Harbour Development
The Eleven Sites
The Eleven Sites are the remaining undeveloped parcels of land at
Sovereign Harbour.
The Eleven Sites
Site 1 - Land at Langney Point (2.1 hectares owned by Carillion).
Dominated by Martello Tower 66 and a natural gateway to the South Harbour. (A peek inside Tower 66 - Keep out! The inside structure of all the Towers is extremely hazardous).
In the original concept, this land was seen as a tourist destination with a ‘boutique’ hotel and a park with sea views. Carillion has since made every effort to develop this land for residential purposes but their plans have been resisted and, so far, thwarted. The most recent application was for a ten story block of 140 flats that would have dominated the harbour entrance and destroyed the outlook of dozens of surrounding properties.
Little effort has been made to market the land for the intended purpose. Not surprisingly, Carillion say they have been unable to identify a possible developer.
Site 2 - Berth holder car park at end of Atlantic Drive (0.2 hectares owned by Carillion with Premier Marinas interest).
Opposite Daytona Quay, containing a fifty-five bay car park. Despite being rarely used, Carillion insist that provision of this parking is a contractual obligation and change of use for this site is impossible. However, this did not prevent it from trying to get consent for residential development on the site.
Occasionally in the evenings, this site becomes a magnet for young people, and their vehicles, and local residents have complained of anti-social behaviour.
Site 3 - Fishing fleet area behind the 'Harvester' (0.3 hectares Carillion).
Currently used by the local fishing fleet to store equipment and land their catch. A planning application for residential development was refused, but Carillion has made no secret that refusal has not dented its ambitions.
SHRA believes that this site should be developed as part of an extended Waterfront tourist attraction and has brought forward proposals that are outlined on this page
Site 4- Boat sales display area (0.4 hectares Carillion).
The curved section of land opposite The Waterfront by the North Harbour Bridge. Currently used for the display of boats for sale. It offers open views of the North Harbour.
This site too was the subject of a planning application for high-rise residential development that would have closed off pedestrian access to the waterside and destroyed the public views of the North Harbour. Although the application was refused, as with Site Three, Carillion still has ambitions for further residential development.
SHRA believes that this site too should be developed as part of an extended Waterfront tourist attraction.
Site 5 - Old Carillion Offices (0.1 hectares Carillion).
This small parcel of land is currently occupied by the disused Carillion portacabin offices on Harbour Quay. This site is adjacent to the Waterfront car park and shares a boundary with Site Six. The land contains re-buried domestic refuse and, anecdotally, other refuse of unknown origin. It is actively venting methane gas.
This site was identified as the preferred site for the Sovereign Harbour Health Centre. However, following an unwelcome intervention by one of the Sovereign Ward councillors, Carillion subsequently withdrew the land from sale and offered in its place a piece of land on Site Seven (See below).
Because of the nature of the buried waste, construction of any structure above a single story would be difficult as it would require the sinking of piles that would breach the membrane containing the waste with possibly disastrous consequences for the water table.
It is interesting to note that the planning consent for re-burying the waste contained a condition that there should be no residential development within 250 metres of the site. Had this been enforced, much of the development on Harbour Quay and Pacific Drive West could not have taken place.
Site 6 - Pevensey Bay Road boat storage area (3.2 hectares Carillion)
Previously known as “Commercial Site One”, this is the large parcel of land between Pevensey Bay Road and Harbour Quay at the entrance to the North Harbour. Many will know it as the “B&Q” site following two unsuccessful planning applications to build a DIY Superstore on the land.
In the original concept for the harbour development this land was reserved for a Business Park that would bring a large number of quality jobs to the town. Despite having been given consent for the construction of the Crumbles Retail Park to raise the funding to “pump-prime” the development of the site, no meaningful effort has ever been put into marketing it for this purpose.
This site was used to re-bury landfill refuse from other areas of the development area and is actively venting methane gas. The waste is protected by membranes and covered by a “shingle mound”. The quantity and unknown quality of this refuse presents serious constrains on possible uses for the land.
Part of the site is currently being used by Premier Marinas for boat storage. The planning consent for this operation was renewed in January 2012 for two years.
Site 7 - Land alongside Pevensey Bay Road (4.2 hectares Carillion
Previously known as “Commercial Site Two”, this huge parcel of land between Pevensey Bay Road and Pacific Drive West was also originally reserved as part of the Business Park development.
As with Site Six, the land has never been seriously marketed for the purpose for which it was intended. Again, as with Site Six, funding for the development of this land should have been provided from the profits from the development of the Crumbles Retail Park, but Carillion insists that development can only be funded by further residential development.
Following the withdrawal of Site Five as the location for the
Sovereign Harbour Health Centre, the proposed site was moved to a
corner of this site and construction began in January 2011.
It is interesting to note that at the B&Q planning meeting Carillion
stated that this land had ‘negative value’, but is now charging the
PCT £250,000 for the Health Centre plot.
Site 8 - Far end of North Harbour (0.3 hectares Carillion
A narrow strip of land at the far end of the North Harbour bordering Pacific Drive. Consent was given for this land to be used as a berthholder car park, and purchasers of adjacent properties were given assurances, before entering into contracts, that there would be no residential development on this plot.
However, the car park was never constructed and Carillion has since been quite aggressive in its attempts to persuade the Borough Council that it should be used for high-density, high-rise residential development.
Site 9 - Martello Tower on North Harbour beach (Carillion)
Martello Tower
no. 64
Site 10 - Outer Harbour peninsula (1.5 hectares owned by Premier Marinas).
Previously used by the local fishing boat operators to store equipment, it was purchased from Carillion by Premier Marinas and has now been cleared. Premier has not published its plans for the site, but indications are that it will be used for boat storage. However, owners of surrounding properties have serious concerns about the logistics of moving large boats to this location through residential developments.
Site 11 - Land at the end of Key West adjacent to the locks (0.1 hectares owned by Premier Marinas).
As with Site Ten, it was sold by Carillion to Premier Marinas. It has always been the ambition of the Borough Council that this area should be developed as a visitor attraction, and this is shared by residents.
Despite receiving substantial income from residents through the “Marina Rent Charge”, Premier Marinas has indicated that it is not prepared to spend money on improving this area. Premier uses as an excuse the fact that residents successfully contested a planning application to develop the site*.
However, that application was submitted by Carillion well before the sale to Premier and Premier purchased it in the knowledge that the site was designated as a tourist destination.
* Residents opposed the Carillion application because it included a “turning circle” for the Dotto train, which would have run along the outer harbour promenade, close to the rear exits of a number of properties. Because of these exits and the number of pedestrians who use the promenade, many of them children, this would have been a safety risk.
Click here to view SHRA's outline ideas for a heart for the harbour.