Montague Street brickwork discolouring causes concern

The brickwork was laid a few weeks ago and a pathway was opened up through the building site to allow pedestrians to access shops.

But now these bricks have discoloured and a few have cracked, leading to concerns from the public that they may not be fit for purpose.

The red bricks were chosen after the Worthing Society lobbied for their use to preserve the town’s heritage.

Michael Cloake, West Sussex county councillor for the Worthing Pier division, said that while the bricks were designed to fade to a ‘heritage shade’, the reason for discolouration was largely due to the concentrated footfall in the pathway.

“The key thing was to open up a passageway so that pedestrians could walk on flat ground. There’s a massively high footfall in that area which has contributed to the discolouration, but this is a work in progress. It’s a building site.

“We’re talking about bricks. They don’t just fade after three weeks – the much more likely reason is that sand and salt from the site has been deposited by people walking in that area.”

He added that the council would ‘keep an eye’ on the discolouration, with a view to cleaning the brickwork once the project was complete in early August.

“This is a pivotal moment for Worthing. We’re investing in the town centre and residents will be getting paving that can stand the test of time.”

Town centre manager Sharon Clarke also attributed the fading to dirtiness and said she was keen to see the project completed ‘to restore the flow through the town for traders’.

The project has included laying down a new foundation below the bricks to prevent extensive cracking.

Mr Cloake said that there would be a ‘thorough job’ to make sure any broken bricks are replaced.