(Reposted from Adur and Worthing Council website)
Work is well underway at Worthing’s Decoy Farm as contractors prepare the ground to transform the long-hazardous site into a future hub for local jobs.
The former landfill site in Dominion Way forms part of the East Worthing Trading Estate and has lay dormant since 1979 due to contamination.
Now, as part of a wider programme to create jobs post-COVID, Worthing Borough Council has brought in specialist contractors Keltbray to decontaminate the land.
This will prepare it for commercial development, creating up to 13,500 square metres of potential floorspace for businesses.
Cllr Kevin Jenkins, Worthing Borough Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, who recently visited the site with contractors and council officers said:
“It’s wonderful to see work carried out here after the site has laid dormant for 40 years. Once decontamination is complete, this will be prime land for development.
“Unlocking Decoy Farm for commercial use will be a boost for businesses and jobs in the area, creating yet another opportunity for economic growth in Worthing.
“Projects like this are an integral part of the town’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as they show that now more than ever it is ‘Time for Worthing’.”
Adur and Worthing Councils’ Joint Strategic Committee approved decontamination works at Decoy Farm in June.
Workers are clearing the site and levelling it out before capping it with clay to make it ready for development. Keltbray will recover 20,000 cubic metres of materials from the site.
The project began in mid-November and is expected to be complete by the end of March. The Council will then consider detailed plans for the site with the creation of local jobs a key priority.
News of work at the dormant site comes as the Council pushes on with major projects across the town.
Outline plans to create homes, commercial space and an extended cinema at Union Place were approved last month while councillors have also signed off on the search for a development partner for Grafton multi-storey car park.
The Council is also set to make a £12.5 million intervention at Teville Gate, buying the land from a private owner to create hundreds of properties at the vacant brownfield site Teville Gate.
Construction is also underway at the unused Columbia House office block in Durrington, where at least 150 homes will be created while plans for nearly 150 key worker homes created by innovative international firm BoKlok in west Durrington are also progressing at pace.
The redevelopment of Decoy Farm is one part of the Councils’ ambitious direction of travel Platforms for Our Places: Going Further.
This scheme also supports the Council’s ‘And Then...’ ambitions to support the area and its economy bounce back from the COVID pandemic.
Photo: Cllr Kevin Jenkins, WBC's Executive Member for Regeneration, with Scott Reid, Site Manager at Decoy Farm
