Worthing's £3.1m Montague Gardens opened on 5 September, but the kelp play area is still closed for safety flooring and the kiosk has no operator yet.

Montague Gardens opened officially on Saturday 5 September, three years after councillors released the money and a year after the diggers arrived. The Mayor of Worthing, Cllr Lysanne Skinner, cut the ribbon. Two parts of it are not finished.

The kelp-shaped play area at the seafront end is still closed. The council says it is waiting for safety flooring to be laid and some joining work to be completed, and that the area “should be open by the end of September at the very latest”. The kiosk has not been installed, and the council has not said who will run it.

What did open is the rest: a paved and planted garden running from Montague Street down towards the sea, on the space that used to be called Montague Place.

What £3.1m bought

The finished scheme includes:

  • a performance stage at the north end, with a living green wall planted behind it
  • a Worthing place sign by the artist Molly Hawkins, designed with residents across three workshops
  • new trees, shrubs and flowers, new paving and a lawn
  • extra seating, plus dedicated outdoor areas for nearby businesses
  • additional lighting, which the council says is intended to make the space feel safer after dark
  • a bespoke terrazzo play area shaped like sea kelp, at the southern end, still to open

The green wall was planted at 1.5 metres high. The council says it will grow to cover the metal structure behind the stage over time, so the space will not look finished for a while yet.

Only emergency vehicles are allowed in. The council warns that any other vehicle will face traffic enforcement penalties.

Where the money came from, and it matched

The works cost £3.1m. The funding split was £2.7m from Worthing Borough Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy Strategic Fund, which is developer money, and £400,000 of pooled business rates agreed with West Sussex County Council.

The £2.7m figure is worth pausing on. It is exactly what councillors authorised. On 15 September 2023 the Worthing Sub-Committee of the Joint Strategic Committee approved “the release of £2.7m from the Community Infrastructure Levy strategic pot”, and created a matching £2.7m capital budget fully funded by CIL.

Three years on, the council’s own CIL contribution came in at that number. The extra £400,000 came from the county, not from Worthing’s levy pot.

The same 2023 decision made Worthing Borough Council the lead authority and delivery body for the scheme on West Sussex County Council’s behalf. Members were told at that meeting that 11 months of consultation work had already been done. A four-week public consultation on the concept design in 2023 drew 112 responses.

Timeline of the Montague Gardens scheme: September 2023 councillors release £2.7m of Community Infrastructure Levy money; summer 2025 construction begins; 5 September 2026 official opening; end of September 2026 play area due to open; kiosk operator still to be announced

The third one

Montague Gardens is the third public realm regeneration project in the current Worthing Growth Deal, the council’s partnership with West Sussex County Council. Railway Approach at the station and Portland Road are among those already delivered and now listed by the council as recent projects.

Several more are still open, including the Grafton multi-storey car park, Teville Gate, the Goring shared-use path and the Worthing Heat Network.

You can book the stage

The stage is not decorative. The council will take bookings for it, through its Events Team.

Use of the Montague Gardens stage is limited to performances and community and cultural activities unless the council approves something else, and it says all events staged there are vetted for suitability. Enquiries go through a form on the council’s events page, or to the Events Team on 01903 221207 or 01903 221070.

At the opening itself the stage carried Spring into Soul Choir, Drumheads Samba Band, AudioActive and the Davison Youth Concert Band. Children were given free ice creams and face-painting.

Cllr Caroline Baxter, the leader of Worthing Borough Council, said it was “fantastic to see Montague Gardens brought to life this weekend with lively performances by talented local musicians”, and that the space “not only provides a direct link between the town centre and the sea, but is a great space to stop and spend time”.

Cllr Yvonne Gravely, West Sussex County Council’s cabinet member for economy and skills, said the project “will help encourage more footfall, support local businesses and enhance the experience of residents and visitors alike”.

Dr Beccy Cooper, the MP for Worthing West, and Tom Rutland, the MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, both attended.

Who keeps it looking like this

The planting has a two-year maintenance contract with the landscaping company Acre. The council says there are plans to set up a Friends of Montague Gardens group as well, and that the area will be cleaned as part of the usual town centre round.

Graffiti can be reported through the council’s Report It form, and the council says it will be cleaned as soon as possible.

That matters here more than it might elsewhere. In August the council gave the owners of the neighbouring Montague Quarter shopping precinct a deadline to clean their own paved areas or be billed for contractors doing it. A new £3.1m garden sits directly alongside privately owned space the council has had to chase.

What it means for you

  • The garden is open now. The play area is not, and the council’s own commitment is “the end of September at the very latest”.
  • There is no kiosk yet and no announced operator. The council received expressions of interest over the summer and is working on the licence.
  • If you run a choir, a band, a school group or a community event, you can apply to use the stage. Contact the Events Team before you plan anything.
  • Do not drive in. Only emergency vehicles are permitted, and the council says others face enforcement penalties.
  • The nearest car parks are the High Street and Buckingham Road multi-storeys, where charges rose on 24 August.
  • The garden is a short walk from the pier and the seafront, both on our guide to things to do in Worthing.

Sources