[Sussex] Worthing - officially the best British seaside town to move to in 2023

[Questions]

Double edged sword really.

Pleased the town has received this accolade, but also surprised in a way as the town has effectively been let go to ratshit by various Town Hall administrations.

The week before last I did the funeral service of the former owner of peter Pans Playground and Brooklands, as a mark of respect I took the hearse past both locations, without wishing to be flippant it was just as well the man in the back couldn't see the state of both places.

Peter Pans went by the wayside to build the carbunkle of a a swimming pool, whilst Brooklands has been turned into a 'nature park' by the previous Tory regime, for nature park read lets just not maintain the grounds and turn it into an overgrown eyesore.

Many years ago I looked after the service of a well known London based fairground operator, his son told me then, the Brooklands site was manna from heaven, they could have put something really good on there that would have attracted visitors to the town and put thousands of pounds annually into the local economy for decades.

That and the one of the biggest gaps between average wage and average first time buyer house prices in the UK, but apart from that

You need to get down Brooklands then Ian because you are talking nonsense… It’s brilliant. I saw a green woodpecker and a few people were commenting on the Reed Warblers that were around Yesterday - I was walking the mutt- of new paths, some imaginative landscaping. A few family picnic areas and a top notch looking kiddies playground…. If you go up the stream bit the carp are usually there waiting for food from the Teville stream to reach them.. The brand new cafe with outdoor eating and drinking space will open soon as well. Oh and leaving so much of the middle bit a low scrub is fantastic for all sorts. They’ve left plenty of old trees lighting about to start things going…. Get over the mini railway going mate.

 

[Weststander]

Introduce a university and l think the character of the town would would change immeasurably.

HMO's, house prices.

 

[brighton terra]

You need to get down Brooklands then Ian because you are talking nonsense… It’s brilliant. I saw a green woodpecker and a few people were commenting on the Reed Warblers that were around Yesterday - I was walking the mutt- of new paths, some imaginative landscaping. A few family picnic areas and a top notch looking kiddies playground…. If you go up the stream bit the carp are usually there waiting for food from the Teville stream to reach them.. The brand new cafe with outdoor eating and drinking space will open soon as well. Oh and leaving so much of the middle bit a low scrub is fantastic for all sorts. They’ve left plenty of old trees lighting about to start things going…. Get over the mini railway going mate.

If it isn’t already, it’s going to be a fantastic asset for the town!

 

[Whoislloydy]

My favourite part about Worthing was when I moved away. If this is the best, then god knows what the rest are like.

 

[Giraffe]

Worthing has def improved a lot since I first arrived in Sussex but it’s not a patch on living in the nice parts of Hove & Brighton. It doesn’t have the culture or cafe society to the same extent .

Perversely I’d say it’s gone backwards. Not in terms of facilities but in terms of the people. A younger chavvier population than when I was growing up there. When I occasionally venture into the town centre I’m appalled.

 

[Giraffe]

Many of those problems can be experienced all over the country, not just in West Sussex.

Not sure I agree re potholes at least. Have spent a lot time in other parts of the country in the last year and the potholes in Sussex and the worthing area are far worse than anywhere I’ve been.

 

[Oh_aye]

I love reading all these local 'my village is better than your village' type things. It's a constant topic in my family.

I was raised in Eastbourne, went to uni and lived in Brighton, moved to London, then eventually came back to Brighton. I like Brighton just because it is the way it is but it has numerous faults like a lot of places. It works for me, and as someone who travels round the country a lot its always a nice reminder of how great sussex is as a whole to return.

My sister moved to Worthing and seems (like a lot of recent converts to Worthing) to have a constant chip on her shoulder about competing with Brighton. And never stops clattering on about coffee. Like it's the barometer of a good life. Who's arsed? If you like it in a place just like it. That said I personally find Worthing a bit depressing and if I was going to stay round here I'd much prefer Eastbourne. Or even the shabby oddness of Hastings.

As for Brighton, I see and hear how much it's been ruined by students and londoners visiting and that seems to be a fixed position of anyone who's ever lived here for over 20 years.

Wasn't the modern version of Brighton effectively invented by and for London visitors which changed the population and demographic of the city completely over the last 200 years? Brighton IS London influence. Before that it was a small fishing village.

And when I moved here in the early 90s for uni - there was huge amounts of all sorts of horrendous shabbily owned and erected student accommodation then which has been substantially improved.

In the two decade prior to that Brightonians I met of that era seemed proud of the radicalising effects on the identity of the city of students and youth movements, the particularly left wing element from Sussex Uni helping to create allies for the burgeoning gay scene. I wonder when they all became persona non grata? And whether people in Leeds or Lancaster say the same thing.

And for all of those remembering the precious byegotten days of growing up on Brighton estates with families and no students. If that's true then at some point it was those very same communities your parents and neighbours, and grandparents who personally benefitted from it all and took the council freebies off Maggie before flipping those family houses later to HMO developers before buggering off to Lancing / Bexhill / The Costa del Sol with the cash in your/their pocket.

And, for a bit of ex student solidarity balance, we live next door to a house with Chinese students in and we haven't heard a peep out of them in 8 years. Unlike the pissed up lairy 'local' troglodytes who live over the road.

 

[worthingseagull123]

It ain’t that great, takes me bloody ages to negotiate from west of Worthing to get through on a matchday! So much traffic going through it.

I live just outside and think it’s still a bit of a shithole, but I don’t really mind that

I guess it depends on where you are comparing it to.

They are doing their best to drag it back down with planning applications for houses in every green space around it too

We do need and want a proper A27 bypass for Worthing.

 

[Jeremiah]

I love driving around Worthing as I know I'll be back in Hove in less than 20 minutes.

Sorry Worthing lovers - its ok

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Fair enough. It just feels like Worthing would benefit from having a younger profile. In my youth we called it "God's Waiting Room" - not that any of us knew it that well! I enjoy walking around the place but it does feel old - and I am one of them.

(and all understandable criticisms of my original post taken on board).

It's no wonder that Lenny does so well l guess!

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

We do need and want a proper A27 bypass for Worthing.

We want a proper A272 bypass for Cowfold . . . but we won't get one.

 

[BN9 BHA]

Worthing has def improved a lot since I first arrived in Sussex but it’s not a patch on living in the nice parts of Hove & Brighton. It doesn’t have the culture or cafe society to the same extent .

I only clicked on this thread to see if you had made a comment mentioning Hove
Pleased to say I’m not disappointed

 

[pure_white]

What's the smell of seaweed like these days? Prefer LA myself but Worthing was a night out in the past and I have always had an affinity for Worthing.

 

[The Clamp]

Parts of Worthing are lovely. The pier, some stretches of the seafront with the Dom cinema etc.
They have some nice facilities.
But the town centre is rather unpleasant/dated.

I considered moving there a while back but there’s something about the place that puts me off. It’s got an odd vibe.

 

[PeterT]

Which rather suggests department stores are going the way of the dodo in general. Nothing to do with Worthing.

Not saying that Worthing was the cause, more commenting on the effect

 

[Lenny Rider]

You need to get down Brooklands then Ian because you are talking nonsense… It’s brilliant. I saw a green woodpecker and a few people were commenting on the Reed Warblers that were around Yesterday - I was walking the mutt- of new paths, some imaginative landscaping. A few family picnic areas and a top notch looking kiddies playground…. If you go up the stream bit the carp are usually there waiting for food from the Teville stream to reach them.. The brand new cafe with outdoor eating and drinking space will open soon as well. Oh and leaving so much of the middle bit a low scrub is fantastic for all sorts. They’ve left plenty of old trees lighting about to start things going…. Get over the mini railway going mate.

I’m a Grandad now, so I will take the lad down there

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Trying to make me jealous are we? . . . you are succeeding!

The trouble is if we were to clear ourselves out financially and do much as you have done, i.e. find a bunglaow that is a little bit of a project for a knock down price, then Mrs. Cowfold would start eyeing up the beach huts, and that would most definately be a financial step too far

Some of the beach hut prices are ridiculous for what is a shed on the beach without any water, gas or electricity. Of course, if you but Mrs Cowfold a place close enough to the beach then you won't need to worry about a beach hut.

Fair enough. It just feels like Worthing would benefit from having a younger profile. In my youth we called it "God's Waiting Room" - not that any of us knew it that well! I enjoy walking around the place but it does feel old - and I am one of them.

That was very much the case 20-30 years ago but these days it has a much younger demographic. Must be plenty of youngsters to justify the new Nando's opening in a couple of weeks

What's the smell of seaweed like these days? Prefer LA myself but Worthing was a night out in the past and I have always had an affinity for Worthing.

Seaweed smell was long gone - much like the old Beechams stink from years gone by. However, there is a new initiative to grown the kelp beds off of Worthing so will be interesting to see if this brings back the return of the seaweed and what the Council do to manage it

 

[BrightonCottager]

To address a couple of points on this thread, there's zero chance of the University of Brighton opening a campus in Worthing as it's already (stupidly IMO) withdrawn from Hastings and Eastbourne (land it was given free).

This means that the chance of the Worthing housing market being distorted by studentification (like in Bevendean, Hanover etc) is a lot less.

Secondly, there's a lot less seaweed on the beach now because the offshore kelp forest has largely been destroyed by seabed bottom trawling. There's now a ban on this and there are a lot of people trying to regenerate the kelp beds. Search Sussex Wildlife Trust Help Our Kelp. So hopefully the stinking, fly-blown mountains of rotting kelp will be back on the beach in a few autumn's time.

I worked for many years in Worthing and it was becoming a bit more Brighton-like but I've not been tempted back for 5 years! Some Guardian journalist who writes about young families was raving about it so no wonder it's changing.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

What's the smell of seaweed like these days? Prefer LA myself but Worthing was a night out in the past and I have always had an affinity for Worthing.

I prefer Los Angeles too, but it's far bigger than Worthing.

Wink.

 

[Questions]

I’m a Grandad now, so I will take the lad down there

Oh congrats… I hadn’t heard. They’re great.