Bayside, Worthing


Bayside is a development, currently under construction, located on the eastern approach to Worthing town centre in West Sussex, England. Designed by Allies and Morrison, it consists of two main buildings, the tallest of which, Bayside Vista, is a 15-storey tower that reaches and is the tallest building in Worthing. It replaced the Aquarena swimming pool.
The site is about to the east of Worthing Pier, on the edge of East Worthing. It is bounded by Brighton Road to the north, Splashpoint Leisure Centre to the west, Merton Road to the east and the town's seafront and beach to the south. Views extend southwards across the English Channel and the Bay of Sussex and northwards towards the South Downs.
Construction began in November 2017 and the building was topped out on 1 October 2019. It is due to open in 2020.

History

2015 original scheme

Roffey Homes originally proposed a 21-storey £40 million tower on the site. Planning permission was rejected by Worthing Borough Council in September 2015.

2017 revised scheme

Roffey appointed new architects, Allies and Morrison, in November 2015. The 141-home scheme with a new seafront square, cafe and of commercial space was approved by Worthing Borough Council in January 2017. Bayside Vista is a 15-storey tower while Bayside Horizon is much lower and fronts Brighton Road. Once approved, Peter Bottomley, MP for Worthing West called for a Government inquiry into the plans but the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid declined the request to intervene.

Architecture

Designed to act as a counterpoint to the horizontal massing of the adjacent Splashpoint Leisure Centre, Bayside acts as a marker of the start of the town centre esplanade and beach, with a lantern-like structure. According to Ben Cheal of Roffey Homes, the design from Allies and Morrison incorporates features from historic buildings in Worthing. Writing in the Architects' Journal, Ella Braidwood called the overall design of Bayside 'playful' and described the Bayside Vista tower as 'curvaceous'.

Ranking among Worthing high-rise buildings

Bayside Vista is the tallest tower in Worthing. When it was topped out on 1 October 2019 it overtook Manor Lea in West Worthing which had previously been Worthing's tallest building at tall since it was built in 1967.

Previous uses of the site