger commercial or industrial premises.”
3. “Set our evidence based policies for the delivery of the sustainable transport and other
infrastructure needed to support their planned economic development, and, where necessary,
provide advice on phasing and programming.”
4. “Identify, protect and promote key distribution networks, and relocate or co-locate developments
which generate substantial freight movements in such a way as to minimise carbon emissions. Such
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networks and development should be in sustainably sited locations, so as to avoid congestion and to
preserve local amenity interests as far as possible whilst ensuring accessibility.”
As offices are deemed to be a key town centre use, it is important to consider the advice within the
draft PPS4 on the approach for planning for town centres. The key policy that is relevant to the
spatial planning of new offices is the ‘sequential approach to site selection’, which is one of the
existing core tests under PPS6. The ‘town centre first’ approach aims to focus development and
investment within existing centres, before allowing edge-of-centre or out-of-centre development. The
advice is draft PPS4 is as follows:
“In applying the sequential approach to site selection local planning authorities should:
1. Indentify sites in the following order:
a) first, locations in appropriate existing centres where suitable sites or buildings for conversion are,
or are likely to become, available within the plan period;
b) edge-of-centre locations, with preference given to sites that are or will be well-connected to the
centre and then
c) Out-of-centre sites, with preference given to sites which are or will be well served by a choice of
means of transport and which are close to the centre and have a high likelihood of forming links with
the centre.
2. Give preference to those sites that best serve the needs of deprived areas when considered
against alternative sites with similar location characteristics.
3. Identify an appropriate range of sites to accommodate the identified need, ensuring that sites are
capable of accommodating a range of business models in terms of scale, format, car parking
provision and scope for disaggregation.
4. Where appropriate, include policies and proposals in development plan documents for the phasing
and release of development sites over the development plan document period to ensure that those
sites in preferred locations within centres are developed ahead of less central locations.”
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In addition, the draft PPS4 suggests that offices should be encouraged above ground floor retail,
leisure and other facilities within town centres.
There appears to be a real challenge in applying the sequential approach to offices within the context
of the existing use classes order, where offices is part of the B1 use class, together with R&D and
light industrial.
3.1.2 DCLG – Planning Policy Guidance Note 4: Industrial and Commercial Development and Small Firms (1992)
PPG4 sets out the Government’s existing approach to industrial and commercial development within
Development Plan documents, although this will be superseded by the new PPS4, once it is adopted.
The PPG states that planning authorities should ensure that their “development plans contain clear
land-use policies for different types of industrial and commercial development and positive policies to
provide for the needs of small businesses.” In addition, “policies should provide for choice, flexibility
and competition” with planning authorities “realistic in their assessment of the needs of business”.
The guidance note also recognises the importance of the locational demands of businesses, such as
links to raw materials and supply chains, access to consumer and labour markets and transport and
infrastructure requirements, and states that “development plan policies must take account of these
needs and at the same time seek to achieve wider objectives in the public interest”.
The principles of sustainable development also underpin the PPG with the re-use of brownfield land,
encouraging more energy efficient modes of transport and supporting mixed-use development.
3.2 Regional and Sub-Regional Policies
3.2.1 GOSE – Adopted South East Plan (2009) The South East Plan was adopted by the Government Office for the South East in May 2009. The
Plan provides the Regional Spatial Strategy for the period 2006-2026, which forms a core part of the
‘Development Plan’ for Worthing Borough together with the Local Development Framework.
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The key employment policies within the South East Plan are contained within Chapter 6: Sustainable
Economic Development and Chapter 17: Sussex Coast.
The South East Plan incorporates the key objectives of the Regional Economic Strategy 2006-2016,
focusing on sectoral development, business competitiveness and ‘smart growth’.
The key general spatial planning policies that local authorities should consider as part of the
formulation of their LDFs, include:
Policy RE2: Supporting National and Regionally Important Sectors and Clusters
Local authorities, through regular employment land reviews, combined with local knowledge and
working with other partners, will identify the key sectors and clusters within their local area, and any
opportunities that exist for the development or expansion of sectors and clusters. Where
appropriate, local development documents will include policies that:
i. ensure that land and premises are available to meet the specific requirements of nationally and
regionally important sectors and clusters;
ii enhance, develop and promote local assets that can facilitate the development of sectors and
clusters;
iii promote and support non-land use initiatives that benefit and foster the growth and development of
new and existing nationally and regionally important sectors and clusters.
Policy RE3: Employment and Land Provision
In preparing local development documents (LDDs), local authorities will have regard to strategic and
local business needs and the relevant sub-regional strategy [i.e. Sussex Coast]. In planning for the
location, quantity and nature of employment land and premises, they will facilitate a flexible supply of
land to meet the varying needs of the economic sectors.
Strategic employment land should be focused at locations identified in the sub-regional strategy, or
more generally at the regional hubs or gateways, and allocated or safeguarded in the relevant LDD.
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Based on the evidence from employment land reviews and other market intelligence, provision
should be made in each relevant LDD for a range of sites and premises to meet more general needs
in locations that:
i. are or will be accessible to the existing and proposed labour supply;
ii. make efficient use of existing and underused sites and premises, through increasing the intensity
of use on accessible sites;
iii. focus on urban areas; and
iv. promote the use of public transport.
Accessible and well-located industrial and commercial sites should be retained where there is a good
prospect of employment use.
In planning employment land, the South East Plan includes job forecasts for sub-regional areas. For
Sussex Coast, in which Worthing is located, the RSS indicates that the interim job numbers between
2006-2016 is 30,000.
Policy RE5: Smart Growth
Working with environmental partners, the achievement of smart economic growth will be encouraged
throughout the region, namely to increase the region’s prosperity while reducing its ecological
footprint. Local authorities will seek to enable businesses to work as efficiently as possible, through
considering their needs for land and premises, movement, housing and ICT as reflected in other
policies of this Plan.
Through local development documents and local transport plans, local authorities will support and
promote advances in information and communications technologies (ICT) and new ways of working
by positively promoting the development of ICT-enabled sites, premises and facilities suitable to
support changing and flexible working practices and home based businesses.
Policy RE6: Competitiveness and Addressing Structural Economic Weakness
Through joint working. National, regional and local partners will actively seek to maintain and
enhance the competitiveness of the most economically successful parts of the region and also
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address structural economic weakness to release the economic potential of those areas which are
under performing.
In the coastal belt, defined as the sub-regions of Kent Thames Gateway, East Kent and Ashford,
Sussex Coast, South Hampshire and the Isle of Wight:
i. local development documents will:
• give priority to delivering economic development in allocating land;
• protect sites for industrial and commercial use where there is a good prospect of
employment use;
• consider whether any upgrading or improvement of existing sites is required.
In addition, as part of the Sussex Coast sub-regional strategy, the following employment-related
policies should be considered in formulating development plan documents:
Policy SCT3: Management of Existing Employment Sites and Premises
To deliver sufficient appropriate sites and premises for business and other uses that will help to
facilitate the regeneration of the local economy, local authorities should, in addition to Policy RE3:
i. develop and co-ordinate with other agencies delivery mechanisms to unlock and implement
existing allocated business parks, other important sites that have persistently remained undeveloped
and other strategic sites with economic potential. This includes:
• large-scale, mixed-use development sites at Worthing and north of Bognor Regis
• Shoreham Harbour, Airport and Cement Works
• Newhaven Eastside and Port
• Eastbourne Park and Sovereign Harbour
• Polegate
• Mixed-use development sites at North East Bexhill.
ii. In other areas be prepared to identify and bring forward mixed use sites on existing or allocated
employment sites in circumstances where this would deliver necessary employment space at the
right time on sites which would be unviable for an employment only scheme.
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iii. seek to improve and upgrade existing industrial estates and business areas to bring them up to
modern standards required by business.
iii. in rural areas, protect existing and allocated employment land from other uses where employment
land reviews show them to be essential for the needs of small businesses.
Policy SCT4: Employment Priority in New Land Allocations
In conjunction with the priorities set out in Policies RE3 and C3, in allocating land for development,
Local Planning Authorities should give priority to delivering employment development in strategically
accessible locations, particularly by rail, to ensure an appropriate mix of readily available sites and
premises whilst also providing sufficient space to:
• retain existing firms and enable their expansion or relocation (within the sub-region)
• create attractive opportunities for inward investment and new uses
• at least match anticipated increases in the resident workforce
3.2.2 SEEDA – The Regional Economic Strategy 2006-2016 The key principles from the Regional Economic Strategy (RES) is incorporated in the South East
Plan. The RES seeks to achieve an average annual increase in GVA per capita of at least 3%;
increase productivity per worker by an average of 2.4% annually; and reduce the rate of increase in
the region’s ecological footprint (from 6.3 global hectares per capita in 2003, increasing by 1.1% per
capita per annum) through the principles of ‘global competitiveness’, ‘smart growth’ and ‘sustainable
prosperity’.
Encouraging knowledge transfer, R&D, and innovation and creativity is a major part of the strategy,
together with investment in infrastructure and physical employment site development.
The RES identifies six key sectors with the greatest capacity to deliver growth of new products and
services, which are:
• Digital media;
• Marine technologies;
• Health technologies;
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• Environmental technologies and services;
• Built environment; and
• Aerospace and defence.
Worthing has potential within the digital media, health technologies (pharmaceuticals) and aerospace
industries.
3.2.3 Coastal West Sussex Area Investment Framework Partnership: Coastal West Sussex Area Investment Framework (December 2003)
This AIF report produced by SEER Consulting and University of Brighton identifies spending and
investment gaps and opportunities across the key urban areas of the West Sussex Coast.
The AIF highlights the need for additional investment in transport infrastructure, including congestion
associated with the A27 and poor public transport links, as well as deficiencies in the range and
quality of business property and industrial estates and premises.
In terms of Worthing Borough, several physical development and regeneration opportunities were
identified, including:
• East Worthing Access Road – to divert business traffic from residential areas;
• Council Land North of Littlehampton Road – to divert business traffic and make land
available for business development (now developed as Yeoman Gate);
• Teville Gate Re-development – of a site in the heart of the town centre next to the railway
station for commercial use; and
• Bowling Competition Arena – International Competition Arena.
3.2.4 West Sussex County Council: The West Sussex Transport Plan 2006-2016 (January 2007)
The West Sussex Transport Plan sets out the vision for the County up to 2016 focusing on four main
objectives:
• Reduce congestion and pollution;
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• Improve accessibility for our residents to key services;
• Improve road and personal safety; and
• Improve overall quality of life in West Sussex.
The major schemes that the County Council is seeking an acceptable and affordable solution for
include improvements to the A27, especially the section between Lancing and Worthing, which has
significant congestion, pollution and severance issues.
3.3 Local Policies
The Local Development Framework for Worthing Borough is currently being prepared. The Council
has recently published its Revised Core Strategy for consultation in June 2009. In the absence of a
formally adopted Core Strategy, the ‘saved policies ‘ within the Adopted Worthing Local Plan
continue to be the key document for development control purposes.
3.3.1 Worthing Borough Council: Worthing Local Plan – Saved Policies
The Worthing Local Plan was adopted in September 2003, and following the Planning and
Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, a set of ‘saved policies’ were adopted in September 2007 to fill the
policy vacuum whilst the new Local Development Framework is prepared and adopted.
In terms of employment uses, none of the policies have been ‘saved’. Therefore, at present the
South East Plan is the key statutory reference for employment policies, together with the emerging
Core Strategy.
3.3.2 Worthing Borough Council: Revised Core Strategy Consultation Document (June 2009)
The Revised Core Strategy document produced for public consultation in June 2009 follows the
withdrawal of the original Core Strategy version in July 2008, due to the need to address new
changes in national planning guidance.
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The draft employment policies are designed to encourage sustainable economic growth in Worthing
with the town centre and existing employment areas playing a key role in supporting and driving
economic development.
Policy 2 and Policy 3 sets out the Council’s emerging strategy for sustainable economic growth, as
follows:
Policy 2: Providing for a Diverse and Sustainable Economy
Ensuring sustainable economic growth by ensuring that the right conditions are created. This will be
done by:
• Identifying sufficient sites to provide for a range of employment space to meet the needs of
current and future business
• Safeguarding existing employment areas and promoting them as areas for reinvestment,
intensification and redevelopment to bring about upgraded and additional floor space
• Making more efficient use of existing and underused accessible sites
• Supporting the development of tourism, leisure and creative industries with particular
emphasis on the town centre and seafront locations
• Improving the skills and educational achievement of the town’s residents by working with the
agencies responsible for their delivery.
Part of the Council’s strategy at the moment is designed to safeguard existing employment areas.
This policy stance needs to be thoroughly investigated on a site-by-site basis through this report.
Policy 3: Protecting Employment Opportunities
Changes of use or redevelopment of land and buildings currently or last in use for employment
purposes will only be permitted where it has been justified through a criteria based approach
contained within the SPD for Sustainable Economy. Where it is demonstrated that it is not viable to
maintain the existing use then alternative employment uses will need to be considered before
allowing a non-employment use.
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This policy, acknowledges that in some instances there may be a case for releasing employment
sites, due to market and viability issues. Again, we will assist the Council through this report to
formulate a suitable set of criteria to assess proposals for change of use.
In terms of site specific policies, the Council identifies four key employment areas that require a
bespoke policy approach. These sites are:
• The Warren, Hill Barn Lane (Area of Change 8);
• Land Adjacent to Martlets Way (Area of Change 9);
• Northbrook College, Durrington Campus (Area of Change 11); and
• Decoy Farm (Area of Change 12).
The key development principles for each site within the Revised Core Strategy at present are
summarised below:
Site Key Development Principles
The Warren, Hill Barn Lane
• Retention of the site for employment use
• Protection of the existing mature landscaping
• High design standards for any redevelopment scheme
• Promotion of green travel plan to address the current transport problems
and improve the sustainability of the site.
Land Adjacent to Martlets Way
• Retention of the part of the site for employment use and more specifically
B1 with some supporting B8
• Addressing the issue of access in order to facilitate development. Access
to the employment should be from Woods Way or Martlets Way with
access to residential from Barrington Road
• Potential contamination issues will require further investigation and
appropriate mitigation measures
• Promotion of green travel plan to improve the accessibility and
sustainability of the site.
Northbrook College, Durrington Campus
• A mix of high quality residential and employment generating uses
supported by any necessary community infrastructure
• Development will require sensitive and innovative design, maximising
both its gateway location and proximity to the surrounding countryside.
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Decoy Farm
• Developing opportunities on the site for mixed employment use to include
smaller, medium and large scale B1, B2 and B8 industrial units
• Site access issues must be suitably addressed
• Development should provide opportunities to develop new recreational
uses that would take advantage of the area’s open space.
These sites will be reviewed with recommendations made on the development principles for each.
3.3.3 Worthing Together (Local Strategic Partnership): The Interim Worthing Sustainable Community Strategy 2008-2009
Under the new changes to the planning systems, the Core Strategy now needs to be aligned with the
community aspirations as set out within the local ‘Sustainable Community Strategy’ (SCS) produced
by the Local Strategic Partnership. Worthing Borough Council are in the process of formulating a
joint SCS with Adur District Council, and in the meantime have produced an interim SCS to cover the
2008-2009 period.
One of the six key ‘Goals’ to improve the town, includes ‘Goal 3 – A Prosperous Town’, which
includes the key employment outcomes of:
• The right skills for local needs:
• Strong business community, with dynamic job and business creation; and
• Economically viable and attractive town centre.
3.3.4 Worthing Evolution: Worthing Town Centre and Seafront Masterplan (October 2006)
The Masterplan produced by EDAW on behalf of Worthing Evolution sets out the vision for
regenerating Worthing town centre and the seafront area.
One of the ten objectives to achieve the overall vision includes identifying “new business
opportunities” focusing on the “need for a defined business zone between the retail core and station
to promote business development in the town centre and provide a range of accommodation and
potential for business expansion”.
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The masterplan seeks to promote the retention of the office quarter around Liverpool Road/Liverpool
Gardens/Chapel Street, with the principal area of commercial office expansion identified as the
Station Gateway site, around Teville Gate.
The principles of retaining existing town centre offices and promoting the expansion of new offices
will be consider in this report.
3.4 Issues and Implications
• The emerging national planning policy guidance on employment uses seeks to promote
sustainable economic development through the promotion of existing and new sectors of the
economy, and the regeneration of derelict land and buildings that are well served by public
transport. This is a particular challenge in Worthing, as the Borough has major congestion
issues, that makes certain out-of-town areas more accessible by car than public transport
and therefore attractive to the developer and occupational markets.
• There is also a greater emphasis placed on local planning authorities, not to carry forward
historic employment allocations, where the prospect for development is unlikely. Therefore,
within this report, site allocations that have not been developed from the previous Local Plan
will require testing.
• In addition at the national level, the reaffirming of the ‘sequential approach’ to site selection
for B1 office uses within the draft PPS4 is another challenge that needs to be thoroughly
considered when spatially planning office uses. Whilst, office uses help to bring activity and
expenditure to a town centre, the respective values compared to retail and residential uses,
coupled with the complexities and significant costs associated with developing in town
centres, often make new office developments unviable in town centres. A more pragmatic
approach may therefore be needed to ensure that local planning policies do not stymie the
development of new offices in future years.
• At the regional level, the Adopted South East Plan seeks to promote the development of key
sectors (which are identified in the Regional Economic Strategy), by ensuring a flexible
approach to planning for land and buildings that promote the elements of ‘Smart Growth’
through the use of ICT, whilst helping to drive economic competitiveness. How we work is
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constantly changing and evolving, as the use and power of ICT allows companies and
individuals a greater freedom to work footloose, and in some cases without a permanent
work base. The challenge for Worthing is to ensure that there is a range of workspace
choices for different types and sizes of businesses within the Borough, some with support
services and the latest ICT advances to ensure that businesses can grow and stay in
Worthing.
• As a linked point, the supply of employment stock also has to evolve and change as working
practices and sectors of the economy change, and in this regard, there will be certain
elements of the existing Worthing employment stock that are not ‘fit for purpose’, requiring
regeneration. The South East Plan promotes the renewal and upgrading of existing
employment stock, although along the Sussex Coast, including Worthing the values in some
cases will not merit a comprehensive refurbishment or redevelopment, and therefore the
challenge will be to unlock these sites.
• At the local level, the Revised Core Strategy sets out a series of policies protecting the loss
of employment uses and identifies a number of key sites that require a bespoke employment
policy to protect and promote employment uses. This report needs to consider whether this
policy approach is appropriate.
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4.0 Audit of Existing Employment Stock
This section of the report presents an audit of the current employment stock in the Borough, focusing
on the key industrial estates, and offices within and at the edge of Worthing town centre. Stand-
alone employment uses outside of these areas are captured within the analysis of the overall stock
figures for the Borough.
The audit of the employment stock involved Knight Frank updating and adding to the 2005 Coastal
Industrial Estate Survey undertaken by Coastal West Sussex Area Investment Framework
Partnership, as well as carrying out a new survey of the quality of the office stock in and around
Worthing town centre. These surveys took place in July 2009.
Please note that Knight Frank has relied upon individual floorspace entries for each unit from the
2005 industrial estate survey, and has only updated the sizes of units for the town centre and edge of
centre office survey from the VOA 2005 Ratings List.
4.1 Total Stock Position
Information on total floorspace stock is derived from the administrative databases used by the
Valuation Office Agency (VOA) for assessing non-domestic property in England and Wales. Figure
4.1 shows how the supply of employment floorspace in Worthing has evolved between uses over the
last 10 years and Table 4.1 places the Borough in the context of West Sussex and the wider South
East region.
As at 2008, there was an estimated 1.89m square feet (net internal area) of office space in
Worthing, accounting for some 38% of total employment floorspace in the Borough. Such a share is
relatively high when compared with the wider region, reflecting the relative prominence of service
sector employment over industrial related activities in Worthing.
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-
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Floo
rspa
ce (m
sq
ft)
Offices Factories Warehouses
Figure 4.1: Overall Employment Stock in Worthing Borough
Source: VOA
Table 4.1: Changes in Employment Floorspace in Worthing Borough
Worthing West
Sussex South East England Offices change 1998 - 2008 21.4% 18.5% 19.6% 23.5% change 2003 - 2008 -2.8% 3.3% 1.0% 1.7%
2008 Share of total employment floorspace 38.3% 27.6% 28.6% 22.1%
Factories change 1998 - 2008 -30.7% -4.6% -6.2% -9.1% change 2003 - 2008 -29.0% -7.6% -11.6% -9.4%
2008 Share of total employment floorspace 38.3% 40.3% 36.9% 43.5%
Warehousing change 1998 - 2008 83.1% 34.9% 20.5% 22.1% change 2003 - 2008 14.9% 12.3% 2.7% 6.9%
2008 Share of total employment floorspace 23.5% 32.1% 34.5% 34.5%
Source: VOA via ONS
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Over the last 10 years, the supply of office space in Worthing has increased by 21.4%, an increase
which is broadly in line with the growth witnessed in West Sussex, South East and England. More
intriguing is the fact that, over the last five years, according to the VOA data at least, office floorspace
has actually reduced. Between 2003 and 2008, total office floorspace in Worthing reduced by -2.8%,
whereas the wider comparative regions of West Sussex, the South East and England have all
witnessed an increase in office supply.
The amount of factory floorspace in Worthing also stands at 1.89m square feet (gross internal area)
as at 2008, accounting for 38% of total employment floorspace and identical to the quantity of office
space in the Borough. The share of factory floorspace is also broadly in line with the share apparent
across West Sussex and the South East. However, whereas the amount of office space has
generally been on an upward trend, predictably, factory floorspace has declined significantly in the
Borough.
Over the last 10 years, factory floorspace has reduced by -30.7% and, given the economic
restructuring of the UK economy towards services over the last 30 years, a reduction is hardly
surprising. However, when placed into context with the wider region, the extent of this reduction is
notable; in West Sussex as a whole the decline was only -4.6%. Furthermore, it would appear that
this reduction happened suddenly and relatively recently, with the amount of factory floorspace
reducing by -21% between 2005 and 2006 alone.
As at 2008, there was an estimated 1.16m square feet (gross internal area) of warehouse floorspace
in Worthing, accounting for 23.5% of total employment floorspace in the Borough. To provide context,
this share is some way below that apparent in West Sussex and the South East region, where
warehousing accounts approximately for a third of the total employment floorspace.
Over the last 10 years, the supply of warehouse floorspace in the Borough has increased by a
significant 83%, a large proportion of which occurred between 1998 and 1999, which may be due to
the development of the Absolute Self Storage warehouse units at East Worthing Industrial Estate.
For additional context, West Sussex and the South East have also seen strong growth in warehouse
floorspace, reflecting the growth of the distribution sector in the UK economy, albeit much less
pronounced compared with Worthing over the period.
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4.2 Industrial Estates and Business Parks
4.2.1 Overall Analysis of the Estates
The Borough contains ten key industrial estates or business parks providing 70% of the total amount
of employment floorspace in Worthing.
The key locations are:
- Broadwater Business Park;
- Canterbury Road (including Garcia Trading Estate);
- Downlands Business Park;
- East Worthing Industrial Estate;
- Faraday Close;
- Goring Business Park;
- Ivy Arch Road;
- Meadow Road;
- Station Road; and
- Yeoman Way.
These ten employment areas provide a total of 3.4m square feet of industrial, warehousing and office
floorspace with 364 units on 181.5 acres of land, as set out in Table 4.1.
The largest employment areas are located at East Worthing Industrial Estate and Broadwater
Business Park on the eastern side of the Borough. These two estates account for over half of the
total employment floorspace, units, and land area within the ten employment areas.
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Table 4.1: Size of Key Employment Areas
Employment Area Land Area
(Acres) Land
(Hectares) Number of
Units Total Floorspace
(sq.ft.) Broadwater Business Park 51 21 62 875,415Canterbury Road 4 2 16 104,726Downlands Business Park 9 4 13 200,071East Worthing Industrial Estate 47 19 105 936,939Faraday Close 19 8 10 392,624Goring Business Park 13 5 53 253,375Ivy Arch Road 7 3 26 163,502Meadow Road 19 8 41 287,180Station Road 1 0.4 22 25,825Yeoman Way 11.5 5 16 143,366Total 181.5 73 364 3,383,023
Source: Knight Frank Survey 2009/Coastal Industrial Estate Survey 2005
In terms of vacancy levels, Table 4.2 shows that the proportion of vacant units is relatively low on the
majority of estates (below 10%), with only East Worthing Industrial Estate and Goring Business Park
currently having vacancy rates of above 10% of the total floorspace.
Table 4.2: Vacancy Levels within Key Employment Areas
Employment Area Total Floorspace
sq.ft. Vacant Floorspace
sq.ft. Vacancy Rate
% Broadwater Business Park 875,415 33,188 4Canterbury Road 104,726 0 0Downlands Business Park 200,071 0 0East Worthing Industrial Estate 936,939 168,114 18Faraday Close 392,624 17,728 5Goring Business Park 253,375 40,730 16Ivy Arch Road 163,502 3,254 2Meadow Road 287,180 11,216 4Station Road 25,825 2,045 8Yeoman Way 143,366 11,332 8Total 3,383,023 287,607 8.5%
Source: Knight Frank Survey 2009
The quality of the units within each of the ten key employment areas has been visually assessed by
Knight Frank based on the classification adopted for the 2005 industrial estates survey, which was as
follows:
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- “Grade A” = New, modern or recently refurbished;
- “Grade B” = Sound premises but old;
- “Grade C” = Requiring attention for more than the most basic of storage uses; and
- “Grade D” = Derelict.
Table 4.3 presents the results of the quality assessment, which reveals that the majority of units
within the key employment areas are classed as “Grade B”. There are several modern or recently
developed estates, such as Yeoman Way and Downlands Business Park with 100% “Grade A” stock.
The estates that have a significant proportion of “Grade C” stock include Canterbury Road, Ivy Arch
Road, and Station Road. These three estates are located adjacent to the railway line and contain
industrial premises of pre-1970s construction.
There was only two units identified as being derelict and unsuitable to let, and these can be found at
Woods Way at Goring Business Park.
Table 4.3: Quality of Industrial Premises within Key Employment Areas
Employment Area Number of Units Grade A % Grade B % Grade C % Grade D %
Broadwater Business Park 62 31 50 19 0Canterbury Road 16 0 13 88 0Downlands Business Park 13 100 0 0 0East Worthing Industrial Estate 105 6 81 13 0Faraday Close 10 50 50 0 0Goring Business Park 53 15 58 23 4Ivy Arch Road 26 0 12 88 0Meadow Road 41 46 34 20 0Station Road 22 36 0 64 0Yeoman Way 16 100 0 0 0Total 364 25.8 45.6 28.0 2.1
Source: Knight Frank Survey 2009
4.2.2 Description of Each Estate
We present below, a brief description of each of the key industrial estates and business parks.
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Broadwater Business Park
Northbrook Business Park GlaxoSmithKline
The Broadwater Business Park is located on the eastern side of the Borough, and comprises units
along Penfold Road, Southdownview Way and the managed estates of Downsbrook Trading Estate,
Northbrook Trading Estate and Northbrook Business Park. In addition, there is the GlaxoSmithKline
facility, which is the largest industrial occupier in the Borough, with a site of circa 14 hectares.
The estate is the second largest in the Borough providing circa 875,000 sq.ft. in 62 units on 21
hectares. The estate is located adjacent to residential streets with accessibility to the A27 is via
Sompting Road or the narrower Northbrook Road.
The quality and size of units at Broadwater is mixed, with Northbrook Business Park providing the
best quality units having been built within the last ten years. Conversely, Penfold Road and parts of
Southdownview Way provide ageing industrial units of circa 1960s/70s.
The estate is well occupied, but requires some partial redevelopment in places. Most notably, there
is one large unit of approximately 28,000 sq.ft. with surface car parking, which occupies a prominent
position fronting Southdownview Road, but appears to be under-utilised, with little employment
activity taking place. This is a potential long-term redevelopment opportunity that could provide
space for a small industrial unit scheme.
The key sectors within the estate include pharmaceuticals, with the presence of GSK, and specialist
manufacturers such as CILS International (manufacture of labels) and Seward (manufacture of
sampling instruments). There are builders merchants, such as Plumbase and Plumb Center, as well
as several car repair garages.
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Canterbury Road
Canterbury Road Garcia Trading Estate
The Canterbury Road industrial area includes Garcia Trading Estate and the adjacent industrial units,
located at Friar Walk off Canterbury Road.
The estate is relatively small, providing circa 105,000 sq.ft. within 16 units on 2 hectares of land.
The two industrial areas are accessed via South Street with Canterbury Road characterised by
residential properties. Possibly due to the residential nature of the area, Garcia Trading Estate is
restricted to opening hours of 06:00-18:00.
Although the quality of the units are predominantly “Grade C”, the estate at present is fully occupied
and provides affordable space for storage and manufacturing activities, including Aero Technics Ltd,
a company which designs and kits out the interiors of aircraft.
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Downlands Business Park
Downlands Business Park is located at Lyons Way at the rear of the retail park with immediate
accessibility to the A27. The business park was built in 1990 and provides 200,000 sq.ft. in 13 units
on 4 hectares of land.
The estate is fully let and provides “Grade A” warehouse and office accommodation to several large
occupiers, including Saywell International, a company providing parts for the aerospace industry,
Cordia Healthcare, a pharmaceutical distribution firm, and Waukesha Bearings, a manufacture of
bearings and bearing systems.
Due to the presence of the South Downs to the north, sensitive open countryside to the east, and
existing retail uses to the south and west, there is limited room to expand the business park in future
years.
East Worthing Industrial Estate
Dominion Way East Ham Bridge Trading Estate
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East Worthing Industrial Estate is the largest industrial area in the Borough providing close to
950,000 square feet in 105 units on 19 hectares of land. The estate is located adjacent to
Broadwater Business Park at the eastern fringe of the Borough.
The estate comprises units at Southdownview Road, Dominion Way East and West, Teville
Industrials, Easting Close, Hazelwood Close, Hazelwood Trading Estate, Ham Bridge Trading Estate
Timberlaine Trading Estate, and Southdownview Works. A number of the trading estates are
managed by Sussex Industrials.
Access to the A27 is predominantly via Dominion Road/Sompting Road, or Southdownview Road,
Northbrook Road, although this route is residential in character.
There is a wide range of unit sizes and ages, providing space for small, medium and large occupiers
within the estate.
The quality of the stock is predominantly 1970s/80s “Grade B”, with limited recent development.
Currently, 17% of the stock is vacant, with the most significant cluster of vacant units at Dominion
Way West, which requires some new investment. In addition, the former Whiteheads Fabric Building
at Hazelwood Close, and Unit 9 Timberlaine Trading Estate are vacant and also require new
investment.
The major occupiers on the estate include:
- EDF Energy (administrative offices);
- Eurotherm Controls Ltd (data acquisition and industrial process control equipment);
- Roscomac Ltd (precision engineers);
- L&S Printing Group (printing);
- Rug Doctor (carpet cleaning and chemicals);
- Wenban Smith (timber merchants);
- Nordell Ltd (plastic extrusions and mouldings);
- Furniture Works (furniture manufacture); and
- Cordia Healthcare: Europharm of Worthing (pharmaceuticals).
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These occupiers demonstrate the diversity of employment activity on the estate from local services,
such as car repair workshops and builders merchants to small-scale precision manufacturing. The
presence of GSK has created a cluster of pharmaceutical businesses, such as Cordia Healthcare
and Allergies Therapeutics.
The estate has the potential to be expanded in the future to the east at Decoy Farm, although this
site is formerly a landfill site, and is likely to require remediation.
Faraday Close
Eurotherm Littlehampton Book Services
Faraday Close is a small industrial estate providing close to 400,000 sq.ft. within ten units on 8
hectares of land. The estate is located on the western side of Worthing Borough, with good access
to Littlehampton Road (A2032) and the A27.
The site includes the former Nissan facility, which includes a large 270,000 sq.ft. warehouse and
office block (Columbia House). In addition, the estate has a small number of industrial buildings,
occupied mainly be Eurotherm Controls Ltd, a key employer in Worthing.
The estate was built in circa 1970s, although Cignet Trading Estate within Faraday Close has
recently been refurbished. Some of these newly refurbished units are currently vacant and on the
market to let.
Columbia House is a refurbished 1970s building providing flexible office space of circa 46,000 sq.ft.,
and is currently 70% occupied with a variety of firms in real estate, IT, marketing, and legal activities.
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Littlehampton Book Services occupies the large former Nissan warehouse on the estate for the
storage and distribution of books.
Goring Business Park
Holm Oak Business Centre Martlet’s Way
Goring Business Park comprises industrial units along Martlets Way, Woods Way and Mulberry
Lane, located south of the railway at Goring-by-Sea. The business park provides circa 250,000
square feet within 53 units on 5 hectares of land.
Access to the estate is via the A259, which links to the Littlehampton Road to the north. The estate
is set within a residential neighbourhood.
Mulberry Lane has several ageing buildings of “Grade C” quality, including the Unifax buildings,
which has several vacant units. Wood Way has a mixture of old and modern buildings, including the
recently converted former QS warehouse into 8 units at Holm Oak Business Centre and the
refurbished Aviation House. Martlets Way is characterised by small business units of less than 5,000
square feet built in the 1970s/80s.
The estate currently has a 16% vacancy rate, which includes a large derelict building of circa 20,000
square feet at Woods Way, which requires redevelopment.
There are opportunities to potentially extend the estate in future years to the east, through the
development of the former sewage treatment works and gas holder site, although these sites have
delivery issues and are in separate ownership.
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Ivy Arch Road
Powerlink Electronics 3663
Ivy Arch Road is a small estate located close to the town centre in Worthing, adjacent to the railway,
and provides 163,500 sq.ft. within 26 units on 3 hectares of land.
The site is accessed from King Edward Avenue, which links to the A24 at Broadwater Road.
The estate has a mix of industrial and office premises, (including CPL House, a serviced office
building) the majority of which appear to be of pre-1980s construction, and considered to be of
“Grade C” quality. In addition, there are non-employment uses within the estate, including a mosque
and Worthing Boys Club (Rotary and Roundtable).
Although the stock on the estate is ageing, the current low vacancy rate indicates that the estate is a
popular, and probably an affordable location for local businesses.
Business activities include, builders merchants, precision engineering, electronic manufacturing,
home removals, car repair workshops, food production and distribution, rehearsal studios, and radio
broadcasting.
Key occupiers, include 3663, the catering supplies company, which occupies a 40,000 sq.ft. facility
ay the entrance to the estate, Kuhr Engineering, Feba Radio Ltd, and Powerlink Electronics.
Some renovation/refurbishment is likely to be required in future years, especially to CPL House and
some of the industrial units.
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Meadow Road
B&W Loudspeakers Thesiger Close
Meadow Road industrial area is located at the eastern fringe of the Borough, and comprises
industrial units located at Silverdale, Thesiger Close, Dale Road and Meadow Road. The estate
provides close to 290,000 sq.ft. within 41 units on 8 hectares of land.
Meadow Road is located close to the seafront, with access via Brighton Road (A259).
The estate has a mix of small and large business units, with a high proportion of modern stock
classified as “Grade A”, including the units at Thesiger Close, and the two largest occupiers, B&W
Loudspeakers and Rossettes Commercial Vehicles.
The B&W Loudspeakers, is an indigenous Worthing company, and its modern facility dominates the
estate and provides circa 130,000 sq.ft. for manufacturing and sales.
Other business activities on the estate, include electronics, precision engineering, waste
management and plant hire, and vehicle repairs and sales.
The estate has a low vacancy rate, although one or two premises are likely to be require
refurbishment or redevelopment in future years.
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Station Road
Modern business unit scheme Sussex Ford and Vauxhall Centre
Station Road is groupings of business activities located at intervals along the narrow residential
street of Station Road, located close to Worthing Town Centre, and adjacent to the railway line. The
cluster of business premises provides close to 26,000 sq.ft. within 22 units totalling around 0.4
hectares of separate parcels of land.
Station Road has experienced some recent investment in the form of nine small business units
located at the eastern end of the Road. However, several units at the western end of the street have
been redeveloped for housing in recent years.
With the exception of the nine unit scheme, the quality of the premises is poor and classified as
“Grade C”. In addition, congestion can build up along the Road, due to its single lane width, with
residential and commercial vehicles parked either side.
Business activity along the street is dominated by car repair and bodywork garages, and the current
low level of vacant floorspace indicates that it is performing a local employment role at present.
Station Road is not considered a prime employment area, and due to its residential character, the
long term role of the street as an employment location must be questioned.
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Yeoman Way
Yeoman Gate Highdown House - Equiniti
Yeoman Way comprises the first speculative office development in Worthing for the past 10-15 years
at Yeoman Gate, together with Highdown House, occupied by Equiniti and Southern Water’s
Headquarters building, Southern House.
The business area is located adjacent to the Littlehampton Road (A2032), providing good road
accessibility to the A27. This area provides circa 145,000 sq.ft. within 16 units on 5 hectares of land.
All of the space is classified as “Grade A” stock.
The new office scheme at Yeoman Gate was completed in early 2007, and comprises 13 two storey
units with dedicated surface car parking. There are five units available to let at the current time.
In terms of business activity, Southern Water occupies the largest amount of floorspace with 61,000
sq.ft. in South House, followed by Equiniti, a shareholder services company, which occupies 50,000
sq.ft. at Highdown House. Within Yeoman Gate, there is a cluster of real estate firms (Ashton Rose,
Cluttons Tod Miller, RW Hilder, MJH Executive Homes, ) plus accountants and banking (Spofforths
and RBS), and more creative firms (Shoal Creative, Mosaic On-line Systems).
The scheme has provided opportunities for local firms to purchase their own offices freehold, as well
as providing better quality space with dedicated car parking.
There is an opportunity to extend Yeoman Gate to the west, utilising under-used land within the
ownership of Northbrook College.
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4.3 Offices
Worthing has significant areas of office accommodation across the Borough, in town centre, edge-of-
centre and out-of-town locations. Some of the out-of-town office stock has already been covered by
our analysis of the key employment areas.
Our analysis of the 2005 Ratings List indicates that out of the total office floorspace of 1.89m square
feet (net internal area), approximately 25% can be found within the existing town centre boundary (as
set out in the Local Plan) 15% can be found in edge-of-centre locations, and the remaining 60% can
be found in out-of-town locations.
Appendix 2 sets out our mapping of the town centre and edge-of-centre office areas, based on the
existing Local Plan town centre boundary, and our interpretation of what can be considered edge-of-
centre.
4.3.1 Out-of-Town Offices
West Sussex PCT, The Causeway Inland Revenue, Barrington Road
Worthing has some key out-of-town office occupiers, including:
- Inland Revenue offices at Barrington Road, Goring – circa 250,000 sq.ft.;
- Southern Water Services at Yeoman Way – circa 60,000 sq.ft.;
- EDF Energy, East Worthing Industrial Estate – circa 53,000 sq.ft.;
- West Sussex County Council, Durrington – circa 50,000 sq.ft.;
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- Equiniti (Shareholder Services), Yeoman Way – circa 50,000 sq.ft.
- West Sussex Primary Care Trust, The Causeway – circa 42,000 sq.ft.; and
In addition, there is the multi-let office block, Columbia House at Faraday Close comprising
approximately 46,000 sq.ft. The majority of recent office development has occurred in out-of-town
locations, particularly Yeoman Gate, which offers a total of circa 32,000 sq.ft. of office
accommodation, available for sale and to let. In addition, there are one or two office occupiers at
Downlands Business Park. These two examples indicate that offices in locations close to the
A24/A27 are attractive to the local market.
The breakdown of office units, as set out in Table 4.4 shows that the majority of office suites in out-
of-town locations are below 1,000 square feet. These small units can be found at Columbia House,
above local shopping parades throughout the Borough and in other small unit schemes, such as
Oaklands Business Centre at Elm Grove.
Table 4.4: Size Breakdown of Offices in Out-of-Town Locations Size Range sq.ft. Number of Units % of Units 0-500 63 42500-1,000 33 221,000-5,000 38 255,000-10,000 4 210,000-20,000 1 120,000 + 12 8Total 151 100
Source: VOA
A proportion of the out-of-town office stock is vacant. The most notable vacancies include the Lloyds
Bank buildings at The Causeway, which provides a total of circa 63,000 sq.ft., and the (impending
vacant) Aviva office complex at The Warren, Hill Barn Lane, which provides 125,000 sq.ft. Both of
these sites are appraised in Chapter Six.
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4.3.2 Edge-of-Centre Offices
MGM Advantage, Heene Road Parexel MMS Europe, High Street (North)
There are clusters of offices in edge-of-centre locations in streets adjacent to the town centre. The
largest concentration of offices are located at Worthing railway station (Railway Approach/Teville
Road), Little High Street/High Street (northern part) to the north of the town centre, Farncombe Road
to the east of the town centre, and Grafton Road and Crescent Road to the west of the town centre.
The key occupiers in these areas include:
- MGM Advantage, Heene Road – circa 39,000 sq.ft.
- Inland Revenue, Railway Approach – circa 29,000 sq.ft.;
- Parexel MMS Europe Ltd (Medical Communications), High Street (North) – circa 21,000
sq.ft.;
- Wilfred T Fry Ltd (Financial planning), Crescent Road, circa 20,000 sq.ft.;
- HSBC (Asset Finance Dept.), Farncombe Road, circa 12,000 sq.ft.;
- Quest Duthoit Ltd (Chartered accountants), Farncombe Road, circa 12,000 sq.ft.; and
- Marlin Financial Services Ltd (Financial recovery services), Grafton Road, circa 10,000 sq.ft.
The breakdown of offices, as set out in Table 4.5 shows that the majority of units in edge-of-centre
locations are between 1,000-5,000 sq.ft. This may reflect the presence of more stand alone office
buildings, and a lower proportion of small office suites above shop premises in these locations.
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Table 4.5: Size Breakdown of Offices in Edge-of-Centre Locations Size Range sq.ft. Number of Units % of Units 0-500 18 17500-1,000 24 221,000-5,000 56 525,000-10,000 1 110,000-20,000 4 420,000 + 4 4Total 107 100
Source: VOA
In terms of quality, Knight Frank has assessed both the edge-of-centre and town centre office stock
from an external perspective, using a broad classification that may not conform to the ‘usual’ property
market grading systems. For the stock in Worthing, we have adopted the following classifications:
- "Grade A" = New or high quality modern or second-hand refurbished;
- "Grade B" = Sound period or second-hand refurbished;
- "Grade C" = Low grade 1960s/70s stock or low grade suites above shop units.
Figure 4.2 displays the results of our quality assessment by floorspace size, revealing that the
majority of space at edge-of-centre locations is Grade B, with only a small proportion considered to
be Grade A. The dominance of Grade B accommodation reflects the presence of a good number of
regency properties in locations such as Farncombe Road, Crescent Road etc.
The buildings considered to be ‘Grade A’ are Saxon House at Little High Street, Wicker House at
High Street (north), Capella House at Railway Approach, and Amelia House at Crescent Road.
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Figure 4.2: Quality of Office Floorspace in Edge-of-Centre Locations
Source: Knight Frank
4.3.3 Town Centre Offices
Environment Agency, Guildbourne House Liverpool Terrace
The town centre has a well established office function with a number of long established businesses
in a variety of accommodation, from stand-alone office buildings of regency or 1960s/70s
construction, to small suites above shop units.
Grade A17%
Grade B63%
Grade C20%
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The key clusters of office activity are Liverpool Terrace/Liverpool Gardens, the Council Offices/Law
Courts at Richmond Road, Chatsworth Road, Chapel Road, and North Street/High Street.
The nature of the town centre stock tends to be multi-occupied office buildings with only a handful of
large single occupiers. The key office occupiers within the town centre are:
- Worthing Borough Council, Richmond Road – circa 50,000 sq.ft.;
- Environment Agency, Chatsworth Road – circa 36,000 sq.ft.;
- Department of Work and Pensions, High Street – circa 28,000 sq.ft.; and
- Thomas Eggar (lawyers), Liverpool Gardens – circa 12,000 sq.ft.
The breakdown of offices within the town centre as set out in Table 4.6 shows that the majority of
offices are between 500-1,000 and 1,000-5,000 square feet. This may reflect the presence of more
multi-occupied buildings, especially above shops.
Table 4.6: Size Breakdown of Offices in the Town Centre Size Range sq.ft. Number of Units % of Units 0-500 32 18500-1,000 62 351,000-5,000 74 415,000-10,000 7 410,000-20,000 1 120,000 + 3 2Total 179 100
Source: VOA
In terms of quality, using the same grading classification adopted for the edge-of-centre office stock,
we have assessed from an external perspective the town centre office floorspace. Figure 4.3 reveals
that the majority of office stock within the town centre is classified as Grade B. Grade C stock can
usually be found in 1960s buildings, or low grade suites above shop units. Grade A stock is
particularly low and reflects the lack of recent developments within the town centre, with most of the
newer stock built in the last ten years or so located in edge-of-centre and out-of-centre locations.
The key Grade A buildings identified in the town centre are Chatsworth House, Chatsworth Road,
Davison House, North Street (Worthing Homes Ltd), Ingram House, Liverpool Road, and Pharos
House, 67 High Street. The lack of new stock within the town centre is also a reflection of the
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complexities of developing in the town centre and the higher costs in terms of acquiring/assembling
land.
Figure 4.3: Quality of Office Floorspace in Town Centre Locations
Source: Knight Frank
To gauge the general issues with the town centre office stock within Worthing, we have spoken with
a ‘basket’ of town centre occupiers. Whilst, we acknowledge that their views, statistically are unlikely
to represent all of the occupiers within the town centre, there were a number of common themes to
emerge, which provides some qualitative commentary on the town centre stock.
Firstly, occupiers highlight that there are certain positive benefits from being located in the town
centre, such as the access to clients and shops and services that make its attractive. However, there
are some negative drawbacks also highlighted by town centre occupiers, with the cost of car parking
the key issue raised.
In terms of accommodation, generally most occupiers that we spoke to are satisfied with their current
offices, although when questioned about the possibility of moving outside of the town centre, a
number of these same occupiers stated that they would consider it.
Grade B75%
Grade C16%
Grade A9%
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4.4 Provision of Serviced/Managed Units
Worthing offers a limited amount of serviced / managed units of varying quality.
Significant office space is offered at the 46,000 square foot Columbia House, a successful managed
office operating out of the former Nissan UK office building by F & C Asset Management. 44 units
are available of varying sizes (ranging from 150sq ft to 3,000 sq ft), which provides accommodation
for 35 businesses from a range of sectors. Flexible terms are offered ranging from a 6 month licence
to 5 year lease. The building, which was running at full occupancy in 2006, now has an occupancy
rate of 70%. The building does not operate like a standard ‘serviced offices’ operation, as units are
offered unfurnished, although there is a service charge for the communal reception area, the meeting
rooms (x 2), 24 hour access, and security.
Discussions with F & C’s building manager confirm that the facility caters for the local / sub-regional
market; the majority of firms are from Worthing and the immediate area. There has been a significant
decline in enquiries for start up space over the last 6 months, but the building manager expects this
to change with the general up-turn the economy.
The building underwent major refurbishment in 2000. The major business advantages, identified by
occupiers, include accessibility to the A27 and the availability of car parking. Indeed, there are
examples of companies moving out of the town centre to re-locate to Columbia House due to these
factors.
No. 8 High Street, Worthing, a custom built 1970s office building on ground and four floors. The
offices available have been refurbished with new suspended ceilings and Category 2 lighting. Units
are let on a licence to occupy, with the opportunity to give three months notice to vacate, after six
months or any subsequent month.
CPL House, Ivy Arch Road is a 1960s/70s three storey office building located within an established
industrial estate with unit ranging from 90-1,100 square feet. Flexible leases are available.
Smaller serviced space is also available at Railway Approach, which is currently being refurbished
to a high standard and Oaklands Business Centre at Elm Grove, which provides lower quality
workshop and office space.
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There is no incubation space (linked to an educational or R&D facility) within the Borough, and with
the presence of Northbrook and Worthing Colleges, as well as GSK, this represents a key
opportunity, especially as the Worthing economy is predominantly based on micro and small and
medium sized enterprises.
The development and provision of business incubation to accommodate newly-formed companies in
an environment conducive to growth has been identified as crucial in facilitating knowledge
commercialisation. Business incubators help start-up businesses with high growth potential to
success by providing hands-on support in a “hot house” environment in which business innovation
and growth flourish.
It is important to understand: what is exactly meant by the term “incubation”? There are many
different titles / names used to describe the support infrastructure and the process of business
incubation. These include:
• Science Park
• Business Incubator
• Innovation Centre
• Managed Workspace.
In practical terms, a Science Park is a generic term usually defined as a cluster of knowledge-based
businesses, where support and advice are supplied to assist in the growth of companies. In most
instances, science parks are associated with a centre of technology such as a university or research
institute. The term can encompass a range of initiatives, which can vary greatly. There is thus no
question of rigid definition or of a single transferable model. The characteristics of each Park are
determined by its objectives, its location, the prevailing climate and the local expertise and resources
available.
Business Incubators provide intensive, hands-on support and services to assist specifically in the
creation and the early stages of business. At least 5 generic forms of business incubators have
emerged over the past 40 years:
• Industrial incubators. These are sometimes sponsored by quasi-government and non-profit
groups, with a primary objective to create jobs by creating employers.
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• University-related incubators. These set out to commercialise the science, technology and
intellectual property coming out of university research. Typically, the university incubator
offers new companies access to laboratories, computers, libraries and the expertise and
assistance of its faculty and students.
• For-profit property development incubators. These incubators provide shared office and
workspace / production space, together with shared services. Clearly, property developers
are primarily interested in rental income and real estate value.
• For-profit investment incubators. These are often little or more than a neat way for venture
capital firms and business angels to have firms in their portfolio in the one location.
• Corporate venture incubators. This is one of the fastest growing and most successful of the
incubator models. Large firms take in small firms and offer money, facilities and expertise
(and perhaps sales resources) for a stake in the firm.
An Innovation Centre is usually a synonym for an incubator, but sometimes it will denote a facility for
nurturing high-tech companies from start-up to well beyond the incubation phase.
Managed workspace is characterised by three factors: small units, short leases and shared central
services. It meets a real need in the economy but is essentially property led and is judged by its
success in maintaining high occupancy levels, rather than by the success of its tenant businesses.
The main features of such workspace are:
• The primary objective is to cover costs and therefore there are few if any entry conditions.
• There is usually no graduation policy – tenant businesses are encouraged to stay and more
space is provided if needed for the business to expand.
• The workspace is occupied by a wide range of businesses, attracted by the flexible rents
and space, including many of which are sole-owners or “lifestyle” firms. Within London,
Workspace Group plc is a major provider to workspace accommodation throughout the
capital.
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In essence, the difference between incubators and managed workspace is that the incubator utilises
managed workspace to encourage business growth – i.e. an incubator is more than a managed
workspace, it has the additional aim of helping client businesses to manage their growth.
In general, business incubators work through the relationships of a number of stakeholders, including
sponsors drawn from the private sector, local government and the broader community including
venture capital providers and professional incubator management. Successful incubators blend these
talents to produce sustainable graduate businesses, the benefits of increased income, employment
and economic development for the local community and, where appropriate, a return on shareholder
investment.
What is considered good / best practice will depend upon the context and purpose of each incubator.
However, we have reviewed a number of reports on successful incubators (UKBI National Incubator
Study 2000 / 2001 “UK Incubators: Identifying Good Practice”) and identified a number of “critical
elements” of a successful business incubator:
• A broad range of supporting stakeholders.
• Local demand from entrepreneurs with early stage small businesses: Incubators should
service a demand from local entrepreneurs looking to improve their survival and growth
prospects of their early stage small businesses. An effective incubator needs to maintain
adequate tenant occupancy to replace the regular graduation of existing tenants. A ready
supply of emerging local businesses is essential to the long-term sustainability of any
incubator programme.
• Provision of a range of facilities and services to tenant businesses: In all cases,
incubators should seek to nurture the survival of tenant businesses and enhance their growth
prospects, rather than passively providing shared office or workspace facilities.
• Effective incubator management: The role of incubator management is crucial including
providing clarify in terms of selection and exit procedures.
• Regular turnover of graduate businesses.
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• Economic and community impact: The incubator has to deliver results against the
outcomes that the stakeholders want, particularly in the case of public sector partners.
4.5 Issues and Implications
• The general trends in the Worthing property stock over the last ten years (1998-2008) have
been a rise in the quantum of office space, a fall in factory space, and a rise in warehouse
space. This mirrors the wider economic trend, with a decline in manufacturing, and growth in
the service sector, with demand for warehousing space driven by changes in the retail
sector.
• The Borough has ten key industrial estates or business parks, providing 70% of the total
employment stock. These, predominantly industrial areas, are well occupied, with an
average vacancy rate of only 8.5%, and only two estates (East Worthing and Goring
Business Park) with vacancy rates over 10%.
• The quality of the key industrial estates and business parks is mixed, with the predominant
type of space classified as ‘Grade B’. ‘Grade C’ or derelict space (Grade D) accounts for
30% of the stock. Several estates have a high proportion of Grade C and D space, including
Canterbury Road, Station Road and Ivy Arch Road, although these areas also have some of
the lowest vacancy rates in the Borough. This demonstrates that poorer quality stock
appears still to be attractive to certain occupiers. Within the other estates, there are pockets
of under-utilised or vacant Grade C and D space that require investment, including:
o The large unit fronting Southdownview Road at Broadwater Business Park;
o The cluster of vacant units at Dominion Way West within East Worthing Industrial
Estate;
o Former Whiteheads Fabric Building within East Worthing Industrial Estate; and
o The large derelict building at Woods Way, Goring Business Park.
• Of all of the key employment areas, Station Road is perhaps the one area that has major
locational constraints, being situated along a narrow residential street. Whilst the eastern
end of Station Road has a cluster of modern units, the remainder of the street has pockets of
predominantly car repair garages. There have also been some recent changes of use to
residential.
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• The office stock is located across the Borough, although the majority of space can be found
at out-of-town locations, due to the presence of some major occupiers, such as Inland
Revenue and West Sussex Primary Care Trust at Goring, Southern Water, Equiniti and West
Sussex County Council at Durrington, and EDF Energy at East Worthing. The most recent
office development within the Borough can also be found out-of-town at Yeoman Gate. This
demonstrates that out-of-town locations remain attractive to occupiers, especially those
requiring large floorplates that are difficult to secure within the town centre.
• There are some important office areas in edge-of-centre locations, especially around
Worthing Station, Little High Street/High Street (north), Farncombe Road, and Grafton Road
and Crescent Road. In these locations, there is mixture of Regency, 1960s/70s and more
modern buildings. The most recent stock has been developed in the Little High Street/High
Street (north) area. There are generally more opportunities within edge-of-centre locations,
compared to the town centre, to create stand-alone office buildings with larger floorplates.
The majority of the stock is classified ‘Grade B’, although there is also a considerable
amount of ‘Grade C’ stock. Key occupiers include MGM Advantage at Heene Road, Inland
Revenue at Railway Approach and Parexel MMS Europe at High Street (north).
• Within the town centre, there are several large occupiers, such as Worthing Borough Council
at Richmond Road, Environment Agency at Chatsworth House, and Department of Work and
Pensions at High Street, although the majority of businesses occupy offices of up to 5,000
square feet. There are some key office areas within the town centre including Liverpool
Terrace/Liverpool Gardens, Chatsworth Road, Chapel Road, and North Street/High Street.
The majority of space tends to be ‘Grade B’, although there are pockets of ‘Grade C’ space,
along Chapel Road and Warwick Street in the form of 1960s buildings and low grade suites
above shop units.
• The cost of car parking has been highlighted as a key issue for office occupiers within the
town centre, and can be viewed as a key ‘push’ factor. This issue requires a collaborative
response from the Council, landlords and occupiers to find an appropriately satisfactory
solution.
• The provision of serviced or managed workspace within the town is limited, especially as
Worthing has a good base of small businesses, with the opportunity to develop more
business start-ups in future years. A business incubator or innovation centre is lacking within
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the Borough, and the presence of such a facility would help to develop the business base of
the town, especially in key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, advanced engineering and
creative industries.
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UK Industrial UK Offices
5.0 Property Market Assessment
To understand the demand dynamics within Worthing, an assessment of the local property market is
required. This section of the report presents our analysis of the office and industrial property markets
within Worthing, and how the Borough compares to other locations in the area and the wider M25
market.
The analysis draws upon official property databases, opinions of local agents, and a review of the
available stock.
5.1 National Investment Market Overview
It is vital to place Worthing’s land and property markets within the context of the UK, as wider
economic developments have, and will continue to have, a key role in influencing investment,
development and occupier market activity at the local level. One of the most influential factors over
the last two years has been the sustained downturn in the commercial property investment market,
with overriding National, and indeed global, factors fundamentally impacting on every local market.
Figure 5.1: Capital Value Index since December 1986
Source: IPD
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Until 2007, commercial property enjoyed a sustained period of double digit returns, fuelled by a
seemingly never-ending stream of capital chasing commercial property. The bubble burst in dramatic
fashion in the summer of 2007 as the much anticipated effects of defaults on loans in the US sub-
prime housing market rippled through the global financial markets. The banks cut back on their
everyday lending to each other, driving up the interbank lending rates and paralysing the wider debt
market. Consequently, investor activity became virtually non-existent and, in the absence of any
transactional evidence, values tumbled. In the two years since mid 2007 average office and
industrial capital values have fallen by -45% and -40% respectively, albeit average values are now at
least showing clear signs of bottoming out.
From the middle of 2008, the UK entered into one of the severest recessions in modern times. Falling
company profits and increasing unemployment have, unsurprisingly, had a significant impact on
demand for business space, leading to increased vacancy and falling rental levels. With regard to the
key employment generating sectors, average UK office rents have fallen by -14% and average
industrial rents 5% since mid 2008. More than ever, the rent achievable on new development will be
key to influencing private sector decision-making.
Significantly with regard to aspirations in planning policy, the downturn in the commercial property
occupier investment markets discussed above has a dramatic impact on speculative development,
which typically plays a key role in moving forward regional and local commercial property markets.
Falling capital values and a lack of financing, added to recent abolition of the Empty Rate relief on
empty buildings amid the recessionary environment have had a significant impact on the
development pipeline across the UK as a whole. Even if growth returns to the economy and occupier
market activity returns to more normal levels, while lenders remain extremely risk averse towards
developer funding, it is difficult to foresee a time that speculative development activity will return to
anything approaching those levels witnessed in recent years. Instead, a reasonable assumption is
that heightened demand for the development of new business space will instead manifest itself
through pre-letting activity.
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-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
Jul-04
Jan-05
Jul-05
Jan-06
Jul-06
Jan-07
Jul-07
Jan-08
Jul-08
Jan-09
Jul-09
annu
al %
cha
nge
UK Industrial UK Offices
Figure 5.2: Average UK Rental Growth Since July 2004
Source: IPD
5.2 Office market analysis
5.2.1 Overview and Context Worthing’s office market comprises a handful of major occupiers who are key local employers
together with a raft of smaller localised businesses. A number of key private sector occupiers moved
or consolidated in the town during the 1960s/1970s including Aviva, MGM and Lloyds TSB.
Today, the majority of occupied office space is held by Worthing Borough Council, West Sussex
County Council, Southern Water, the Environment Agency and other utilities companies. Equiniti,
which was formed out of Lloyds TSB Registrars, is one of the few major private sector occupiers that
remain in the town. In the traditional town centre core, the office stock comprises generally older
properties around Liverpool Gardens and Liverpool Terrace occupied by traditional professional
practices, such as local solicitors and accountants. A small number of these occupiers have been
attracted out, primarily to Yeoman Gate.
Rental values in Worthing have experienced an adjustment since the economic downturn, although
generally these are lower than the more attractive locations of Brighton and Crawley. Table 5.1
presents the typical rents on a per sq.ft. basis for Worthing, showing that Grade A stock in out-of-
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town locations, predominantly Yeoman Gate are achieving rents of £15.50-£16.00 psf. In
comparison, rents for Grade A or B stock within the town centre can achieve between £8.00-£14.00
psf, which reflects to some extent the lack of brand new space built in the town centre in the last few
years.
Worthing is a weaker office market compared to Crawley and Brighton. Brighton possesses a tight
office market with good educational attainment and a strong catchment of skilled and young staff
affording it a major advantage over Worthing, together with its host of amenities and fast train and
road access to London. Restrictive land availability in Brighton’s town centre has put upward
pressure on rents in recent years. Consequently, development is viable at prime rents of £19.00 psf,
albeit a key disadvantage is the severe lack of parking. Worthing's total stock is circa 1.9m sq ft,
Brighton is circa 4.3m sq ft by comparison and Crawley 3.2m sq ft.
Crawley has generated rents in the mid £24.00 psf, and has better accessibility to the M25 and
Gatwick Airport. Crawley has some large office occupiers associated with Gatwick Airport, such as
British Airways, The Civil Aviation Authority and Virgin Atlantic. In addition, there are other large
occupiers such as BT, Hogg Robison Paymaster and the Providian National Bank, as well as a
strong SME (small and medium sized business) base focused within the financial and business
services sector.
The M25 office market is viewed as the premier out-of-town office location within the UK. While
Worthing falls outside this key area, an analysis of recent performance in this market serves as a
useful barometer and background for developments in the office sector more generally across the
South East and is therefore relevant to current performance and outlook in the Borough of Worthing.
The recession has had a significant impact on occupier demand in the M25 market. Total take-up in
the M25 area fell suddenly in the third quarter of 2008, a period marked by the infamous collapse of
Lehman Brothers and associated crisis in the financial markets. Over the first two quarters of 2009,
take-up has been circa 60% below the long term quarterly average. Looking ahead our forecast is for
take-up to remain subdued and significantly below average over the remainder of 2009 to the second
half of 2010, before recovering to more ‘normal’ levels thereafter.
What demand there will be over the next 18 months will be largely driven by market churn, rather
than expansion, with some opportunistic occupiers (mainly with lease events approaching) exploiting
market condition by securing different premises available on favourable terms. Indeed, across many
of the key towns in the M25 market, net effective rents (rents taking account of rent free periods)
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have fallen by an average -20% since Q2 2008. However, with landlords having already responded
quickly to the market, further falls will be more muted over the next 12 months, averaging circa -10%.
The recession’s impact of development has been just as dramatic. At the end of the second quarter
2009, the volume of speculative construction underway in the M25 was down 60% from the its five
year high at the end of Q3 2008. This fall has resulted from the recent flurry of completions,
combined with an absence of development starts over the last three quarters. In contrast to the
previous market downturn of 2002 to 2003, when reduced demand then coincided with a flood of
speculative completions, further anticipated increases in vacancy levels will be driven by the release
of second-hand tenant committed space, as many occupiers right-size their accommodation needs.
Table 5.1: Current Office Rental Values
Location Rents (£ per sq ft pa)
Brighton – Grade A £19.00
Crawley / Gatwick – Grade A £24.00
Worthing - Grade A (out of town) £15.50 - £16.00
Worthing - Grade A Town Centre £12.00 - £14.00
Worthing– Grade B, period* £8.00 - £10.00
* rents of £13.50 being achieved in early 2008
5.2.2 Office Take-up
Figure 5.3 shows the quantum of office space recorded over the period 2004 to H1 2009. A total of
82 transactions have been recorded throughout the Borough over the period of analysis, with
average annual take-up between 2004 and 2008 of 54,446 sq ft. In the first half of 2009, however,
office market activity has fallen sharply reflecting the subdued demand for office space now evident
in Worthing, as elsewhere, due the current economic downturn. Over the three years between 2006
and 2008, while the economy was relatively buoyant, the number of transactions within Worthing was
broadly consistent ranging from 18 to 25 in each year. However, reflecting the impact that larger
transactions can have on overall take-up, the actual quantum of take-up fluctuated considerably over
the period.
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Figure 5.3: Office take-up and transactions in Worthing
Source: Knight Frank
5.2.3 Size and Type of Office Occupier Demand Table 5.2 below provides details of the largest office transactions to have occurred in Worthing over
the period of analysis. Of the 82 transactions, only four were in excess of 10,000 sq.ft. The largest
transaction by a considerable margin was Equiniti’s 50,000 sq ft acquisition of Highdown House,
Yeoman Way, in 2007. The other sizeable transaction was Intercare’s acquisition of 30,000 sq ft at
Units B&C, Downlands Business Park in 2005. It is notable that both of these involved Grade A
accommodation and were located out of town. The other two transactions in excess of 10,000 sq ft
actually occurred at the same address, 16-22 Grafton Road, located in the town centre periphery.
Table 5.2: Office transactions over 10,000 sq ft (2004 – H1 2009)
Year Address Occupier Grade Type Size (sq ft)
2007 Highdown House, Yeoman Way
Equiniti A Out of town 50,000
2005 B&C Downlands Business Park
Intercare (Cordia Healthcare)
A Out of town 30,000
2008 16-22 Grafton Road Marlin Financial Services
B Edge of Centre 10,750
2005 16-22 Grafton Road Parexel International B Edge of Centre 10,750 Source: Knight Frank
Transactions above 5,000 sq ft have been rare over the period of analysis, but make up over two
thirds of the total office take-up. However, while large businesses in the town are obviously important
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 H1 2009
sq ft
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
No.
of t
rans
actio
ns
Offices No. transactions
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in maintaining Borough-wide employment, Figure 5.4 demonstrates that indigenous small and
medium-sized occupiers have arguably been much more crucial in generating consistent office
demand. Over the period of analysis, 59% of the recorded office transactions involved small units of
under 2,000 sq ft with a further 22% of transactions involving units of between 2,000 sq ft and 4,999
sq ft. This pattern supports comments made by local agents, who stated that demand is primarily
focused on this type of product.
Figure 5.4: Size Breakdown of Office Transactions
Source: Knight Frank
Discussions with local agents confirmed that office demand has been virtually exclusively local
‘churn’ of predominantly between 500-2,000 square feet, generated by businesses that already had a
presence in the Borough. Indeed, all the agents spoken to all struggled to think of any clear
examples of inward investment taking place over the period. In the main, therefore, demand for
offices has been driven by occupiers either seeking better quality accommodation or larger
accommodation in order to fit in with their expansion plans.
However, local agents also indicate that two established office occupiers are seeking space of
around 15,000 square feet, preferably in the town centre as part of down-sizing strategies.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 H1 2009
No. o
f tra
nsac
tions
above 10,000 sq ft
5,000 - 9,999 sq ft
2,000 - 4,999 sq ft
1,000 - 1,999 sq ft
under 1,000 sq ft
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5.2.4 The Location of Office Demand within Worthing
An important emerging policy issue concerns the strategy for the provision of office space in
Worthing’s town centre. Table 5.3 below summarises how take-up over the period of analysis has
been apportioned between each type of location in the Borough.
Table 5.3: Location of Office Transactions
Source: Knight Frank
It is notable that while the town centre has accounted for just 33% of total take-up, this location
makes up a greater 40% of total transactions. The opposite is true for out-of town locations, which
account for 47% of take-up over the period but just 25% of actual transactions. Edge-of-centre
locations account for 20% of the total space taken, with much of the activity focused to the immediate
west of the town centre and the area close to Worthing Station, to the north of the town centre. Put
simply, more deals have been done in the town centre, but out of town accommodation has attracted
the larger requirements.
This result is due largely to the skewing affect that two prominent deals (Equiniti and Intercare:
Cordia Healthcare) have had on the overall levels of out of town take-up. However Yeoman Gate
has also been influential in generating the relatively strong levels of out-of town demand following its
completion in 2007. Indeed, since its completion, Yeoman Gate alone has accounted for nearly one
third of total out of town take-up.
Year Take-up (sq ft)
% in Town Centre
% Edge of Centre
% Out of Town
2004 14,238
43.0% 52.5% 4.5%
2005 64,512
32.2% 21.3% 46.5%
2006 42,110
71.1% 23.2% 5.7%
2007 89,149
16.4% 11.1% 72.5%
2008 62,221
27.0% 21.9% 51.0%
H1 2009 3,433
46.5% 28.1% 25.5%
Total 275,663
33.1% 19.9% 47.3%
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Given the aggressive take-up of units at Yeoman Gate, agents were asked what scope they thought
existed for another similar type of development. It appears that this strong take-up was linked to very
strong pent-up demand (especially freehold demand) at the time, which has now been relieved.
While there may be scope for another such development in the future, agents stated it should be
phased, perhaps offering five units at a time.
Part of the demand analysis focused on establishing what ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors may exist in terms
of generating a shift in demand either to or away from the town centre. Discussion with local agents
revealed that, in all cases, the shortage of good quality supply was seen as central to the constrained
pattern of take-up in the town centre.
An additional advantage afforded by edge-of-town and out-of-town locations is the greater provision
of parking typically available compared with the town centre. Indeed, lack of parking spaces and the
growing cost of parking was highlighted by agents as a key threat to future prosperity of the town
centre. Occupiers of commercial premises (both offices and retail) are apparently becoming
increasingly frustrated with what is been seen as onerous costs associated with parking following the
introduction of NCP. One agent stated that small premiums for sites with dedicated free parking
spaces are typically paid by occupiers in the town centre.
Whatever the reason, agents suggested an increased movement to the area westward of the town
centre has been evident over the last decade, and to the Durrington area in particular. The westward
area’s key advantages over the town centre are the greater provision of parking available and better
road access via the A27. For example, Columbia House, the former building occupied by Nissan,
was refurbished in 2000 to provide smaller units or ‘break-up’ space. Take-up here was aggressive
with a clear in-movement from formerly town centre occupiers. Since refurbishment, Columbia House
has been typically 90%+ let, albeit the current occupancy of 70% reflects the recent economic
downturn (it was fully let in 2006).
From a developer perspective, agents stated that the westward area is also more attractive for future
new build activity due to the relative difficulties of site assembly associated with the town centre and
its limited parking provision.
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5.2.5 Office Take-up by Specification Using our classifications of the quality of office supply defined in Chapter Four, the majority of office
take-up over the period of analysis has been focused on Grade A office space. Overall, 55% of
space taken of the period has been classed as Grade A, 35% has comprised Grade B space and just
10% of recorded activity has involved poor quality Grade C space. Figure 5.5 shows how the quality
of take-up has been apportioned by location type over the period of analysis.
Within the town centre, Chatsworth House accounts for all Grade A take-up in the town centre and is
in fact one of the few town centre addresses defined as Grade A. Originally converted from
warehouse use a decade ago, Chatsworth house has also accounted for four of the seven town
centre transactions in excess of 5,000 sq ft over the period of analysis.
This example demonstrates that demand for small and medium-sized units does exist within the town
centre, despite the issues raised with parking, when there is space of sufficient quality made
available at affordable rental levels (circa £13.00 psf). One agent described the building as being
‘very lettable’ as it offers product of a reasonable specification with a mixture of small suites and
several large units. Flexibility and adaptability were cited as important advantages, supporting
occupier churn.
However, 64% of total town centre take-up centre has been classified as being Grade B quality.
Liverpool Terrace and Liverpool Gardens, much of it defined as Grade B, have been the focus of a
substantial proportion of town centre demand over the period. This has comprised a mixture of
refurbished 1970s purpose built offices together with small units in Regency properties where
established or ‘niche’ demand exists among small indigenous professional and business service
occupiers. Despite a reasonable amount of supply along Chapel Road, this parade has accounted for
very little of the space taken, arguably because units here are small, above shop units, and the
quality is generally poor.
The vast majority of Grade A take-up has occurred out of town and largely relates to the two sizable
deals and the completion of Yeoman Gate discussed above. This pattern has arguably been has
naturally influenced by the greater provision of Grade A space out of town, rather than indicating a
clear stronger preference for out of town locations exists over the town centre.
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0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 H1 2009
take
-up
sq ft
Freehold Leasehold
Figure 5.5: Take-up by Grade (2004 to H1 2009) Source: Knight Frank, Focus, EGi
5.2.6 Office Take-up by Type of Tenure
Our analysis shows that over the period of analysis, the vast majority of office transactions in
Worthing has been leasehold (see Figure 5.6), with only 12 of the 82 (15%) recorded transactions
being freehold. Historically, the preference for leasehold over freehold premises is normal in the
office sector. However, the surge in commercial property values witnessed between 2005 and 2007
did generate demand for owner-occupation in Worthing during this time.
Figure 5.6: Office Take-up of Freehold / Leasehold Premises Worthing
Source: Knight Frank, Focus, EGi
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
Town Centre Edge of Centre Out of Town
take
-up
(sq
ft)
Grade A Grade B Grade C
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Unsurprisingly, the majority of transactions involving freehold units over the period have been for
good quality, or ‘investable’ units. According to local agents, until the completion of Yeoman Gate in
2007, Worthing’s office market was dominated by leasehold supply, with no option available to
purchase good quality freehold accommodation. Yeoman Gate relieved strong pent-up demand for
freehold premises. Indeed, Yeoman Gate alone has accounted for 50% of total space taken on a
freehold basis over the period.
Discussion with local agents confirmed that while a degree of aspirational demand still exists for
owner-occupied premises among prospective occupiers (the establishment of SIPPs has been a key
driver), the difficulties with obtaining finance following the credit crunch have made this option both
less possible and less desirable at present. One agent stated that where occupiers are seeking
freehold occupation, they are resigned to the fact that little is available so instead opt to take short
leases with break options as a temporary measure until it becomes more readily available, and
financing more attractive.
5.2.7 Availability of Office Floorspace Figure 5.7 provides an historic illustration of the supply of available office space in Worthing
according to the Worthing Commercial Property Register, carried out each Spring by the Borough’s
Economic Development team. The supply of available office space fell substantially after Spring
2004, from circa 200,000 sq ft to just circa 60,000 sq ft over the subsequent three years. However, in
2009 the amount of space available has surged back to the levels seen in the early part of the
decade, to in excess of 200,000 sq ft. However, this rise is almost exclusively accounted for by the
addition of The Warren, Hill Barn Lane (124,000 sq ft) to the 2009 figures.
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Figure 5.7: Time series of Office Availability on the Commercial Property Register
Source: Worthing Commercial Property Register
Turning to a more detailed analysis of current availability, Figure 5.8 below shows the quantum of
built offices and space which is available and marketed for occupation in Worthing, together with how
this available space is apportioned according to its quality.
Figure 5.8: Breakdown of Office Availability by Size-band
Source: Knight Frank, Focus, EGi
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
avai
labi
lity
sq ft
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
160,000
under 1,000 sqft
1,000 to 1,999sq ft
2,000 to 4,999sq ft
5,000 to 9,999sq ft
above 10,000sq ft
sq ft
ava
ilabl
e
Grade A Grade B Grade C
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In recognition that the Register does not capture all space available, it is supplemented by a number
of additional sources, including Knight Frank’s own in-house resources, EGi and Focus databases.
Evidently, the present availability of The Warren has a dramatic effect on the both the availability
profile as a whole and the extent of Grade A accommodation.
The total amount of office floorspace available in Worthing as at H1 2009 stood at circa 273,000 sq ft
spread across 65 units, 45 of which are located in the town centre. Based on the stock analysis
addressed in Chapter Four, this level of availability equates to a Borough-wide office vacancy rate of
14.4%. However, if The Warren, Hill Barn Lane is excluded, the office market possesses a much
lower vacancy rate of 7.9%.
It should be noted that the analysis of office availability excludes the former Lloyds Bank Building at
the Causeway, a 1960s office block of Grade C type. Although circa 40,000 sq ft is currently being
marketed as ‘The Causeway’ by one local agent, it first requires comprehensive refurbishment and is
predicated on part of the site securing planning permission for change of use to retail uses.
Nevertheless, given that this is attracting some interest from prospective occupiers in the Borough, it
should not be entirely discounted from the discussion.
In terms of the quality of available office floorspace, Grade A space accounts for nearly 60%.
However, The Warren’s classification as Grade A again creates a slightly misleading picture. When it
is excluded, the supply of Grade A space is just 27% of the remaining available office space. Thus
high quality space is generally in short supply, with the largest Grade A unit comprising 16,000 sq ft
at Saxon House, Little High Street.
Grade C available stock can be found at locations such as CPL House, Ivy Arch Road, or Chapel
Road, where there is a cluster of poor quality buildings and suites.
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5.3 Industrial Market Analysis
5.3.1 Overview and Context
Worthing’s industrial market is much greater in size than its office market, with its geographical reach
stretching circa 5 miles east and west into neighbouring Districts. However, Worthing’s location and
180 degree situation does not allow it have an established market for large-scale distribution
warehousing. The two such markets nearest to Worthing are Crawley to the north and Portsmouth /
Southampton to the west. Within the West Sussex, sub-region Crawley is the key distribution hub
serving freight form Gatwick Airport, with Gatwick an international Distribution Centre. Otherwise,
West Sussex is not a strategic location within the UK for distribution.
Inward investment from outside this market area into Worthing has been negligible and instead take-
up is almost exclusively churn or indigenous growth. There are several key major occupiers in the
town including Saywell International, Eurotherm, B&W Loudspeakers and GlaxoSmithKline, all of
which either originated in Borough or are long established. Nevertheless these occupiers generate
additional property demand from the clustering affect brought about by the supply-chain linkages.
The rest of the industrial market is localised, consisting of smaller businesses engaged in activities
such as small scale distribution, building materials, car repairs, tool hire, precision manufacturing etc.
Local agents indicate that the industrial market has held up much better in the downturn than offices.
However, while take-up remains relatively healthy, landlords have had to offer generous discounts on
rental values as the threat of Empty Rates makes leaving properties vacant very unappealing in the
current market. Hence, healthy levels of demand has been supported by pricing with rents for Grade
A currently around £6.50-£7.50 psf, and for good secondary industrial accommodation around £4.50-
£5.50 psf. (see Table 5.4).
In comparison, the markets in Crawley/Gatwick and Brighton are more active, with Crawley focused
on distribution activities associated with Gatwick Airport, including firms such as British Airways
World Cargo and Allport, as well as prominent manufacturers, including airline catering firms such as
Alpha Flight Services, Gate Gourmet and LSG Sky Chefs. Prime rents for industrial space are
typically around £8.00-£9.00 psf.
In Brighton, the industrial market is tighter with less room for major expansion with the industrial
stock characterised by small industrial estates. As a result, new space coming to the market is small
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unit schemes, such as Westergate Business Centre providing units of circa 1,500-2,500 square feet.
This particular scheme is ‘award winning’ for its on-site sustainable energy, and the size of units, plus
its ‘green’ credentials reflects the rents achieved of £8.50 psf.
Table 5.4: Current Industrial Rental Values Property type Rents (£ per sq ft pa)
Brighton – Prime rents £7.50 - £8.50
Crawley / Gatwick – Prime rents £8.00 - £9.00
Worthing – Grade A £6.50 - £7.50
Worthing – Good secondary £4.50 - £5.50
5.3.2 Industrial Take-up As Figure 5.9 shows the recorded quantum of industrial space transacted in Worthing fluctuated
dramatically during the period 2004 to H1 2009. A total of 105 transactions have been recorded
throughout the Borough, with average annual take-up over the period 2004 to 2008 of 126,000 sq ft.
Compared to the subdued levels of take-up in 2004 and 2005, 2007 was clearly a boom year in
Worthing’s industrial market, with circa 323,000 sq ft of take-up and 32 transactions. In this year,
Saywell International acquired 143,000 sq ft at Downlands Business Park which, according to one
agent, was the largest single industrial transaction in the Worthing market in nearly 20 years.
In contrast with the subdued activity in the office market at present, industrial take-up has been
surprisingly robust in the first half of 2009 given the wider impact of the economic downturn on
commercial property market activity. Indeed, take-up over the first half of 2009 equates to 88% of the
annual average level over the period 2004 to 2008. The 50,929 sq ft acquisition of Aviator House,
Goring Business Park by World of Books in H1 2009 was in fact the second largest transaction to
have occurred in Worthing over the period of analysis. However, while take-up remains relatively
healthy, landlords have had to offer substantial discounts on rents due to the threat of Empty Rates.
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Figure 5.9: Industrial Take-up and Transactions in Worthing
Source: Knight Frank, Focus, EGi
Table 5.5: Industrial Transactions above 20,000 sq ft (2004 – H1 2009) Year Address Occupier Grade Size (sq ft) H1 2009
Aviation House, Goring Business Park
World of Books A 50,829
2007 Units A-I, Downlands Business Park
Saywell International A 143,000
2007 Units K-L Downlands Business Park
Waukesha Bearings Ltd
A 23,300
2007 14 Hazelwood Trading Estate Whitehead Fabrics Ltd
B 20,355
2006 15-16 Hazelwood Trading Estate
Lemo (UK) Ltd B 24,010
2006 J Salbstein, Brougham Road Jewson B 29,419
Source: Knight Frank, Focus, EGi
Large industrial transactions have naturally been important in shaping the overall levels of take-up
over the last five years, but the majority of occupier activity in the industrial market has involved
transactions for smaller units. Over period of analysis, 63% of transactions in the industrial market
have involved units of less than 5,000 sq ft, and the majority of these in fact were for units of under
3,500 sq ft. A further 24% of transactions over the period have involved slightly larger units of 5,000
to 9,999 sq ft.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 H1 2009
take
up
(sq
ft)
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
No. o
f tra
nsac
tions
Sq ft No. transactions
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Figure 5.10: Industrial Market Transaction by Unit Size
Source: Knight Frank, Focus, EGi
5.3.3 Industrial Take-up by Specification
Overall, good quality Grade A space has been central to transactional activity in Worthing,
accounting for 53% of take-up over the period. However, as Figure 5.11 demonstrates, the two large
deals of over 50,000 sq ft are both classified Grade A and alone make up the bulk of Grade A take-
up in Worthing. Of these, Saywell’s 143,000 sq ft acquisition at Downlands Business Park should be
regarded as exceptional in the market. Also notable is the fact that poor quality Grade C
accommodation has been largely avoided, making up just 4% of take-up. Significantly, however
Grade C accounts for 34% of current industrial availability.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 H1 2009
No.
of t
rans
actio
ns
above 50,000 sq ft
20,000 - 49,999 sq ft
10,000 - 19,999 sq ft
5,000 - 9,999 sq ft
0 - 4,999 sq ft
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Figure 5.11: Industrial Take-up by Specification and Size-band (2004 – H1 2009)
Source: Knight Frank, Focus, EGi
For the smaller size-bands below 50,000 sq ft the pattern of take-up has been more mixed between
Grade A and Grade B. Notable is the fact that unit sizes ranging from 5,000 to 9,999 sq ft have been
an important aspect of take-up, but dominated by Grade B accommodation (78% of take-up in the
size-band has been Grade B type). A tentative conclusion is that demand is healthy for product of
this size and the lack of supply of high quality stock in this size range is forcing prospective occupiers
to take lower quality premises. The same could also be said for unit sizes of 20,000 to 49,999 sq ft.
Special mention should be made of Northbrook Business Park, the most recent new build industrial
scheme in the Borough. The Business Park, built in 2005, has been central to transactional activity of
Grade A space in the smallest 0-5,000 sq ft size-band. Between 2005 and 2007 a total of 53,736 sq
ft of space was transacted here, the majority of which was freehold, and alone it accounted for circa
70% of Grade A take-up in this size category. Partly due to the unique freehold offering, demand at
Northbrook Business Park was very strong, with all units let within nine months of practical
completion. Agents cited Northbrook Business Park as a clear example of the strength of demand
apparent for this type of product in the Borough and saw scope for similar such development in the
future, albeit phased on a more gradual basis.
-
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
160,000
180,000
200,000
0 - 4,999 sq ft 5,000 - 9,999 sqft
10,000 - 19,999sq ft
20,000 - 49,999sq ft
above 50,000 sqft
Take
-up
sq ft
Grade A Grade B Grade C
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5.3.4 Industrial Take-up by Type of Tenure
Over the period of analysis, the majority of industrial transactions in Worthing have been leasehold
(see Figure 5.12), with 39 of the 105 (37%) recorded transactions being freehold type. Generally,
there is a greater preference for freehold premises in the industrial sector compared with offices and
this would appear the case in Worthing. It is notable that, despite greater difficulties in obtaining
finance, take-up of freehold has continued following the downturn in commercial property in mid-
2007.
Many of the transactions involving freehold units over the period have taken place at Northbrook
Business Park. Similarly to Yeoman Gate, the availability of good quality accommodation on a
freehold basis here helped to relieve strong pent-up demand for this type of ownership. Indeed,
nearly all of the units at Northbrook Business Park were acquired on a freehold basis and, taken
alone, this development accounted for 15 of the 37 (41%) of industrial freehold transactions over the
period
Figure 5.12: Industrial Take-up by Tenure Type
Source: Knight Frank, Focus, EGi
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 H1 2009
take
-up
(sq
ft)
Freehold Leasehold
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5.3.5 Industrial Availability The supply of available industrial space has fluctuated significantly over the last decade. Figure 5.13
provides an historic illustration of the supply of available premises in Worthing according to the
Worthing Commercial Property Register. Figure 5.13 reveals that the supply of available of industrial
space was at its peak in 2003, at 320,000 sq ft, but has reduced substantially in the years thereafter,
to just under 150,000 sq ft.
Figure 5.13: Historic Industrial Availability in Worthing
Source: Worthing Borough Council
Figure 5.14 below shows the current quantum of built industrial space, which is available and
marketed for occupation in Worthing, together with how this available space is apportioned according
to its quality. As with the office analysis, the data is based on a combination of sources including the
Worthing Commercial Property Register, Knight Frank’s own in house resources and EGi and Focus
databases in order to build a comprehensive picture of available stock.
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
avai
labi
lity
sq ft
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0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
0 - 4,999 sq ft 5,000 - 9,999 sq ft 10,000 - 19,999sq ft
20,000 sq ft -49,999 sq ft
50,000 sq ft +
sq ft
ava
ilabl
e
Grade A Grade B Grade C
Figure 5.14: Current Industrial Availability as at H1 2009
Source: Knight Frank, Worthing Borough Council, EGi, Focus
The total amount of industrial floorspace available in Worthing as at H1 2009 stood at circa 240,300
sq ft spread across 46 units. Based on the stock analysis addressed in Chapter Four, this level of
availability equates to a Borough-wide industrial vacancy rate of 7.9%, which is relatively low.
Further to the pattern of constrained supply overall, in terms of the quality of available industrial
floorspace, high quality Grade A supply accounts for just 4% of the total available (or just 3 of the 46
available units), all of which is below 10,000 sq ft. Grade B clearly dominates the available supply of
industrial space in the Borough, accounting for 62% of the total available with concentrations of units
noted at Timberlaine Trading Estate, Hambridge Industrial Estate and Northbrook Trading Estate.
Given the lack of demand for Grade C accommodation referred to in the take-up analysis, it is
striking that this poor quality defined space accounts for a sizeable 34% of current availability.
5.4 Identification of Gaps in Supply and Demand
To assist with our conclusions and recommendations regarding the future policy requirements for
Worthing’s employment land market, this section brings together the key statistical findings from the
supply and demand analysis in earlier sections of this study to help to identify gaps.
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Starting with the quantum of supply, Table 5.6 relates average annual take-up to current availability
to examine how much pressure exists, or otherwise, to promote new supply. In the offices sector, the
amount of space currently available equates to 5.0 years of average office take-up over the period
2004 to 2008, leading to an interpretation that there is sufficient available stock at present to meet
short term demand in the market.
However, the picture changes considerably if The Warren, Hill Barn Lane is excluded. Given that this
124,000 sq ft unit may struggle to attract occupation without modification for ‘break-up’ space to suit
smaller occupiers, it could be argued that it is currently ‘out of sync’ with the nature of local demand.
Furthermore, The Warren may well be deemed more appropriate for other uses. Thus, excluding The
Warren, total office availability amounts to 149,000 sq ft, which equates to just 2.8 years of office supply, which is considered to be relatively low in a stable market.
In the industrial sector, average annual demand between 2004 and 2008 equates to just 1.9 years of
average industrial take-up over the period 2004 to 2008. The indication is therefore that Worthing’s
industrial market is presently undersupplied. While Saywell’s exceptional 143,000 sq ft transaction
has obviously been influential in skewing the strong average demand, even with this transaction
excluded, availability equates to 2.5 years of industrial supply, which again is considered relatively
low in a stable market.
Table 5.6: Average take-up and year of supply
Offices (sq ft) Industrial (sq ft)
2004 take-up
14,238
39,025
2005 take-up
64,512
38,148
2006 take-up
42,110
145,093
2007 take-up
89,149
323,361
2008 take-up
62,221
84,808
H1 2009 take-up
3,433
111,589
Average (2004 to 2008)
54,446
126,087
Current availability 273,627
240,305
Years of supply
5.0
1.9 Source: Knight Frank
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In addition to the above, Table 5.7 below, summarises the breakdown of space by quality for the last
five years of take-up and present availability. In the offices sector, a notable 55% of take-up over the
period of analysis has been Grade A, indicating that there is scope for policy to assist refurbishment
and / or development of new space, given the clear preference for Grade A and lack of demand for
poor quality Grade C space. Furthermore, the growth in office employment indicated by our analysis
of the Experian forecasts implies that there is an additional pressure to modernise the existing stock
in addition to raising the total quantum of stock.
Table 5.7: Take-up of Space by Grade Offices Industrial
Grade
% Take-up 2004 – H1
2009 Availability
% Take-up 2004 – H1
2009 Availability A 55% 60%* 53% 4% B 35% 14% 43% 62% C 10% 26% 4% 34%
*Removal of The Warren changes availability of Grade A to 27% total.
The mismatch between demand and the quality of supply is stronger still in the industrial sector. With
over half of the take-up in the industrial sector comprising Grade A accommodation, and just 4% of
the available space comprising Grade A, there is clearly pressure for policy to promote modernisation
of the existing stock in order to retain local occupiers. Just as notable is the fact that poor quality
Grade C accommodation has been largely avoided, making up just 4% of take-up yet accounting for
34% of current industrial availability.
In addition to the above, relating the current availability in terms of unit sizes to take-up by size-band
can provide an additional insight into the dynamics of demand and supply. For both offices and
industrial, Table 5.8 breaks down the availability and transactions by unit size in percentage terms,
so that instances of any mismatch can be identified. For offices, the analysis suggests that the nature
of current supply is broadly synchronised with the past take-up patterns. However, in the industrial
sector, there is some evidence that demand for units ranging from 5,000 sq ft to 9,999 sq ft outstrips
current supply, having accounted for 24% of transactions but making up only 15% of units presently
available. Furthermore, it is notable that there are no units available in the 20,000 sq ft to 50,000 sq ft
size range.
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Table 5.8: Breakdown of transactions and availability by size-band
Offices
Industrial
Size-band
% Transactions 2004 – H1 09
Units available Size-band
% Transactions 2004 – H1 09
Units available
under 1,000 sq ft 35% 38% 0 - 4,999 sq ft 63% 74% 1,000 - 1,999 sq ft 25% 18% 5,000 - 9,999 sq ft 24% 15% 2,000 - 4,999 sq ft 21% 31%
10,000 - 19,999 sq ft 8% 9%
5,000 - 9,999 sq ft 14% 8%
20,000 - 49,999 sq ft 4% 0%
above 10,000 sq ft 5% 5% above 50,000 sq ft 2% 2% Total Units 100% 100% Total Units 100% 100% Source: Knight Frank
5.5 Issues and Implications
• The UK commercial property market has been severely impacted by the economic downturn.
Investment and development activity and, more recently, levels of occupational demand
have reduced substantially amid the recession. Worthing has not been immune to these
developments and it therefore is important that local policy aspirations takes into account the
weaknesses in the commercial property market over the short to medium term and their
impact on occupational and development activity.
• Worthing is not a key employment location within the South East, with Brighton,
Crawley/Gatwick and Southampton/Portsmouth the more attractive destinations for office
and industrial/warehousing occupiers. Reflecting this, the level of inward investment into
Worthing has been extremely limited for the past 20 years, and agents do not view Worthing
as a key employment location to cater for major requirements within the wider national and
regional market.
• In the Worthing office market, demand is characterised by churn from either long-established
or indigenous firms seeking better quality space or space for expansion. Large requirements
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are rare, with the focus of the demand comprising sub 5,000 square feet units, especially
within the 500-2,000 square feet range.
• Close to 50% of the office take-up has occurred out-of-town, due to a combination of two
large transactions occurring in this area and the recent development of Yeoman Gate.
Yeoman Gate was taken-up aggressively, offering high quality space with good accessibility
and car parking which is lacking in the town centre and relieving pent-up demand for new
freehold units.
• This outward movement westwards by office occupiers reflects both the issues of the town
centre stock, in terms of quality, size and car parking, the congestion issues in the town, as
well as the fact that development tends to be more viable in out-of-town locations. Lack of
supply of Grade A stock in the town centre, rather than lack of demand, is key to explaining
the apparent westward movement by occupiers in recent years.
• Potential exists for high quality multi-let office buildings within the town centre, similar to
Chatsworth House, which has proved popular. However, the quality of town centre supply
will be difficult to address given the lack of sites and the costs of development. There is likely
to be continued demand for space in out-of-town locations, especially if new development is
not forthcoming in town centre or edge-of-town locations, and if the issues of town centre car
parking persist.
• Our analysis has revealed that the amount of available office space on the market in
Worthing is not considerable, equating to 14% of total stock, or just 8% where The Warren at
Hill Barn Lane (a large single occupier building) is excluded. This equates to a supply of
between 3-5 years based on historic take-up levels.
• In terms of the current mismatch between supply and demand, the office market is generally
in balance, although there is an apparent under-supply of available units of 5,000-10,000
square feet, and a couple of requirements for circa 15,000 square feet. The former Lloyds
Building at The Causeway and The Warren, Hill Barn Lane, if ‘broken-up’ and offered to the
market for multi-tenanted occupation could help to address this mismatch.
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• Grade C office stock is generally oversupplied and not attractive to the market, and within the
town centre there is cluster of poor quality suites and buildings at Chapel Road and Warwick
Street, which needs to be reconsidered in terms of its long term role, especially with the
significant costs of refurbishment.
• The industrial market is holding up well in the recession, although landlords have been under
pressure to reduce rental values to secure lettings to avoid Empty Rates. Demand is also
characterised by local and sub-regional occupiers seeking expansion space. Demand is
focused at the smaller end of the market, with units of less than 5,000 square feet in
demand, followed by some demand for units between 5,000-10,000 square feet.
Transactional activity has also been focused on Grade A stock at locations such as
Downlands Business Park and Northbrook Business Park. In the case of Northbrook
Business Park, the availability of new freehold units was key to its success, and agents
consider that there is scope for additional such schemes in Worthing when the market
returns.
• Our analysis has revealed that the amount of industrial stock on the market in Worthing is
not large at 8% of the total stock. This equates to a supply of 2.5 years based on historic
take-up level, which is considered low in a stable market.
• In terms of the current mismatch between industrial supply and demand, there seems to be a
general undersupply of Grade A stock, with historic take-up significantly above the current
available stock, with Grade B more or less in balance, and an over-provision of Grade C
stock. There also appears to be a dearth of units to cater for demand between 5,000-10,000
square feet and to a less extent between 20,000-50,000 square feet.
• Due to the general low industrial vacancy rate, and lack of Grade A stock, there should be
scope for renewed development activity for new space when the market returns.
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6.0 Forecasting Employment Demand and Floorspace
In addition to market demand, it is important to assess the higher level, long term economic demand
for floorspace arising from the growth in the working population. Within this section of the report, an
assessment of latest employment forecasts produced by Experian has been undertaken, which
paints a more realistic picture of future floorspace demand than previous forecasts that were
prepared prior to the economic downturn.
The economic forecasts are also supplemented with an assessment of historic completions for
industrial uses only, as unlike offices, industrial demand tends to arise from increases in productivity
(through technological advances in machinery, ICT etc.), which at the same time can lead to job
losses.
6.1.1 The Use of Demand Based Modelling
There are essentially two approaches to assessing the future requirement for employment
floorspace, a supply-side approach and a demand-side approach. The most commonly employed
and arguably the most reliable approach is demand-based modelling. This type of modelling relies on
understanding of the macroeconomic context, exploring past trends and applying key economic
relationships. In following a demand-side approach based on econometric modelling, it should be
noted that there exist a number of potential issues relating to the forecasts which are not directly
addressed by that methodology. They are as follows:
• Firstly, certain sectors of the local economy may outperform the constraints of a modelling
system which is reliant on historic performance and constrained by projections at the regional
and national levels. Should the Borough undergo a structural shift – for example, if it were to
attract inward investment in sectors not previously well represented in the area – there would be
no allowance for this within the forecast.
• Secondly, and conversely, that some areas of the local economy may underperform the same
system. Thus there is the potential that there may be job losses or weaker growth in some
sectors, and business space which may become redundant as a result may not necessarily be fit
for the purpose of accommodating those areas of the local economy which are in need of
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additional space. Nonetheless, the potential for weaker performance should be borne in mind
when reviewing the quantitative outputs.
• Finally, that the figures shown relate to an increase in net employment only and do not account
for additional space which may result from employment turnover and churn during the same
period. Clearly Worthing needs to ensure it can provide and cater for this type of demand in
addition to net employment increases in order to retain existing indigenous companies with
active requirements for new or more modern space. Thus, in the reverse of the preceding point,
the potential for additional demand derived from existing employment (rather than simply net
growth) should also be borne in mind when reviewing the quantitative outputs.
It should also be noted that these projections are quantitative not qualitative and thus take no
account of market demand. It therefore does not incorporate any analysis of the current quality or
availability of existing floorspace relative to market requirements, or any potential changes in market
demand that may result from improvements in real estate provision in the area.
This latter issue is particularly relevant given the points raised in Chapter Five with regard to the
mismatch between current available space and demand trends. For example, if current commercial
property in the area was unsuitable for modern requirements and this provision was improved in the
coming years, this might attract new employers to the area and thereby generate additional demand
for floorspace in the latter part of the forecast period. This would apply equally to both the office and
industrial sectors. Local employment based forecasts are based on the macro assumptions and, in
Worthing’s case, do not make allowances for large inward investment projects in housing (e.g
Shoreham Harbour Growth Point) or demand from new and emerging industries.
6.1.2 Forecast Employment Trends Chapter Two has addressed the current structure of the economy and employment profile in
Worthing. This section assesses the outlook for employment across the Borough together with the
wider employment trends at the regional level to provide context. Given the pronounced downturn in
the UK economy, the forecasts were specially commissioned to ensure that the outlook is based on
trends which are up-to-date.
We have adopted Experian Business Strategies’ (EBS) bespoke forecasts as a baseline estimate of
projected employment changes in Worthing between 2006 and 2026, a period which coincides with
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the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South East and Worthing Borough Council’s emerging Core
Strategy. While we wish to reflect Worthing’s changing structure and a broad analysis of potential
baseline growth, it should be borne in mind that the principal objective of this study is not detailed
economic analysis and therefore the EBS figures shown in this report are indicative only.
In terms of the absolute number of jobs, total FTE employment in Worthing is projected by EBS to
increase by 3,494 over the period 2006 to 2016, and 5,679 over the total forecast timeframe of 2006
to 2026. This represents a net increase in employment and does not account for churn in
employment during the forecast period.
Figure 6.1: Historic and forecast FTE employment in Worthing Borough
For each of the broad SIC industrial classifications, Table 6.1 shows the regional context regarding
the outlook for the various sectors in Worthing set alongside that of the wider South East region, and
Table 6.2 shows the number of additional FTE jobs expected over the period 2006 to 2026 in
Worthing Borough.
30
35
40
45
50
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
2026
FTE
empl
oym
ent 0
00s
FORECAST
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Table 6.1: Employment Growth in Worthing and the South East region
Share of Employment % growth in employment
Worthing South East Worthing South East
Forecast FTE Employment Trends 2006 2026 2006 2026
2006 - 2016
2006 - 2026
2006 - 2016
2006 - 2026
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing 0.0 0.0 1.7 1.3 100.0 100.0 -4.7 -16.5 Mining & Utilities 1.3 0.4 0.5 0.2 -49.1 -60.4 -27.3 -50.9 - Metals, Minerals & Chemicals 3.6 3.3 2.1 1.2 3.3 3.3 -28.3 -40.0 - Engineering 2.8 2.2 3.7 2.0 5.1 -10.2 -23.5 -38.0 - Other Manufacturing 2.4 1.9 3.9 2.7 -8.8 -12.7 -16.6 -22.3 All Manufacturing 8.9 7.4 9.7 5.9 0.1 -0.3 -1.4 -1.9 Construction 6.3 5.8 8.1 6.8 12.1 4.5 -3.0 -7.2 Distribution, Hotels & Catering 18.5 18.6 20.9 22.4 11.1 14.4 7.0 19.0 Transport & Communications 3.1 3.0 6.5 6.1 6.2 7.7 -0.7 3.9 Financial & Business Services 24.8 23.8 24.6 25.4 4.9 9.8 5.7 14.9 Public Admin, Education & Health 30.7 35.9 21.2 25.2 18.9 32.9 17.6 32.2 Other Services 6.4 5.1 6.7 6.6 -13.6 -9.8 2.9 10.4 Total FTE employment growth 100.0 100.0 100 100.0 8.4 13.6 4.2 11.2 Source: Experian Business Strategies
The forecasts indicate that employment growth in Worthing will significantly outperform the South
East region between 2006 and 2016, with total FTE employment growth of 8.4% in Worthing
compared with 4.2% in the South East. Over the entire period 2006 to 2026, total employment growth
in Worthing is forecast at 13.6% compared with 11.2% in the South East. The most striking point to
note is that, despite the recessionary period and the obvious consequences this will have on short-
term employment levels, FTE employment in Worthing is expected to recover relatively strongly after
the recession.
This robust forecast will be driven by strong growth in the public sector, which already accounts for a
significant 30.7% of Worthing’s workforce, compared with 21.2% in the South East. Employment in
public administration, education and health is forecast to increase by circa 33% between 2006 and
2026 (4,200 net additional jobs). According to EBS, growth within this broad category will be largely
driven by the health sector with a substantial 49% employment growth over the period and in line
with the South East as a whole (45%).
Across the manufacturing sectors as whole, between 2006 and 2026 employment in Worthing is
forecast to reduce by only -5.1% (loss of 200 jobs). This is in clear contrast with the wider South East
region, where manufacturing employment is forecast to reduce by -32.2% over the period (Within
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manufacturing, the greatest divergence between the Worthing and the wider South East is in metals,
minerals and chemicals sector which, in Worthing, is forecast to experience positive, albeit muted
FTE employment growth over the period to 2026 of 3.3%, compared with a reduction of 40% in the
wider South East region.
Over the last few decades the UK economy has restructured away from industrial activities and
towards services. Financial and Business Services (FBS) has been a key area of UK employment
growth and has been the driving force behind the structural change in the economy away from
manufacturing to business services. Looking at the forecasts, however, a pattern of much more
muted growth is expected over the coming 20 years. FBS employment in Worthing is forecast to
increase by 9.8% between 2006 and 2026 (920 net additional jobs), which is below the South East
region’s growth of 14.9% over the period.
Table 6.2: Forecast Increase in Net Additional FTE employment by broad SIC category for Worthing Borough
Net additional FTE Employment
Broad SIC 2006 FTE
Jobs 2006 - 2016
2016 - 2026 2006 - 2026
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing 10 10 0 10 Mining & Utilities 530 -260 -60 -320 Metals, Minerals & Chemicals 1,510 50 0 50 Engineering 1,180 60 -180 -120 Other Manufacturing 1,020 -90 -40 -130 Construction 2,640 320 -200 120 Distribution, Hotels & Catering 7,690 850 260 1,110 Transport & Communications 1,300 80 20 100 Financial & Business Services 10,320 415 505 920 Public Administration, Education & Health 12,780 2,420 1,780 4,200
Other Services 2,660 -361 100 -261
Total FTE employment 41,640 3,494 2,185 5,679 Source: Experian Business Strategies
6.1.3 Quantifying Future Employment Floorspace Requirements in Worthing
Certain assumptions have been utilised in order to convert the employment forecasts outlined above
into floorspace requirements. These assumptions are broadly based on the ODPM’s guidance which
relates particular ‘proxy’ employment sectors to key property use classes, and our precise approach
is set out in Appendix 3. It is important to stress, however, that the use of ‘proxy’ sectors to model
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floorspace requirements is at best indicative, particularly with regard to ascertaining office-based (or
B1) employment. For example, while an obvious link exists between office demand and growth in
financial and business services, there will be office occupiers who are engaged in other key sectors,
namely education and public administration.
Table 6.3 below provides the estimates in net additional floorspace over the plan period 2006 to
2026, and an interim figure for the 10 period 2006 to 2016. The conversion from net additional jobs to
net additional floorspace is derived from an assumption of typical employment densities for particular
use classes. A number of studies have examined this issue and put forward their own similar
estimates of employment densities, and this report utilises the floorspace ratios provided by English
Partnerships in their Guide to Employment Densities, 2001.
Table 6.3: Net Additional Floorspace Requirements
Use Net additional FTE
employment Floorspace
Ratio
Net additional floorspace requirement
(sq ft gross)
2006 - 2016
2006 - 2026
Gross sq ft per FTE
2006 - 2016
2006 – 2026
B1 - Offices 621 1,314 205 127,292 269,357 B2 - General Industrial 20 -200 340 6,680 -66,800 B8 - Storage & Distribution 32 -18 540 17,280 -9,720 All use classes 673 1,096 - 151,252 192,837
The forecasts suggest that future demand for net additional floorspace in Worthing will be driven by
the office-based employment sectors, with a net additional B1 floorspace requirement of circa
270,000 sq ft over the plan period 2006 to 2026. The recession’s impact on office employment, and
therefore B1 office demand, is accounted for in these forecasts with a lower level of growth expected
over the first ten years (2006 – 2016) than the latter (2016 – 2026). The forecast net growth in B1
floorspace would represent a 14% increase in the total office supply in the Borough.
Yeoman Gate is the most significant office scheme built since 2006, which comprised 32,000 square
feet in total. Therefore the current B1 office floorspace requirement is likely to be circa 240,000
square feet up to 2026.
In contrast to the expansive trend indicated for B1 use, the forecast points to a net loss of both B2
and B8 floorspace over the period 2006 to 2026. However, despite the recession, marginal FTE
employment growth to 2016 leads to a small positive requirement of 23,690 square feet net
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additional industrial floorspace over the period. Over the longer period to 2026, a net loss of industrial
floorspace is forecast for the Borough although this is again relatively marginal, at -76,520 square
feet. Compared with the South East region as a whole, this net loss reflect expectations for relatively
robust levels of manufacturing and distribution related employment in the Borough. Again, to provide
context, the combined net loss of B2 and B8 floorspace equates to a reduction of just 3% of total
industrial stock in the Borough.
6.2 Completions
In addition to the economic forecasts, it is also important to consider the trends in the completion of
commercial property in recent years, especially for industrial floorspace. This is because, even
though the number of jobs within manufacturing and storage and distribution activities maybe
declining, advances in technology and productivity mean that companies will want to improve,
upgrade and possibly expand their premises within Worthing.
This future demand will not be apparent through an analysis of purely employment forecasts.
Therefore, we have taken the rate of industrial completions (floorspace developed and occupied,
including changes of use) over a circa 23 year period, as a proxy for the demand for new industrial
floorspace within Worthing.
Table 6.4 shows that over the period 1985 to March 2008 a total of 1.1 million square feet of
industrial (B1b/c, B2 and B8) floorspace was completed. This equates to an average of 47,601
square feet of new industrial floorspace developed per annum. In recent years, from 2004 onwards,
all of this new floorspace was developed on ‘previously developed land’, indicating that parts of the
industrial estate are being continually upgraded, with poor quality ‘Grade C’ and derelict stock
replaced.
Whilst we acknowledge that a certain proportion of the completions will be due to changes of use
from other employment use classes, we believe that the total of circa 48,000 square feet gives a
realistic maximum annual target to attempt to meet, especially as this total takes into account several
property cycles, including the last major recession of the early 1990s.
Over the lifetime of the development period, this equates to up to 780,000 square feet of new
floorspace.
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Table 6.4 Industrial Completions (B1b/c, B2 and B8 uses)
Year Floorspace
Sq.m. Floorspace
Sq.ft. 1985 10800 116250 1986 4400 47361 1987 3000 32292 1988 5160 55542 1989 5010 53927 1990 1950 20990 1991 1190 12809 1992 3420 36813 1993 460 4951 1994 1480 15931 1995 15970 171899 1996 190 2045 1997 0 0 1998* (see notes below) (see notes below) 1999 6420 69104 2000 1209 13014 2001 12159 130878 2002 (see notes below) (see notes below) 2003** 7980 85896 2004/2005*** 4372 47060 2005/2006 723 7782 2006/2007 16092 173213 2007/2008 832 8956 Total 102,817 1,106,712 Number of Years 23.25 23.25 Average per Annum 4,422 47,601
Source: West Sussex County Council/Worthing Borough Council * 1998 completions included within 1999 total ** 2002 completions included within 2003 total *** The data for Jan.-Mar. 2004 included within 2004/2005 total
In thinking of the quantum of industrial floorspace required in future years up to 2026 (from October
2009, it is a total of 16.25 years), it is important to consider how much poor quality ‘Grade C/D’ stock
currently exists, as this should be the focus for new development before any ‘greenfield’ opportunities
are considered.
Table 6.5 reveals the potential shortfall of opportunities within the existing industrial estates to
regenerate the older Grade C/D stock to create new Grade A opportunities. This is an
approximation, as occupiers will have their own requirements for space and location, and a
proportion of Grade C stock is likely to be always available, especially as it provides an important
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source of ‘cheap’ workspace for local firms. In addition, we have only considered Grade C/D stock,
and there is an argument that a proportion of the current ‘Grade B’ stock will naturally become Grade
C stock up to 2026.
Bearing these issues in mind, the table shows that, if the Council wishes to meet the target of
780,000 square feet from now to 2026, currently there is only 180,000 square feet of Grade C/D
vacant space, which is equivalent to 2.7 years of supply, or 600,000 square feet of Grade C/D stock
in total, which is equivalent to 8 years supply, both of which is well below the 16.25 years to 2026.
Table 6.5: Industrial Completions Vs Grade C/D Stock Floorspace sq.ft. Average Completion Rate per Annum Circa 48,000Quantum of New Space 2009-2026 Circa 780,000 Quantum of Grade C/D stock in total Circa 600,000Quantum of Grade C/D stock vacant Circa 180,000 Potential Long Term Gap 2009-20026 Circa 180,000
Source: Worthing Borough Council/Knight Frank
The table indicates that there is a need to plan for up to circa 180,000 square feet of industrial
floorspace up to 2026 through the allocation of vacant land.
The potential sites to deliver this floorspace will be assessed in the next Chapter.
6.3 Issues and Implications
• The use of economic forecasting and other indicators of future employment floorspace
requirements always need to be treated with caution, due to the timing and nature of the
forecasts. They should be used as a guide, requiring regular updating.
• The Experian employment forecasts applied for Worthing indicate that growth in the service
sector of circa 4,900 jobs should result in an increased need for additional office stock up to
2026. In addition, the manufacturing sector, and sectors driving demand for warehousing will
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experience a decline in employment of circa 200 jobs to 2026, and at face value potentially
no additional need for industrial stock.
• The Experian employment forecasts applied for Worthing indicate that growth in the service
sector should result in an increased need for additional office stock up to 2026. In addition,
the manufacturing sector, and sectors driving demand for warehousing will experience a
decline in employment, and at face value potentially no additional need for industrial stock.
• The amount of office floorspace required to be delivered in Worthing up to 2026 is
anticipated to be circa 240,000 square feet, with the completion of Yeoman Gate taken into
account.
• However, for industrial and warehousing, we also consider it important to assess other
indicators of future floorspace demand – i.e. completions. The analysis of data held by the
Borough Council indicates that where the stock of Grade C/D premises can be renewed over
the period up to 2026, there is still likely to be a shortfall of circa 180,000 square feet, which
will need to be developed on vacant land.
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7.0 Appraisal of Key Sites
7.1 Introduction
This section of the report assesses the key employment sites that could help to deliver employment
floorspace over the next 15 or so years up to 2026. Five sites have been appraised within the
Borough, which are:
• Land adjacent to Martlets Way;
• Northbrook College, Durrington Campus;
• The Warren, Hill Barn Lane;
• Decoy Farm, East Worthing Industrial Estate; and
• The Former Lloyds TSB Building, The Causeway.
The assessment of each site provides a ‘high level’ market overview of the physical and planning
issues pertaining to that site, as well as Knight Frank’s opinion on the viability and market
attractiveness of developing employment floorspace at each location.
7.2 Site Appraisals
7.2.1 Land Adjacent to Martlets Way
Former Sewage Treatment Works Entrance to Former Sewage Treatment Works
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Location and Description
The site is located to the east of the existing Martlets Way Industrial Estate (which forms part of the
Goring Business Park), to the west of the Inland Revenue offices at Barrington Road, to the north by
Holm Oak Business Centre and the railway line, and to the south by housing at Juno Close and
Barrington Road.
The site extends to circa 4.1 hectares and comprises three different ownerships.
We understand that B S Ventures owns the former Southern Water sewage treatment works, which
extends to 1.25 hectares, and is located immediately to the east of Martlets Way, and to the south of
Holm Oak Business Centre. The original access to the site is via Martlets Way, and the site has
been cleared of the waste water apparatus.
We understand that National Grid retain ownership of the former gas holder site, which is located to
the east of the former sewage treatment works, and abuts the railway line to the north. The site is
1.7 hectares, and the original access to the site was via Barrington Road. The former gas holder has
been demolished and removed from the site.
We understand that Mapeley Estate Ltd own the site between the former gas holder site and
Barrington Road, which appears to be open space, and was formerly in the ownership of the Inland
Revenue, with no obvious former use. The site is 1.1 hectares, and access to the site is via a
pathway from Barrington Road.
The map below in Figure 7.1 shows the extent of the three land parcels.
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Figure 7.1: Land Adjacent to Martlets Way
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Planning Status
The former sewage treatment works and former gas holder site was originally allocated for B1
employment uses within the Worthing Borough Local Plan 2003, with the site to the south of the gas
holder site allocated for housing. Employment development was on the proviso that highway
improvements would be required at Goring Way, in the form of a dedicated right turn lane into
Mulberry Lane, to allow the free flow of traffic along this route.
Several commercial schemes have been proposed for the former sewage treatment works, following
the development of social housing at Juno Close by the previous owner Osborne. These commercial
schemes include a full planning consent granted in 2003 for B1 uses. But this was never
implemented by the then applicant Wyncon Developments (who had acquired the site from
Osborne), and subsequently the site was acquired by B S Ventures.
We understand that B S Ventures withdrew a full planning application for 4 new B1/B8 buildings,
providing circa 70,000 square feet in 28 units in 2007, due principally to not being able to secure
access rights to Woods Way, and having to implement highways improvements on other land not
within its ownership. The proposed development would have been built speculatively, which
demonstrates that at this time, there was confidence in the local market for a small unit scheme in
this location.
Within the Worthing Borough Revised Core Strategy, June 2009 reference is made to both the
former gas holder site and the parcel of open space immediately to the south as being sites where
residential use would be acceptable, following the Strategic Housing and Land Availability
Assessment (SHLAA) undertaken by the Council. Access arrangements are an issue for the former
gas holder site, although we understand that National Grid is seeking an agreement with Mapeley
Estates to potentially combine these two sites, to create one housing site. There is also the
possibility that all three landowners (B S Ventures, National Grid and Mapeley) will need to work
collaboratively to find a solution to the access issues pertaining to all three sites.
In addition, the Revised Core Strategy continues to promote employment uses at the former sewage
treatment works, although it does state that current access arrangements via either Martlets Way or
Woods Way are not ideal.
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Physical Site Issues
The former uses the sewage treatment works and gas holder sites, suggests that there could be
potentially some additional costs to developing the site, although the fact that these two sites have
been cleared indicates that this may not be a significant issue.
Access is a major issue for all three sites, as we understand that access rights or land acquisition
would be required at Woods Way and potentially Barrington Road. There are also off-site access
works at Goring Road that would need to be implemented, particularly for new industrial uses.
There is a line of mature trees that separates the former gas holder site from the former sewage
treatment works. There could be TPOs attached to these trees, as well as ecological issues to
overcome. To date, we have not had sight of any environmental report on either ecology or ground
conditions, so cannot comment further.
The neighbouring residential uses also need to be taken into consideration in the planning of the
three sites, especially the properties at Juno Close that back onto the former sewage treatment
works. This may require a suitable screening solution.
Market Attractiveness and Site Viability
Goring Business Park continues to be a popular location for business activity. This is demonstrated
by the recent conversion of Holm Oak Business Centre and refurbished Aviation House, although it is
recognised that some investment in other parts of the estate are required.
The site is unlikely to attract a major investor due to weak visibility, prominence and poor access
arrangements, but would rather appeal to local occupiers seeking small scale units of up to 5,000
square feet for B1 light industrial and B8 small storage activities. This reflects the previous scheme
proposed by B S Ventures.
Our analysis of demand, as set out in the previous chapter indicates that Worthing is undersupplied
in terms of new Grade A industrial stock to meet prevailing take-up levels, and there is also a need to
deliver in the region of 180,000 square feet of new space.
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Development at achievable rental values of £7.50 per sq.ft. in the current market is likely to be
marginal, and any ‘abnormal’ costs of development, such as acquiring land for access, or paying for
road improvements to Goring Road, is likely to impact significantly on the viability of the scheme,
potentially making it unviable.
Conclusions
Given the planning history of the site, the physical issues, the land ownership status, and the general
aspiration of all stakeholders to find a collective solution this site, it appears prudent to promote a
mixed-use development. Otherwise, there is a distinct possibility that all three sites may be stymied
from development, given the access issues.
For the former gas holder site and adjacent open space site, the rationale for residential use appears
to be stronger than employment uses, given the Council’s recognition of the potential of both sites in
the SHLAA report, and the demarcation from the former sewage treatment works with its enclosure
of mature trees. The planning history of the former sewage treatment works indicates that industrial
development should be viable in a stable market, where the access arrangements can be addressed.
It is recommended that a masterplan is drawn up for the whole site (all three land parcels) that
considers the access solutions and the position and quantum of land uses. This should be
undertaken by the landowners in association with the Borough Council and County Highways.
The introduction of residential into the mixed-use scheme, should help to fund the necessary
highways improvements for the benefit of all three sites.
Until the masterplanning work is undertaken, it is difficult to estimate what level of industrial
development will be acceptable in highways terms. However, a target of 40,000-50,000 square feet
seems realistic, given the potential need for an access route from the former sewage treatment
works site into the gas holder/open space land.
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7.2.2 Northbrook College, Durrington Campus
Northbrook College, Durrington Campus Surface Car Park at Northbrook College
Location and Description
Northbrook College have two campuses within Worthing, one at Broadwater Road, and the other at
Durrington, plus offices at Union Place. The Durrington campus is located adjacent to the
Littlehampton Road (A2032), with very good accessibility to the A27 going west.
The site is bounded to the west by Titnore Lane and open fields beyond, to the north by Lower
Northbrook Farm (where a new hospice is being developed on part of the site), to the south by
Littlehampton Road, and to the west by Yeoman Way, which includes the new Yeoman Gate office
park development, as well as the offices for Equiniti and Southern Water.
The campus extends to 9.9 hectares and includes the cluster of college buildings, including
Northbrook Theatre, plus large areas of surface car parking, formal playing fields, and areas of
landscaping, trees and informal open space.
Northbrook College is currently reviewing its property portfolio due to an unsuccessful bid to the LSC
for funding, with both Broadwater and Durrington campuses being re-assessed.
The extent of the Durrington campus is set out in Figure 7.2 below.
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Figure 7.2: Northbrook College, Durrington Campus
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Planning Status
The Durrington campus was not originally allocated within the Worthing Borough Local Plan 2003 for
the development of alternative uses, other than for the expansion of educational uses. Within this
policy, no development was permissible beyond the western edge of the building edge, in order to
protect the open aspect of Titnore Lane. The trees and shrubs in the north eastern corner of the site
were also protected from development.
In the current Revised Core Strategy, the Durrington campus is being promoted for a mixed use
development of housing and employment uses to help finance the development of a new campus at
Broadwater Road (which has planning consent), including the relocation of educational facilities from
Durrington campus.
The lack of LSC funding to deliver the new Broadwater campus, means that Northbrook College are
reviewing the opportunities again at both campuses.
Physical Site Issues
The Durrington campus is an out-of-town site with no obvious physical constraints from former uses.
We understand that there is a sewer pipe that runs along the edge of the eastern boundary of the site
that may restrict development in close proximity to it.
The openness of the site, and its proximity to the rural nature of the edge of the town is likely to mean
that in design terms any development would need to be of an appropriate scale and density that is
sympathetic to its surroundings.
Drainage and surface run-off would also need to be addressed, with the presence of the Ferring Rife
water course to the south of the site.
Market Attractiveness and Site Viability
In the scenario, where land at Northbrook College is released for development, we believe that it
would be attractive to the both the office and industrial occupier market, due to its very good
accessibility to the A27, and the excellent prominence and visibility along Littlehampton Road.
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Our demand analysis has revealed that there is an undersupply of Grade A industrial stock within the
Borough to cater for expected demand, and in the case of offices, there is likely to be some
additional requirements from both town centre occupiers and out-of-town occupiers seeking to either
upgrade or acquire their own freehold offices. We envisage that a Phase II to Yeoman Gate should
be feasible in the next 10-15 years, once the market returns and available space on the market is
absorbed.
Development at this location should be viable in a stable market, given the ‘greenfield’ nature of the
majority of land, with no significant abnormal costs, as well as the opportunity to develop out the
commercial uses as part of a wider residential scheme.
Within the context of Worthing Borough as a whole, the Durrington campus probably represents the
most attractive employment opportunity.
In the scenario, where only part of the Durrington campus is released for development, there may
also be an opportunity to link new employment uses more strongly to the College, potentially through
the development of an incubator on site. This would provide space and support services to students
seeking to set up in business, as well as more conventional business space located around it. The
incubator is likely to delivered through a joint venture partnership between the College and a private
incubator operator.
In the scenario, where the Broadwater campus is released for development, and educational facilities
are relocated to Durrington campus, we believe that land fronting Broadwater Road would also be an
attractive business location.
Conclusions
There remain a number of scenarios for the two campuses owned by Northbrook College, and
therefore some flexibility is required within the LDF to enable these scenarios to be played out over
time.
In market terms, both campuses are appropriate and attractive for employment uses, especially the
Durrington campus, which provides an opportunity to extend the existing Yeoman Gate development,
as well as the scope to deliver both industrial and office floorspace.
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In a scenario, where the Durrington campus was released for development, a scheme split 50%:50%
between residential and employment uses could yield approximately 200,000 square feet of
employment space at a site coverage for the buildings of 40%.
In addition, incubation space linked to the College would enhance innovation and entrepreneurship in
the Borough, helping to develop the economy from the ‘bottom-up’.
7.2.3 The Warren, Hill Barn Lane
The Warren southern elevation The Warren eastern elevation
Location and Description
The Warren is a self contained office complex owned by Aviva (formerly know as Norwich Union)
located at the intersection of the A24/A27 north of the town centre.
The site is a triangular-shaped site, with residential streets to the west and to the north west, Hill
Barn golf club to the north east, Hill Barn and Rotary recreation grounds to the east, and the A24/A27
Grove Lodge roundabout to the south.
The site extends to 8.7 hectares and comprises 121,500 square feet in total, including the main three
storey office complex, training centre, ‘C Block’, print/post room, and sports pavilion, which includes a
swimming pool. There are 609 car parking spaces on site.
The property is currently on the market on both a freehold and leasehold basis, as Aviva rationalise
its operations within Worthing. The extent of The Warren is set out in Figure 7.3 below.
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Figure 7.3: The Warren, Hill Barn Lane
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Planning Status
The Worthing Borough Local Plan originally allocated two sites within The Warren site for additional
B1 office development, subject to a landscape assessment, a transport assessment and other
planning requirements.
The first site allocation was adjacent to the existing southern elevation of the main office building,
and the second allocation was located at the rear of the surface car park abutting Hill Barn golf club,
which lies within the South Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Outline planning consent was formerly granted on the two sites for office development in 1997 to
increase the quantum of offices at The Warren to circa 240,000 square feet with up to 1,066 car
parking spaces. This consent was never implemented.
We understand that there is a s.106 agreement on the land that limits the use of the site for offices
only, and restricts the areas that can be developed.
The mature parkland to the south of the main building is also identified as an Environmental Area of
Special Character within the Local Plan, and this area also contains several mature trees, some of
which have Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) on them.
Physical Sites Issues
Due to the site’s sensitive location, the key physical site constraint is the high quality environmental
setting, with the protected landscaped area to the south of the site, the AONB to the north and the
two recreation grounds to the east.
In addition, the road congestion issues along the A24/A27 creates a ‘pinchpoint’ at Grove Lodge
roundabout, which makes the intensification of use on the site more difficult to justify in planning
terms today compared to when outline consent was granted in 1997. A ‘greener’ transport solution
would need to be found to maximise the potential of the site.
There may also be issues with archaeology on the site, and these would require further investigation.
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Market Attractiveness and Site Viability
The Warren has been developed over time by a well established occupier Aviva, which has been
located in Worthing for many years.
Demand from a single occupier seeking to take the office accommodation in its present condition, is
likely to be very limited, both within Worthing and beyond. Unfortunately, Worthing is not considered
a prime location for inward investment, compared to more accessible locations such as Reading,
Heathrow, Gatwick/Crawley or North Kent.
Therefore, without a single occupier, the other potential market scenario would be for an investment
company to purchase the building, and convert it for multi occupation, providing a range of suites for
the local market. This model has been successfully achieved in Worthing at Columbia House, the
former Nissan office building, which was purchased and refurbished originally by Dawnay Day,
before it was sold on recently to F&C. However, Columbia House is only 46,000 square feet, and
The Warren is nearly three times the size.
In the current weak property market, investors may be reluctant to undertake a costly conversion
programme without the realisation of significant take-up and rental growth.
Therefore, an alternative scenario may well be to demolish the existing office building and construct a
series of stand-alone smaller office buildings, which could take a similar form to the recently
developed Yeoman Gate scheme. However, the demolition costs may make redevelopment
prohibitive, and some form of enabling development may be required to deliver new office space.
There are different forms of enabling development that could help to deliver new office floorspace
including employment generating uses, such as care home facilities, hotels and education, as well as
residential. At this stage it should be noted that no development appraisals have been undertaken to
test the viability of mixed-use schemes or 100% office schemes on the site.
In terms of care homes, the site is likely to be too large for a single operator, although there may be
interest from operators for part of the site. The care home market in Worthing is strong and is
becoming a key employer within the town. However, a new care home facility on part of the site may
not fit with other potential uses, such as offices, hotel or educational uses in terms of perception,
hours of operation, noise etc.
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In terms of hotels, the Worthing market is not considered a prime tourist or business destination, and
therefore the market for additional hotels in the town is likely to be limited to budget hotel operators
seeking, say a 60-80 bedroom hotel. These types of operators would not require the whole site, and
therefore the hotel would need to be a new build as part of a mixed-use scheme.
In terms of educational uses, the site could be a suitable alternative location for Northbrook College,
or a combined facility with Worthing College, subject to funding, or the release of other sites to raise
capital. Therefore, there is the potential for educational uses to occupy all of the site or form part of a
mixed-use solution. Educational uses appear to be an appropriate alternative use for the whole site,
given the nature of the existing buildings, the landscaped grounds, sporting facilities and car parking.
The college would also be a key employer, which relates more closely with the existing office
consent.
Residential uses would be attractive in this location, especially on land at the northern end of the site
overlooking the golf course. Residential would be a high value enabling use to help deliver the new
office floorspace within the site.
In formulating suitable mixed use options for the site, the impact of development on the road system
is likely to be a major issue that will require innovative solutions, especially given the amount of car
parking current available on site.
Conclusions
Where a comprehensive refurbishment of the existing building for B1 offices is not financially viable,
a mixed-use office-led solution should be considered with, in the first instance other employment
generated uses, such as a hotel, education and care home facilities. The mix of uses will need to be
tested in planning and financial terms. Residential uses should only be considered where there is a
significant viability gap, which acts as a long term constraint to delivering office uses on the site.
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7.2.4 Decoy Farm, East Worthing Industrial Estate
Decoy Farm from Willowbrook Road
Location and Description
Decoy Farm is a former landfill site at the edge of Worthing Borough, which is owned by Worthing
Borough Council. The site currently accommodates the West Sussex County Council household
recycling centre. This facility is set to be relocated further into the site to the east, along the frontage
with Teville Stream/Willowbrook Road and expanded, with the County Council acquiring land from
the Borough Council to develop the new facility (which is circa 1.5 hectares).
The site extends to 7.7 hectares and is bounded on the western and southern sides by the East
Worthing Industrial Estate, and to the northern and eastern sides by farmland, which form the
Worthing-Lancing Strategic Gap.
The extent of Decoy Farm is set out in Figure 7.4 below.
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Figure 7.4: Decoy Farm, East Worthing Industrial Estate
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Planning Status
The site was not allocated for employment uses within the Worthing Borough Local Plan 2003,
although part of the site is identified for the alignment of the East Worthing Access Road, which
provides a more direct route between the East Worthing Industrial Estate and the A27.
Within the Revised Worthing Borough Core Strategy, June 2009 the site is proposed for employment
uses within B1, B2 and B8 uses, although the draft policy does indicate that the construction of the
East Worthing Access Road (EWAR) is uncertain. Indeed, we understand that there are no plans to
include the EWAR within either Adur or Worthing Borough’s Core Strategy.
Physical Sites Issues
The site’s previous use for domestic landfill provides a major physical constraint to site development.
The level of landfill coupled with the sensitive nature of the open land to the east, and Teville Stream
at its southern boundary, indicates that a comprehensive removal of the landfill waste may be
uneconomic and environmentally undesirable (i.e. it may be better to leave it in-situ). However, to
date, there have not been any detailed investigations of the ground conditions within the site to
comment further on this matter.
Flooding may also be an issue with the presence of Teville Stream, and this may require mitigation
measures where new development is proposed.
Without the East Worthing Access Road, it is also unclear as to whether the existing road network in
Worthing would be able to cope with a significant increase in commercial movements to and from the
site. To date, no transport assessment has been undertaken without the EWAR to assess these
issues.
Market Attractiveness and Site Viability
East Worthing Industrial Estate is the largest industrial area in the Borough with a mix of small,
medium and large units.
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Our demand analysis has revealed a general undersupply of industrial premises in Worthing to cater
for historic take-up levels, and the location of Decoy Farm would be attractive to the occupier market,
with the capability of providing a range of industrial accommodation, including large units.
However, the commercial viability of developing out Decoy Farm is questionable given the physical
constraints on the site, especially the presence of landfill. It may be uneconomic to develop an
industrial scheme on the site where the comprehensive removal of the landfill waste is required.
Alternatively, building on top of the spoil and providing a suitable venting system to channel the
release of methane and other gases from the decomposing landfill would significant increase build
costs, and again this may make development unviable.
There may be an opportunity to develop more open storage uses on the site, that do not require
significant investment in buildings and venting systems, such as additional ‘bad neighbour’ uses to
complement the new recycling centre that will be developed by the County Council.
Conclusions
Due to the issues pertaining to the site and the uncertainty over the delivery of the East Worthing
Access Road within the next 10-15 years, it is our opinion that Decoy Farm is more likely to be a
location for open storage of ‘bad neighbour’ uses that complement the new County Council waste
facility, and that require less built form on the site to help reduce the costs of development.
In order to test whether there is wider interest in the site, the Borough Council could undertake a
marketing exercise for the land to establish whether there is any developer or large occupier interest
in developing out the site for a conventional industrial scheme, given its constraints.
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7.2.5 The Former Lloyds TSB Building, The Causeway
Former Lloyds TSB Building
Location and Description
The former Lloyds TSB Registrars building is located at The Causeway at Goring-by-Sea adjacent to
Durrington train station and was built in the late 1960s. The building is split into two parts with a two
storey banking hall and nine storey administration tower block. The two parts are linked at ground
floor.
The building is currently vacant and as a whole extends to circa 63,000 square feet plus 295 car
parking space within a multi storey car park (although a number of these spaces are allocated for
other adjacent occupiers and local residents). The building is owned by Cantium Developments.
The tower block is currently being marketed on the basis of a comprehensive refurbishment,
although no works have been undertaken to date.
The building is situated adjacent to The Strand shopping parade, with several large occupiers in
close proximity including West Sussex Primary Care Trust, Inland Revenue, and Worthing College.
The extent of the building is set out in Figure 7.5.
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Figure 7.5: Former Lloyds TSB Building, The Causeway
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Planning Status
The building’s current use is B1 offices, and there was no specific allocation within the Worthing
Borough Local Plan 2003, as it was still occupied at this point.
However, due to the relocation of Equiniti (formerly Lloyds TSB) to Yeoman Way, the Revised Core
Strategy does make reference to the issue of vacant space in this locality within its section on the
‘Role of the Areas of Change’ by stating that “Regeneration of vacant office space at the Strand,
supporting and enhancing the existing mix of uses, securing high quality office space”.
The owner Cantium Developments has submitted several applications over the past two years,
including a scheme to demolish and construct 10,000 square feet of retail and 111 residential units.
This application was withdrawn, principally due to the economic and housing market downturn.
Currently, there is a planning application on the two storey banking hall for change of use of the
ground floor for A1, A2 and A3 uses. We understand the developer is seeking a retail consent in
order to help fund the refurbishment of the tower block and create an active frontage to increase the
marketability of the tower block.
Market Attractiveness and Site Viability
In its current state the building, with its dated exterior and likely sub-standard interior is unlikely to be
attractive to office occupiers.
The building is likely to require comprehensive refurbishment to create a building capable of letting to
multitude of occupiers. The process is similar to what happened at Columbia House, Faraday Close,
where Nissan sold the office building to Dawnay Day, who in turn refurbished the property and let it
out for multi occupation.
The refurbishment of Columbia House indicates that, in a stable market, there is potentially market
demand for good quality refurbished, second hand stock in Worthing with dedicated car parking. The
former Lloyds TSB building has the potential to play a similar role as Columbia House.
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In this scenario, we would expect demand for space at the former Lloyds TSB building to be
generated from Worthing town centre, as well as from businesses seeking a permanent base from
trading at home, and possibly some demand from the Brighton area.
In terms of viability, the example of Columbia House demonstrates that in a stable market a
comprehensive refurbishment of the Lloyds TSB Building is potentially achievable, where the owner
of the building considers it to be a long term investment opportunity, and has the necessary financial
resources to implement the refurbishment works.
Conclusions
If the former Lloyds TSB building is to become an attractive proposition for office occupiers again, it
is likely to require major refurbishment works that are likely to be costly. In a stable market this may
be more achievable.
7.3 Issues and Implications
• The land at Martlets Way has some significant deliverability issues, particularly in relation to
the costs of accessibility and off-site highways works. Due to the separate ownership within
the site, and the nature demarcations, it will be difficult to bring forward the entire site for
employment uses, especially given the development issues. However, there may be an
opportunity to enable the development of new employment uses through residential
development that helps to fund the necessary highways improvements. A masterplan for the
whole site is recommended.
• The plans for upgrading Northbrook College are still in a state of flux, with both the
Durrington and Broadwater Road campuses being assessed in terms of capacity and value
terms. Both sites would be attractive for employment development, especially the Durrington
site, which could deliver both industrial and office floorspace, as an extension to Yeoman
Gate. In addition, the concept of a business incubator should be explored with Northbrook
College as this would provide an important base for innovation and business generation in
the Borough.
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• The Warren, Hill Barn Lane is a large office complex, set within a mature campus, and the
impending vacancy by Aviva will release a significant amount of office stock onto the market.
The site should provide an opportunity to ‘break up’ the building to provide smaller office
units for the market, although the amount of space available on site is unlikely to make it an
attractive proposition for an investor in the current economic climate. As an alternative, a
mixed-use solution for the site should be tested with, in the first instance, other employment-
generating uses, such as hotel, educational and where appropriate care home facilities.
• Decoy Farm, East Worthing Industrial Estate has significant deliverability issues, given the
site’s previous use as a landfill site. West Sussex County Council are set to expand its
household recycling facilities on the site, and without the prospect of the East Worthing
Access Road being constructed in the foreseeable future, the site is more suited to additional
‘bad neighbour’ and open storage uses that avoids costly building works.
• The former Lloyds Building at The Causeway is a late 1960s building with dedicated car
parking spaces. The building has the potential to cater for future office requirements, where
the building is refurbished to a good specification.
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8.0 Conclusions and Policy Recommendations
In this final section of the report, a series of conclusions and policy recommendations are presented,
which are the opinion of Knight Frank based on a comprehensive review of the economic position
and property market in Worthing at this time. Given the timing of the report, during one of the worst
global economic downturns, it will be important for the Borough Council to undertake regular updates
of the economic/employment land position over the lifetime of the development plan up to 2026.
Despite structural weaknesses, concerns about the road infrastructure and the quality of available
stock, the local economy is holding up reasonably well to the current recession. Indeed, forecasts
indicate that total employment growth in Worthing will outperform the SE region. Clearly, the future
provision of employment land will need to reflect this growth projection.
8.1 Policy Approach to Industrial and Warehousing Uses (B1b, B1c, B2, B8
uses)
The conclusions from the analysis of the industrial and warehousing market, clearly show that
Worthing is an important manufacturing base with a cluster of ‘added value’ sectors, including
pharmaceuticals, electronics, instruments, and aerospace. These clusters with supply chain linkages
are a key driver of space within the Worthing industrial market fuelling demand for a range of units,
sometimes large (e.g. Saywell International – 143,000 sq.ft.) but predominantly up to 5,000 square
feet.
The Borough is not a key location for inward investment, nor is it a key distribution location, given its
lack of accessibility to major ports and airports and 180 degree position on the coast. Therefore, in
the future, the market is likely to remain focused on the key manufacturing clusters and local services
(car repairs) and trade counter (building materials) operations.
The balance of supply and demand indicates that there is a general low amount of available stock
within the Borough, and an undersupply of new ‘Grade A’ space to cater for historic take-up rates,
which suggests that when the market returns there is likely to be ‘pent up’ demand for new units.
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Our analysis of historic completions has identified a need to deliver up to 780,000 square feet of
industrial and warehousing floorspace up to 2026. Due to the scarcity of available sites for
development within the Borough, we recognise that a significant proportion of this potential
floorspace (circa 600,000 sq.ft.) is likely to be met through the renewal of poorer quality ‘Grade C’
and derelict premises/sites on the existing industrial estates.
Several under-utilised or vacant premises/sites have been identified within the report for renewal,
either through refurbishment or redevelopment including:
- The large unit fronting Southdownview Road at Broadwater Business Park;
- The cluster of vacant units at Dominion Way West within East Worthing Industrial Estate;
- Former Whiteheads Fabric Building within East Worthing Industrial Estate; and
- The large derelict building at Woods Way, Goring Business Park.
It is recommended that the Borough Council identifies these renewal opportunities and others, and
promotes these either through the Core Strategy or through the new Economic Development
Strategy.
We also do not believe that there is justification for the release of any industrial estate at this time,
with the exception of parts of Station Road, which due to its constrained setting (along a narrow
residential street) is not considered to be a prime industrial area.
In addition to regenerating existing industrial estates, there also appears to be a need to allocate
vacant land to meet the anticipated shortfall (circa 180,000 sq.ft.) in the demand for new space up to
2026.
The current sites identified within the Revised Core Strategy should help to deliver this shortfall,
although there are deliverability issues with each site, in terms of landowner aspirations, accessibility
and ground conditions.
We feel that it is realistic to promote the following sites within the Core Strategy:
- Former sewage treatment works, Martlets Way, Goring Business Park – more suitable for a
small unit scheme given the access issues, and forming part of a wider mixed-use scheme;
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- Land at Northbrook College, Durrington Campus – has the potential to provide a range of
different unit sizes given the size of the site; and
- Decoy Farm, East Worthing Industrial Estate – which is likely to be appropriate for additional
‘bad neighbour’ uses rather than high quality industrial uses, given the constraints of the
landfill on the site.
It may be that over the lifetime of the development plan these deliverability issues can be resolved,
and a greater quantum of industrial space can be developed on these sites.
It will be important for the Borough Council to continue to monitor the industrial completions on an
annual basis, including the renewal of stock within existing estates to assess whether the shortfall of
180,000 square feet changes over time.
8.2 Policy Approach to Offices (B1 uses)
The conclusions from the analysis of the office market clearly shows that the Worthing market is
becoming more reliant on smaller occupiers, as some of its more established businesses down-size
or leave the town. New companies in creative industries, together with the existing supply of
professional and business services are the key drivers of the Worthing office market. The projected
growth of professional and business services, together with new companies in creative industries,
are likely to be important drivers of the Worthing office market.
There may be some demand from occupiers in Brighton seeking cheaper premises, but in the main
Worthing is not considered a prime office location for inward investors within the South East or M25
market.
In recent years, there has been some shift from occupiers westwards, with the refurbished Columbia
House and the new Yeoman Gate scheme providing a good quality specification of office, the
availability of free car parking, and better accessibility to the A27. Also, in the case of Yeoman Gate
the option of freehold purchase was attractive to certain businesses at this time, when finance was
easier to obtain.
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The town centre continues to be a popular location for businesses in Worthing, although there are
particular issues with the cost of car parking, general congestion, and the lack of ‘Grade A’ stock that
act to ‘push’ occupiers to out-of-town locations.
The balance of supply and demand indicates that the amount of available stock is not particularly
large, and is skewed to some degree with the availability of The Warren at Hill Barn Lane. There is
generally a lack of ‘Grade A’ stock within the town centre and a cluster of poorer quality ‘Grade C’
stock in certain parts of the town centre, most notably at Chapel Road which is increasingly
becoming ‘unlettable’.
There is a dearth of available units of 5,000-10,000 square feet, although there are some large office
buildings currently vacant, such as the former Lloyds Building at The Causeway, and The Warren at
Hill Barn Lane, which could be ‘broken up’ to provide floorplates to match this demand.
Our analysis of future office floorspace requirements also indicates economic demand for circa
240,000 square feet of office space up to 2026.
In strict policy terms, the focus for this additional floorspace should be the town centre first, using the
‘sequential approach’ to site selection. However, this is going to be difficult to enforce, as new office
development in the town centre is often unviable, due to the costs of site acquisition/assembly.
A more pragmatic approach is therefore required, with the Borough Council recognising that there is
a need for renewed investment, and that this may be best delivered through major mixed-use
schemes, where there is scope to enable new office stock through the development of higher values
retail and residential uses. The potential redevelopment of key town centre sites, such as the
Guildbourne Centre, may in the future offer opportunities to deliver new office space within the town
centre. The Core Strategy should ensure that B1 uses are included within policies for major town
centre redevelopment schemes.
There should be scope for some of the 240,000 square feet to come forward through mixed-use town
centre schemes, although it is likely that the bulk of this floorspace will be delivered through
refurbishment or potentially the redevelopment of existing vacant buildings, especially key buildings
with significant levels of car parking, such as the former Lloyds TSB Building and The Warren, both
of which are located out-of-town. The two buildings combined have the potential to deliver circa
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190,000 square feet (or 80%) of this total economic demand, which demonstrates the importance of
maximising the use of these two sites for offices where possible.
In promoting other sites for B1 office development, Northbrook College’s Durrington Campus
provides a medium-long term opportunity to deliver an extension to the recently developed Yeoman
Gate scheme. This should help to cater for predominantly future freehold requirements, and could
be of a similar scale to the existing 32,000 square feet scheme. Although, in strict planning policy
terms, this site is not in accordance with the ‘sequential approach’ to site selection, an allocation at
this site should help to guarantee a quantum of future office supply, which otherwise is not
guaranteed within the town centre.
This policy strategy should help to allow some new development in out-of-town locations, without
undermining the future role of the town centre as an office location.
Indeed, there are clusters of stand alone office buildings in the town centre and the wider edge-of-
centre area that warrant a more protective planning policy against change of use. The areas that are
considered important to be retained for office use include:
- Liverpool Terrace/Liverpool Gardens (and parts of Grafton Road, Portland Road and Shelley
Road);
- Chatsworth Road;
- North Street/High Street (including Little High Street and High Street north);
- Railway Approach;
- Crescent Road (northern end); and
- Farncombe Road.
Appendix Four sets out a series of indicative maps showing the geographical extent of these
potential protected office areas.
Outside of these areas, the presumption should be against the loss of office space, although for
areas that contain poor quality ‘Grade C’ office space, such as parts of Chapel Road and Warwick
Street with little prospect of being let, especially where it is uneconomical to refurbish for office use, a
criteria-based policy should be adopted to enable the ‘worst cases’ to be brought back into beneficial
use for alternative uses.
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In formulating a criteria-based policy, the Council should have regard to:
• The quality of the existing office stock, in terms of sizes of suites, floorplates, entrance points
(i.e. whether it is a stand alone building or above shop units), specification in terms of
heating, lighting, ICT, reception area, lifts etc.;
• The length of time the property has remained vacant, and details of the marketing of the unit
in terms of level of interest, how long it has been marketed and what media has been used to
market the property;
• The rental value and terms offered on the office unit, and whether this is realistic for the
quality and size of the unit being marketed;
• A financial appraisal showing the costs of refurbishment and rental values that are likely to
be achieved for the refurbished space, to show that it is clearly unviable;
• Whether alternative employment-generating uses have been explored in detail, including
retail, commercial leisure uses, and the justification for or against these uses.
The policy should help to not only retain the ‘best’ quality stock in these secondary office areas, but
also bring forward other uses that can help support the economy of the town centre.
From an economic development perspective, it will also be important to consider whether there are
any potential solutions to tackle the issue of the cost of car parking within the town centre. Whilst, we
understand the importance of car parking income to help fund Council resources, there may be an
opportunity to review the town centre’s provision for long term parking for business use, or whether
permits/exemptions can be applied to car parks or on-street parking areas.
8.3 The Provision of Start-up/Serviced Units
As the Worthing economy is becoming increasingly reliant on small businesses, the provision of
start-up and serviced office suites becomes more important in developing the local economy.
Currently, the provision of workspace to nurture the development of local businesses is limited to two
or three serviced/managed schemes, with no provision within the Borough for incubation space.
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A business incubator is viewed as a potential beneficial piece of property infrastructure that could be
developed in association with an educational institution such as Northbrook College or R&D facility,
such as GSK, and designed to develop certain sectors of the economy important to Worthing, such
as pharmaceuticals, advanced engineering and creative industries.
This type of facility can be delivered by the private sector, with companies such as Basepoint and
Oxford Innovation, which have 23 and 14 business centre operations respectively.
The Core Strategy and Economic Development Strategy should promote the concept of a business
incubator.
In addition, the town centre would benefit from a greater choice of serviced offices, especially within
modern buildings with the latest ICT connectivity to encourage ‘smart growth’ and flexible lease
arrangements.
8.4 Economic Development Agency Working Practices and Monitoring
It will be important that the new Economic Development Strategy has broad ‘buy-in’ from all key
regional, sub-regional and local partners. An important policy objective will be to provide a
supportive environment for business.
The LDF will be a key policy vehicle to ensure a timely and adequate supply of employment space is
provided. In addition, the Council will need to provide an appropriate monitoring and ‘aftercare’
relationship with indigenous and investing organisations to help secure their long-term future in the
Borough.
The Economic Development Strategy will need to set out a proactive and co-ordinated approach to
business retention and inward investment, including targeting of sectors, firms and promoting
appropriate employment sites and properties. We would recommend that the Council focuses on:
• Working effectively with regional (SEEDA) and sub regional (WSCC / WSEP) organisations
to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the promotion of Worthing to prospective inward
investors (specifically with regards to major strategic opportunities such as the Warren);
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• Investigating the opportunity of a business incubator with both public sector partners, Sussex
Enterprise, SEEDA, and local partners, such as Northbrook College and GSK to help
stimulate the development of more local businesses;
• Setting up appropriate mechanisms and systems to effectively engage with local landowners,
agents and developers;
• Improving monitoring of the local economy and demand for business premises, e.g.
enquiries, success/failure rates and perception of Worthing as an investment location; and
• Putting in place systems to update the Industrial Estate Survey, probably every 24 months as
this provides invaluable data on the nature of both occupiers and the employment stock
within the Borough.
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Appendix I Stakeholder Questionnaire
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Stakeholder Consultation:
Worthing and Adur Chamber of Commerce
Federation of Small Businesses
Worthing First
Town Centre Initiative
Community Voluntary Services
Learning and Skills Council
Business Link Sussex
Sussex Enterprise
Coastal West Sussex
South East England Development Agency
West Sussex Economic Partnership
West Sussex Sustainable Business Partnership
West Sussex County Council
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Name: Organisation: Address: Tel.: Email address Q1. Please tick and/or describe what you consider to be the key business growth opportunities happening in the local economy?
Public administration Utilities
Tourism / leisure Transport / distribution
Community services HQ office
Manufacturing R&D technology
Hotels / restaurants Health & social work
Finance & business services Construction
Education Retail
Other comments: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………
Q2. What do you consider attracts or deters businesses setting up or growing in Worthing?
Attract Detract
Quality of land and premises
Quality of the environment
Relative cost of land and premises
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Type of tenure
Proximity of clients
Access to ICT
Access to a key R&D hub
Quality of public transport
Access to main road network
Availability of housing for labour
Quantity of car parking
Cost of car parking
Access to skilled labour force
Relative cost of labour
Other comments: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Q3. Over the last 5 years, which property products have been in most demand in Worthing? (Please rank, with 1 being the greatest demand).
Rank
Period Town Centre Offices
Good Quality B1 Business Park Space
Distribution / Warehouse
General Industrial
Serviced Business Units
Bespoke Premises (i.e. design and build pre lets)
Other (please describe):
Q4. What has driven this demand in Worthing? (Please tick the 2 most significant).
Expansion of established local firms
Locally ‘grown’ firms (start ups)
Firms moving in from south east region
Firms moving in from the rest of the UK
Firms moving in from outside the UK
Q5. In terms of tenure, is the principal driver of demand for leasehold or freehold property, or both? (Please tick)
Leasehold
Freehold
Both
Q6. In which markets do you consider that demand is not being met in Worthing?
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………
Q7. Do you think the current stock of offices is the town centre is of sufficient quality and size to cater for business needs?
Yes
No
If you answered No, please identify the issues with the current stock ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………
Q8. How do you think market demand for employment uses will change in the next 5 to 10 years? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………
Q9. In you opinion, will the current supply and location of employment land and property in the area meet changes in demand (as identified in Q6)?
Yes
No
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Q10. What changes to the current supply and location of employment land and property would be required to meet future demand? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Other comments:
Thank you for completing this questionnaire.
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Appendix II Map of Town Centre and Edge-of-Centre Offices
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Appendix III Forecasting Methodology
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Forecasting Methodology With regard to our forecasting of future employment floorspace requirements in Worthing outlined in
Chapter Six, below shows how each of the standard industrial classifications have been assigned to
employment related land use classes. Our approach has been guided by the ODPM’s 2004 guidance
note on employment land reviews.
With regard to industrial related employment floorspace, manufacturing is relatively simple to assign
a land use class. Our analysis assigned all the manufacturing related employment sectors, shown in
orange, to the B2 use class in their entirety. It is less straight forward to assign employment sectors
to distribution (B8) land uses. Following the ODPM’s guidance, our approach was to employ the
entirety of the wholesaling sector plus 10% of employment in the construction sector, in recognition
that this sector does typically entail a small degree of distribution and storage activity.
In our assessment of office (B1) floorspace requirements, Banking & Insurance, Business Services
and Property Related Activities (collectively known as Financial & Business Services) were used in
their entirety. However, a limited degree of office related employment is generated across a host of
other employment sectors, most notably in public sector and Other Services. In recognition of this,
10% of total public sector employment and 10% of Other Services was added to the FBS
employment to create a proxy for office-based employment.
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Employment sector breakdown and assigned employment use classes
ALL DETAILED SIC CODES Use
Class
% of employment
assigned Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing - - Mining (excluding Oil & Gas) - - Food, Drink & Tobacco B2 Textiles, Footwear & Clothing B2 Wood and Wood Products B2 Paper, Printing & Publishing B2 Fuel Processing B2 Chemicals & Manmade Fibres B2 Rubber & Plastics B2 Mineral Products B2 Metals B2 Mechanical Engineering B2 Electrical Engineering B2 Motor vehicles & other transport equipment B2 Other Manufacturing B2
100%
Utilities - - Construction B8 10% Wholesaling B8 100% Retailing - - Hotels & Catering - - Transport - - Communications - - Banking & Insurance B1 Business Services B1 Property Related Activities B1
100%
Education B1 Health B1 Public Administration & Defence B1
10%
Other services B1 10%
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Appendix IV Potential Protected Office Areas
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Liverpool Terrace/Liverpool Gardens Office Area
L[#’l[
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Chatsworth Road Office Area
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
North Street/High Street Office Area
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Railway Approach Office Area
Final Report Economic Research - Employment Land Prepared on behalf of Worthing Borough Council October 2009
Crescent Road (northern end) Office Area