Council Approves ‘Flagship’ Clubhouse

Adur & Worthing Councils have unanimously approved proposals for the re-development of Sussex Yacht Club, including reorganisation of the site with a new clubhouse and ancillary workshops. This scheme facilitates Council plans to build new flood defences and a riverside cycle and pedestrian route along part of the site.

James Appleton, Head of Planning, Regeneration and Wellbeing at Worthing Borough Council, commented “The new Sussex Yacht Club design is for an attractive and contemporary building… befitting the site within the conservation area of Shoreham-by-Sea.”

The building has been designed as a contemporary take on a traditional form to complement the historic vernacular of the town. The design builds upon a language of yacht architecture and subtly reflects the existing clubhouse, which is a popular local landmark. The exposed riverside location and coastal setting of the broader surroundings has provided inspiration for the scheme.

Whilst the Clubhouse has been raised on a plinth to mitigate the local flood risk, the building form has been designed to be as low as possible to minimise impact on important local views of the town centre and the historic Grade I listed church. The double pitch roof minimises the overall mass and the two extruded forms are slipped to create depth and interest. The materiality, using standing seam cladding and brick, is designed to be contemporary, robust and low maintenance, whilst the pedestrian landscape utilises flint filled gabions and shingle planting to encourage local ecology and reflect the wider local context.

The new building will be built alongside the existing clubhouse, as the whole site remains in occupation and in use throughout construction. On completion, the existing clubhouse will be demolished and allow the flood wall to be constructed and ensure continuity of flood defences along the River Adur.

Sarah Keetch, Project Architect for the Sussex Yacht Club Redevelopment at ECD, commented upon the scheme’s success: “This project has provided a fantastic opportunity to explore materiality and form, landscape and context, to create an exciting piece of contemporary architecture. The Club have embraced our ideas and provided insight into sailing and its history, to ensure we are able to draw upon this within our design at all scales. The result is a scheme which balances functionality and aesthetics, while respecting the unique local environment.” 

Daniel Jenkins, the Project Director commented “The design of the new clubhouse has been an iterative process, during which we met with many Yacht Club members, the local community and local authority to create a sympathetic design for a prominent site within the historic town centre of Shoreham-by-Sea. We feel this collaborative approach is critical to great design, allowing us to understand the full breadth of stakeholder requirements and the perspective of the wider community.”

Terry Kinch, Commodore of Sussex Yacht Club commented “Sussex Yacht Club has enjoyed an excellent collaboration with the team at ECD since their appointment as our principle architects. They have taken time to ensure they fully understand our needs as a client and have always been mindful of the fact that, as a members’ club, we have a large committee structure made up of volunteer Members and Directors with whom they have had to listen, adopt and explain the methodology and processes involved in modern architectural design at this level. ECD have taken great care to design a building suitable for our prominent site, situated at the end of an historic town centre which balances elegance with modernity and practicality.”