Major post-COVID investment for Worthing’s leisure facilities

Major investment in leisure facilities is set to be agreed by Worthing Borough Council as it looks to help communities continue to bounce back from COVID.

With lockdown restrictions lifted, South Downs Leisure - which operates facilities in the town on behalf of the Council - has now resumed the majority of activities across its four sites.

Thousands of people a week are using Worthing Leisure Centre, Davison Leisure Centre and Field Place while a newly-created app allows more than 12,000 subscribers to take part in fitness classes at home.

To help South Downs Leisure continue to thrive and support the reopening of the swimming pool at Splashpoint, councillors will be asked to release a six-figure sum of emergency COVID funding to the trust.

A separate report to the Joint Strategic Committee (JSC) also requests the Council to release £340,000 of Section 106 cash towards creating a new 3G football pitch at Palatine Park.

The intention is to ensure residents have as much access as possible to regular exercise opportunities, which supports wellbeing while reducing the risks of COVID and other conditions.

Councillor Edward Crouch, Worthing Borough Council’s Executive Member for Digital & Environmental Services, said: “Providing good-quality places for people to exercise and take part in activities which support wellbeing has never been more important. That’s why we are determined to use the resources we have to support, enhance and create a range of facilities for our residents.

“In extremely difficult times, South Downs Leisure have done sterling work to ensure that our leisure centres were ready for action the moment COVID restrictions were lifted. This extra funding will allow them to build on that and ensure the high-level of demand for activities is met moving forward.

“The investment in a new 3G football pitch at Palatine Park also underlines our commitment to working with the community and wider partners to create new spaces, where we can.”

Reports to be discussed by JSC tomorrow (Tuesday September 8, 2020) outline the difficulties leisure providers across the UK have had due to the pandemic, with many needing financial assistance to stay viable.

The Council will note that during lockdown South Downs Leisure took a proactive approach to ensure it could reopen safely while ensuring it would remain operating on a sustainable footing moving forward.

This included investing in new screens to establish more than 200 virtual classes each week, turning the main hall at Worthing Leisure Centre into one of the south coast’s largest gyms and relocating racquet sports to the Davison site.

To support the trust moving forward and cover COVID associated costs, councillors will be asked to agree to release significant funding.

The total amount of investment, which cannot be released publicly for commercial reasons, will come from the Government’s COVID-19 Emergency Funding.

The same meeting will also see executive councillors discuss releasing a contribution towards a new £915,000 3G facility at Palatine Park. Two-thirds of the funding is coming from a Football Foundation grant.

When complete, the new pitch will be managed by South Downs Leisure with use shared between pre-arranged community hire and Worthing Town FC, which has more than 500 players in mens, womens and youth teams.

Investment in leisure provision is a key part of “And Then…”, the Councils’ short, sharp programme of interventions and assistance to help the communities of Adur and Worthing bounce back from the impact of lockdown.

Adur & Worthing Climate Assembly

As part of the efforts to support the Climate Emergency Adur & Worthing Councils have commissioned a Climate Assembly to address the following questions:

“How can we in Adur and Worthing collectively tackle climate change and support our places to thrive? What does this mean for the way we live and for our local environment?"

The Climate Assembly involves 45 residents of Adur and Worthing meeting online to listen to evidence, deliberate and then make recommendations in answer to the above questions that will go to Adur & Worthing Councils in Spring 2021.

These have been successfully running for a number of weeks, however the Climate Assembly team are keen to instil and inject the business voice / view into the conversation.

The Adur & Worthing Council team are really keen to hear your views through a short 10min survey which you can complete here https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/climate-assembly/#survey

Bright future for prime Worthing town centre site

Homes, flexible work space and a community department store will come together in a landmark development in the heart of Worthing.

Worthing Borough Council has given the green light for St Clair Developments to turn the former Beales department store in South Street into a vibrant multi-use building.

Central to the development is innovative community department store operator 15:17, which is set to open on the ground floor of the premises next week (October 3).

Alongside typical retail offerings, the retailer is known to include fitness classes, cafés, soft play areas and opticians in a response to the shift in focus on the high street from conventional retail to leisure experiences.

Alongside 15:17 are a series of new smaller units which have been leased to independent traders. The Council also recently approved plans for new flexible live/work units and residential apartments within a redundant storage/office building served off Bank passage  as well as 45 new apartments above the former Beales department store.

Cllr Kevin Jenkins, Worthing Borough Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, said: “Worthing’s reputation as a vibrant town where people want to invest continues to grow, as is evident from the work that St Clair are doing to transform the former Beales site.

“This development will not only support the continued regeneration of the town but also support our local economy to continue to bounce back from the COVID-19 lockdown. It will also create flexible space for local businesses, which will make our town centre more resilient to the ongoing change to high streets seen across the country.

“I look forward to working with St Clair moving forward and seeing how the new space develops over time.”

The Council’s Planning Committee approved plans to create a revamped larger department store along with smaller units on the ground floor and 45 flats above in 2018.

This was designed to support Beales staying in the town. But unfortunately the retailer went into administration in January.

Since then, St Clair has managed to lease the large unit to 15:17 Limited while a further 4,000 sq ft of retail space has been let to seven independent retailers on the ground floor.

A spokesman for St Clair Developments said: “This application represents ongoing investment in the town centre by St Clair Developments.

“It responds to the shift from traditional retail on the high street to providing alternative uses that remain appropriate to the site’s town centre location and include spaces for working, socialising, eating and leisure. 

“The flexibility which is sought between these uses will allow the applicant to respond rapidly to the changing market and aims to avoid any significant periods of vacancy in the future.”

Investment in and the revitalisation of town centres is a key part of “And Then…”, the Councils short, sharp programme of interventions and assistance to help the communities of Adur and Worthing bounce back from the impact of lockdown.

BuildingAW goes live: town centres key to COVID recovery

Town centres will be key to building a post-lockdown future - that’s according to leaders of Adur & Worthing Councils who are coordinating the recovery of our local economy.

Everything from a lick of paint on seafront benches, grants to new entrepreneurs and major intervention on prime assets is on the cards as the Councils continue helping communities bounce back from the pandemic.

But central to all of the work will be the area’s urban centres, making them look welcoming in the short term while helping reshape the nature of work, leisure and retail in the months and years to come.

Details of a raft of actions are included in the latest edition of BuildingAW magazine, which includes an interview with Andy Willems, the Councils' Head of Place & Economy, who is helping coordinate the recovery efforts.

Andy said: “There is no doubt our town centres are going through real change. This was happening prior to lockdown, and COVID has accelerated things.

“The town centre, or high street, was originally developed as a social meeting place where people exchanged ideas, met friends and shared experiences. Not dominated by retail and shopping.

“I think we will start to see a shift back to what the town centre was originally intended to be, a social and experiential hub.”

Part of the bounce back policy is encouraging the growth of cultural activities, such as cinema, theatre, exhibitions and outdoor events. 

Also key is supporting the growth of housing and office space.

The completion of the brand new HM Revenue and Customs building at Teville Gate, Worthing, is just one example with more than 800 workers due to move in shortly.

Brand new health and community hubs are planned for Pond Road in Shoreham and Worthing Town Hall car park.

At Free Wharf in Shoreham more than 500 homes are under construction and more homes are planned for the former Adur Civic Centre site which is just five minutes walk from the station. 

Andy said: “Why are we encouraging the shift? With residential units comes people, with people comes activity, with activity comes economic spend, with economic spend comes new businesses, with new businesses comes a dynamic place.

“We do need to retain ground floor ‘interest’ but we need to bring people back to our town centres to support our town centres.”

BuildingAW is a bright, informal 28-page online publication which keeps residents and businesses across both areas up-to-date with all the latest development in their communities.

Features in the September edition include the latest on plans to create hundreds of new homes on Shoreham riverfront; details on work underway at New Monks Farm in Lancing; and the latest on plans to expand Worthing’s creative hub at Colonnade House.

The online publication also includes regular updates on some of the major projects across Adur and Worthing which are moving forward at speed.

All of this is against the backdrop of the COVID pandemic and a programme called And Then...: Bouncing Back in Post-Pandemic Adur and Worthing, which looks to help the economy get back on its feet. 

Cllr Brian Boggis, Adur District Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, said: “There is light at the end of the tunnel. Business confidence is starting to slowly return and it is good to see that work has recommenced on many of the important projects in Adur, like New Monks Farm and Free Wharf. 

“It is clearly not going to be an easy task to get things back to the way they were. But you can be sure that we will be doing all we can to support residents and businesses moving forward.”

Cllr Kevin Jenkins, Worthing Borough Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, said: “Worthing is and remains a safe town to live and visit. Understandably some people are cautious. But the traders have responded with an enormous amount of responsibility with a range of safety measures in place.

“Inward investment is continuing and work on key developments is progressing. As Worthing continues to show those strong signs of adapting and stepping up to the challenges ahead, we as residents have a key part to play in that by going out and ‘shopping and eating local’. Now more than ever we must show it is Time For Worthing.”

Click here to read 

Worthing to host two fantastic photography festivals this Autumn

Two empty shop windows in the town centre, a disused seafront shelter and a brand new open air art gallery on the beach, are among several spaces that will feature in an outdoor and gallery photography trail in Worthing this Autumn.  

The exhibitions, which are being coordinated by Worthing’s creative hub, Colonnade House, are part of two photography festivals - Photoworks and Photo Fringe 2020 - which have received funding from and been provided with exhibition space by Worthing Borough Council. 

Photoworks, which will be showcasing the work of internationally renowned photographers in two empty shop fronts in Montague Street and Montague Quarter, runs for one month from Thursday 24 September. Photo Fringe 2020, which runs from 3 - 31 October, will be exhibiting the work of a range of artists in several locations across Worthing and Brighton. 

An exciting addition to Worthing’s expanding art space will be an open air art gallery which is being installed on the beach in time for Photo Fringe between the Lido and West Buildings shelter. It is being made from stone-filled gabions and will have an accessible walkway for visitors to be able to view all sides of the gallery. 

The West Buildings seafront shelter will continue to be used as creative exhibition space this Autumn and will showcase the work of local artist Barry Falk, who, through his photography, shares an insight into Worthing residents’ lives during the COVID pandemic. Falk is also a member of photography collective Map6 whose exhibition The Happiness Project will be on display at Colonnade House. 

Cllr Kevin Jenkins, Executive Member for Regeneration for Worthing Borough Council said

“It's great to see the various spaces within our town being used in this way, whether it's with a further addition to the offer on our seafront or by using empty shop fronts to help activate the street scene without our town centre. It further demonstrates our commitment to help out and enable local businesses to bounce back, whilst bringing interest and vitality to our town.”   

Other venues that form part of the Photo Fringe 2020 artists’ trail include the windows of the Pavilion Atrium on Worthing Pier, Colonnade House, and a number of independent local venues that have signed up to Photo Fringe. Find out about more about what’s on at https://colonnadehouse.co.uk/event/photo-fringe-take-make/

This work forms part of “And Then ...”, the Councils' short, sharp programme of interventions and assistance to help the communities of Adur and Worthing bounce back from the impact of lockdown.

Update from the AWBP Chair, Andrew Swayne

It’s a while since we shared one of these blogs, having taken a bit of break over the summer and looked at the style and frequency. We are now aiming for every 3-4 weeks.
 
So what we have today is a modest refresh and we will also issue new material if there is a significant policy change, new scheme or local issue that needs sharing urgently.
 
The good news is that its shorter with a focus on links to the underlying material.
 
We are very much in recovery mode with an eye on more strategic matters and preparing for a relapse if infection rates increase.
 
The economic intelligence work from Hatch, which is funded by a number of bodies including our councils is enlightening and being regularly refreshed.

As well as the links below, please subscribe to the Covid updates from BEIS.  They are helpful, as are the weekly updates from WSCC on infection rates - they go down to council area.

Some key thoughts;

• The rule of six is with us – lets support our hospitality colleagues with safety being out and about and, given what we know about the age distribution of infection rates, contribute to encouraging good behaviour for our younger employees
• Pop up cycle lines are with us – please share you views with your County Councillor.  We need the right schemes in the right places – I am lobbying to early review and better consultation
• The schools are back – as a governor of one, and with a teacher in my family, I would like to thank the staff of all our educational establishments - early years to colleges for the amount of work they have done over the summer and hope their risk assessments don’t need too much updating
• Once we know what Brexit actually will be in terms of detail, we will all need to check our contingency plans and plan for what will actually happen – the ongoing noisy public negotiation and lack of certainty does not help any business
• We need to continue to work on supporting those without jobs with retraining. The Business partnership is working out how best it can contribute to this
• There are lots of sources of help for those in businesses, particularly the new and smaller businesses - please use the sources below – also please consider if FSB or Chamber membership would be good for you
• We don’t yet have an autumn budget date – there will be a lot to absorb
• There is background work on A27 happening – more on that in the future – we will be pushing for increased business focused consultation
• Don’t forget the green recovery – how will your business maximise the opportunity?

Adur & Worthing self-isolation grants system aims to reduce spread of Covid-19

Adur & Worthing Councils are in the process of creating a new system to allow local residents in need a way to apply for financial support to help them through any self-isolation they may have to take.

Residents in Adur and Worthing, along with the rest of the country, are now required by law to self-isolate, if they test positive or are contacted by Test and Trace.

Now, a £500 lump sum payment has been made available for those people on low incomes who meet government eligibility criteria. They must have been instructed to self-isolate, be employed or self employed and unable to work from home, they would otherwise lose income as a result, and are receiving one or more benefits. This grant ensures those who are asked to self isolate themselves are financially supported to do so.

Many people are following the rules around self-isolation, but these steps will help support those who are in receipt of benefits, as well as those on lower incomes. Those needing to self-isolate from 28th September will receive backdated payments once the scheme is set up.

Adur & Worthing Councils advise those who are looking to apply, to read the government rules first, to be sure they are eligible for the grants. The councils are currently awaiting final instructions from the government before the system goes live, and begins accepting submissions on 12th October 2020. The forms will be verified by councils staff before payments are made. Contact centre staff are now available to take calls on self-isolation grants, taking residents' details to alert them once the system is live so individuals can apply. 

This government scheme and subsequent financial support comes as tougher fines are introduced for breaking the rules. Fines start at £1,000 and increase up to £10,000 for repeat offenders and the most egregious breaches. These fines include those preventing others from self-isolating, such as any business owners threatening self-isolating staff with redundancy if they do not come to work.

A section on the website (here) directs to a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page which the councils are asking everyone to check before filling in the form so time is not wasted assessing forms for those who do not qualify.

A spokesperson for Adur & Worthing Councils said:

“We all know this is an extremely challenging time for everyone in our community.”

“We're working swiftly to develop an easy-to-use, quick, online system. Once we have the details our team will begin processing the claims as speedily as possible.”

Those meeting the necessary government criteria will be sent a confirmation message with details of payments. Adur & Worthing Councils are adhering to government guidelines, and those who do not fulfil the government’s requirements will also receive an email outlining that they do not qualify.

Message from Tim Loughton MP

Welcome to my first constituency e-newsletter of the Autumn term and it has been non-stop since Parliament returned on September 1st. In fact August was the busiest I have known it and although it was more difficult to hold constituency events the amount of correspondence and calls to do with COVID more than made up for it. As a result there were no Loughton family holidays in the summer which was probably just as well as so many foreign destinations then got put into quarantine.

I have been deluged with a  lot of concerned emails about the UK Internal Market Bill, renewal of the Coronavirus emergency  Bill and other legislation and I share those concerns and have spoken out on them. I am glad to say that in most cases the Government has listened and made changes, although still not enough to please everyone. In most cases I have published blogs on my Facebook page or incorporated my views in my weekly videos.

To cap it all this week we were also hit with a rather badly misinformed piece in the Times claiming that all the bars in the House of Commons were not bound by the new regulations to close at 10pm. In fact all the bars in the House of Commons have been closed completely since March so staying open until 10pm like the rest of the country would be something of a bonus! The Speaker of the House of Commons had already announced that none of the restaurants or reopened bars would serve after 10pm anyway but that did not stop a lot of angry comments on social media about ‘one law for MPs another for the rest of us.’ Alas you can’t legislate for shoddy journalism and stories about MPs and alcohol always make good copy however inaccurate and unfair.

In the constituency I have been very busy in Southwick in particular. I am pleased to say that we got the Southwick Square post office opened again after an extended closure, although not quite full time yet. I am also working with local residents to see if we can save the Stepping Stones Nursery in Fishersgate which is threatened with closure because of dwindling numbers of children and we have a temporary reprieve. I am very pleased to say that we have persuaded St John Ambulance to reconsider its proposal to close Southwick St John Ambulance HQ which is used by many in the community. It is also one of the most active in the country. As long as we can help raise money to repair the roof it can stay open and I will be announcing details of an appeal soon. We have also had details of new proposals for improvements on the A27 which again I am keen will be published soon.

So lots going on and as long as we all remember to follow the COVID regulations and we will all get through this together, sooner rather than later.

Best wishes 

Tim Loughton MP

Coronavirus Loan Schemes and the Future Fund extended to 30th November 

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has extended the government’s three Coronavirus business interruption loan schemes - the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) - and the Future Fund. The extension aligns all the end dates of the schemes to 30 November.

More businesses will now be able to benefit from the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) and the Future Fund.

As the schemes were announced at different times, they previously had different closing dates, with each scheme originally open for applications for a period of six months – 30 September (CBILS and Future Fund), 20 October (CLBILS), and 4 November (Bounce Back Loan Scheme).

Cue for QR codes: businesses urged to support Test and Trace

Businesses and venues across Adur and Worthing are being urged to create a QR code to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

As part of the government’s new measures on suppressing the disease, a range of firms - including those in hospitality, close contact and leisure - are now required by law to keep customer details for 21 days. 

This is to support the national Test and Trace system and roll out of the NHS COVID-19 app which goes live across England and Wales on Thursday (September 24). 

As part of that it will be mandatory for hospitality, leisure and close contact businesses, as well as places of worship and public buildings, to display a unique QR Code in their premises. 

Details on generating a code are at www.gov.uk/create-coronavirus-qr-poster.

Codes will then need to be clearly displayed (either on a screen or printed off as a poster) so that visitors can use the app to scan the code when they arrive.

In addition to those required by law to display a unique QR code, other venues visited by members of the public are encouraged to follow suit.

Cllr David Simmons, Adur District Council’s Executive Member for Health & Wellbeing, said: “We would urge all businesses to ensure that they have robust mechanisms in place to support contact tracing. This data is vitally important in helping us to manage and support them in the case of any workplace outbreak, as well as the wider efforts to suppress the virus.”

Cllr Kevin Jenkins, Worthing Borough Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, said: “We have seen that businesses have continued to put a high level of measures in place and this has made a real difference in keeping people safe in Worthing.

“We would really like to thank everyone for their cooperation and support in achieving this. But as the government has made clear, now is not the time for complacency so it’s vital that we all play our part in keeping our communities safe.”

For information on the NHS COVID-19 app (including how to download it), visit: https://covid19.nhs.uk.

For further details, including links updated and simplified COVID-19 Secure guidance, visit www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/coronavirus/business-advice/.