Windsor House Hotel: Appeal hearing date set amid plans to house single homeless people in Worthing

The controversial plans would see single homeless people housed at the Windsor House Hotel in Windsor Road. A hearing will now take place at Worthing Town Hall on Tuesday, March 26.

A spokesperson for Worthing Borough Council said: “A planning inspector will consider whether or not SDR Group should have planning permission to use the building in Windsor Road as shared living accommodation with 44 bedrooms divided into five self-contained annexes, each with shared kitchen, dining and living spaces.”

In January 2023, Worthing’s planning committee refused an application by the Sussex-based housing and social care provider that would have allowed the former hotel to be converted into shared living accommodation. SDR Group subsequently appealed that decision to the Planning Inspectorate.

At the appeal hearing, the inspector will ‘review all of the written evidence and statements’ that have already been submitted but ‘will also consider evidence given on the day’.

The council spokesperson added: “The planning inspector will not make their decision immediately but will instead consider all of the material that has been provided. It is likely to be several weeks after the hearing before the inspector’s decision is published.

"The council will provide updates ahead of the hearing via Facebook.”

The initial proposal was rejected after residents described Windsor House Hotel as the ‘wrong location for such a mass over-concentration’.

At a meeting in June 2023, hundreds of residents, including people with disabilities, were left queuing outside a community hall after being denied access. Click here to read more.

The plan would see a ten-year contract worth £7.8 million given to SDR for 44 temporary accommodation residences, split by need between Adur and Worthing Councils, with the deal expected to save the council £2.5 million over the ten years, no longer paying around £113 per night per person to hotels and B&Bs.

For more information about how the planning appeal hearing process works, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-appeals-dealt-with-by-a-hearing-taking-part/guide-to-taking-part-in-planning-and-listed-building-consent-appeals-proceeding-by-a-hearing.