Railway Quay, Newhaven

Delivery Body: Lewes District Council

Theme: Housing

Coast to Capital LGF Allocation: £1.5m

Match Funding Contribution: £10.66m

Project Status: Delivering

 

Summary of Project:

A Local Growth Funding award was made to Lewes District Council for the acquisition of the Railway Quay site in Newhaven which is the most prominent site within the Newhaven Enterprise Zone. Before the purchase of the site it was in private ownership for a number of decades and didn't come forward for development due to viability issues and site constraints. An opportunity arose for the site to go into public ownership which is when Lewes District Council got involved.

 

There were a number of challenges on the site that the Local Growth Funding helped to mitigate, such as; the requirement to relocate utilities cables that run across the site, as well as develop around a major cable that cannot be relocated, responsibility for ongoing maintenance of the river wall to the western edge of the site, as well as historical maintenance that has not been completed, access constraints created by the adjoining entrance to the Ferry Terminal and existing road capacities and the potential loss of developable area due to the Newhaven Flood Alleviation Scheme being implemented by the Environment Agency.

 

These challenges restricted development viability therefore the LGF investment to purchase the site was key. Given the prominence of Railway Quay, a successful commercial-led development will set a benchmark for Newhaven's fortunes over the next twenty-five years. It will also generate an uplift in the business rates from the existing baseline.

 

Key Outputs:

• 5ha of reclaimed area
• 194 jobs
• 3,345 commercial floor space constructed
• 2,624 new hotel visitor accommodation
• 16 new enterprises receiving non-financial support
• 10 additional apprentices