April 2024
Final details of the non-material amendment application and also the pre-commencement conditions are being prepared for submission. These include information about the surface water drainage scheme, construction phasing and archaeological programme. The work start date is directly linked to the discharge of these conditions. The contractor is currently hoping to commence early summer 2024 and complete the project in early 2025. You may see some activity on site this month because additional survey work is being carried out. The information collected will help to finalise design details and plans for the construction work.
March 2024
The project team is finalising the design details and construction drawings in preparation for obtaining a final cost to deliver the scheme. For further information please see extract from report to Policy and Finance Committee, 7 March 2024
December 2023:
The planning application for the Levelling Up Funded improvements to the Littlehampton Seafront project was presented to our planning committee on 14 December 2023. The committee approved the application with conditions which means that the project can progress to the last phase of design and prepare for works to commence on site early next year. Further details will need to be approved by planning officers on surface water drainage, an archaeological programme and the construction management plan. The scheme will also need to commit to protecting existing trees, increasing biodiversity on the site, planting and maintaining new trees and shrubs, and providing cycle racks and electrical vehicle charging points.
October 2023:
Design and build contractor, Neilcott Construction, appointed for the design and construction phase of the Littlehampton Seafront Scheme, has been progressing the designs and selecting the best materials for the seafront.
They have also prepared and submitted a planning application, which can be viewed on under planning reference number LU/246/23/PL. Our press release has more information about the application.
July 2023:
Neilcott Construction Ltd has been appointed to support and construct the scheme on site. They have reviewed the concept design and cost plan against the public consultation results. The updated masterplan was presented at Policy and Finance committee on 11 July 2023 and endorsed by committee members.
The project team can now progress to the detailed design phase and prepare a planning application for submission in late summer. It is expected that work will commence on site in early 2024.
Please see the Littlehampton seafront design masterplan [pdf] 17MB we have included an accessible text description of the pictures in this PDF for those that are unable to view it. Please open the individual headings below to read the descriptive version.
Landscape masterplan (stage 2)
Plan of the new design for the Littlehampton seafront.
Number 1 - Banjo Road which is accessed from South terrace. The coach parking has been reconfigured to allow space to the south for tree planting and a marketplace. An outline of the Ferris wheel area is shown in the coach parking area.
Number 2- the marketplace which is a new site south of the coach parking and north of Stage by the Sea, for visiting market events with pop-up power, lighting and 4 fixed units for concessions rental.
Number 3 - activity hub which has been located west of the marketplace and Stage by the Sea. It covers a large area of the seafront green and links up with the southeast corner of the car park and the foreshore area to the west. The hub will include activities such as climbing, beach volleyball, boules and seating areas.
Number 4 - water play feature between the car park and the seafront promenade and at the west of the activity hub. The water feature will include channels, pools and a small number of jets.
Number 5 - pedestrian footpath which runs along the east side of the car park to link the town centre, car park and seafront arrival.
Number 6 - car park accessed from South terrace which is to be resurfaced and reconfigured to join up with the pedestrian entrances and new amenities.
Number 7 - location of the new toilet block between the Windmill Theatre and Harbour Park and the new foreshore building to the west of the activity hub.
Key
1 - Banjo Road: reconfigured coach parking layout for Ferris wheel and marketplace
2 - Marketplace: new site for visiting market events/ pop-up power, lighting and 4no. fixed units for concessions rental
3- Activity hub: a new area of seafront activity including climbing, beach volleyball, petanque and seating areas
4 - Water play: new interactive water feature including channels, pools and a small number of water jets
5 - Beach road arrival: enhanced pedestrian spine route linking the town centre, car park and seafront arrival
6 - South Terrace car park: resurfaced/ reconfigured car park to align with pedestrian entrance and amenities
7 - New WC and foreshore buildings: new landscape responding to new buildings
Concept masterplan – main design changes
Plan of the new design changes for the Littlehampton seafront from the image shown beforehand. The plan is numbered as follows.
Number 3 - activity hub which has been located west of the marketplace and Stage by the Sea. The hub will now include activities such as half a basketball court, a bouldering climbing wall located by the beach volleyball to help contain the sand from winds, boules, BBQs and seating areas.
Number 5 - pedestrian footpath which runs along the east side of the car park to link the town centre, car park and seafront arrival, which will now increase in width slightly.
Number 6 - overflow car park accessed from South Terrace which is to be resurfaced and reconfigured to join up with the main current car park.
Number 7 - location of the new foreshore building west of the activity hub, located behind the Windmill Theatre, which has been turned 180 degrees to allow the safety of rescue vehicle storage and access for the land train to operate.
Key
3 - Activity hub: mix and layout of activities
5 - Beach Road arrival: arrival experience and setting of South terrace
6 - South terrace car park: enhanced surfacing and setting of South terrace
7 - New WC and foreshore buildings: design and layout of foreshore building
Proposals – car park and arrival
Existing condition 482 spaces in total.
Reconfigured car park: main car park has 455 spaces and 488 parking bays in total.
Key
- orange shading for 8 electric charging spaces - (location A or B - to be confirmed with Arun District Council with supply from existing National Grid)
- blue shading for 2 trade spaces (exact location - to be confirmed)
- dark green shading for 6 private spaces (exact location - to be confirmed)
- red shading for 17 blue badge spaces
- light green shading - retain existing bin store area (re-provide as new)
- purple shading - car/taxi drop-off area
New car park layout with access from the South terrace and exit onto Windmill Road. Light green shading shows the area of the existing overflow car park, which will be surfaced with permeable grasscrete.
Orange shading of 8 proposed electric vehicle parking bays labelled (A) which is located within the car park adjacent to Windmill Road and labelled (B) located along the top of the car park adjacent to South terrace.
Red shading shows a proposal of 17 blue badge parking bays located in front of the Windmill building and located to the east of the Windmill theatre a row of car parking bays in red leading to a public footpath
Light blue shading to the east of the Harvester for 2 trade spaces and directly behind these is a dark green shading for 6 parking bays for private spaces.
Rows of parking spaces running north to south with pedestrian access routes running west to east to link up with Beach Road arrival. New trees and shrubs are to be planted in the car park.
Design inspiration photos:
- pedestrian walkway through a car park, the route has lighting bollards and trees on either side
- car park laid with permeable grasscrete
- cars parked with low, informal shrub planting along the edge
Sketch Image
Car park facing southwest from Beach Road pedestrian entrance towards the activity hub. A pedestrian route through the car park is shown linking with the north-south footpath which leads to the activity hub. There are trees planted along the footpath with public benches and shrub planting along the edge of the car park.
Proposal activity hub (west)
A new toilet block is located to the west of the Windmill Theatre and a new foreshore building is to the east of the existing shelter. New footpaths east of the foreshore building lead people through the activity hub to Banjo Road and marketplace, through new planting and picnic areas. A water feature formed of shallow rock pools and jets is the main feature.
Key features include:
- new toilet block and foreshore building with existing shelter retained
- trees and plants providing shade and structure to communal spaces and between buildings
- rock pools, waterfalls, and a small number of water jets for the water play area
- social spaces with benches, picnic tables and pergolas
- pedestrian routes in timber stamped concrete/ exposed aggregate concrete
Photo design inspirations show:
- children playing in a water feature constructed from slabs of rock, with water jets spraying in different directions
- a footpath winding through low herbaceous planting which is banked on the right-hand side. There are trees and bridge structures in the background. In the foreground, there is a post with signage
- group of people sitting at a picnic table in a parkland setting
- low planting on a shingle bed growing among rocks and weathered timber
Sketch image
The sketch looking west across the water play area (towards the Foreshore building) shows the water play feature formed from shallow rock pools and water jets. There are trees and grass areas, and the new single-storey foreshore building is in the background.
Toilet block
The image shows several different angles of the new toilet block, which is a narrow single-story building with curved ends. The end curve extends and is supported by pillars. There is a circular hole in the roof which allows a tree to grow through it. A circular bench surrounds the tree trunk allowing seating for visitors. A row of colourful toilet cubicle doors (blue, orange, pink, green and yellow) stretches along the side of the building.
There is another image giving a birds eye view of the toilet layout starting from the north end there are family cubicles, followed by single toilet cubicles on either side of the building, accessible toilets, urinals, storage access, changing places toilet, followed by outdoor showers in a circular layout allowing a walkway through the middle either side for access.
Foreshore building
The image shows the new foreshore building at different elevation angles, the east elevation shows two roller shutter doors, along with 3 standard doors and the main exterior is timber cladding all the way around. The north elevation shows the roof is at a pitched angle, there is a slightly lower storage building attached to the back with a roller shutter door, this will be the land train unit.
Proposals of activity hub (east)
The activity hub is located west of the marketplace. There are footpaths linking the activities together which include a sensory area, beach volleyball with a supporting bouldering wall to contain sand, BBQ and lawns, a basketball area and a boules area. Part of the water play also extends into this area. New planting around the edges of lawns creates places to sit.
Activities include:
- sand and water play
- quieter sensory area
- bouldering wall
- beach volleyball court
- petanque areas
- basketball area
- 5km jogging route with route markers
- seating and relaxation facilities, including barbeque areas
Photos showing design inspiration:
Children playing on rocks with shallow pools of water, people relaxing in hammocks, people playing beach volleyball and teenagers playing in a basketball court.
Sketch image
The sketch shows a path winding through a parkland setting with trees and low planting. There is a beach volleyball area to the left of the path and beyond there are water play pools and a half basketball court area. There are also seating and pergola structures.
Proposals for Banjo Road and marketplace
Banjo Road which is accessed from the South Terrace has 4 spaces for coach parking. The existing curved area to Banjo Road has been reconfigured to a square layout for coach parking and turning areas, with space for another 12 coaches. An outline of the Ferris wheel area is shown in the coach parking area. To the south of the coach parking, there is a grid of tree planting called a marketplace. To the south of the trees and north of Stage by the Sea there are 4 permanent concession stalls. There is new planting shown along the west side of Banjo Road, with routes through for pedestrians. There are footpaths leading off to the west to link with the activity hub. The Stage by the Sea is shown as being retained.
Photos showing design inspiration:
- rows of planted trees to give shade, people enjoying a picnic socialising in open space
- temporary stalls for events, along with a fixed concession unit offering refreshments
Sketch image
Grid of trees with temporary market stalls beneath and the permanent concession units to the south. There are people standing and walking among them. To the right, there are canopies from temporary market stalls.
Proposals for concessions buildings
Design plans for the concessions building showing the proposed ground floor plan, roof plan, south elevation when open, south elevation when closed, west, east and north elevations, building with open panels and building with closed panels.
The south elevation when open shows two open shutters with menus on either side and an open space in the middle where customers would get served.
