Cabinet picks a Clair Hall developer on 12 October and may add up to £1.5m. The plan: a four-screen cinema venue and 39 homes, with no affordable housing.
Mid Sussex District Council is set to pick a developer for the Clair Hall site in Haywards Heath next Monday. Its cabinet will also be asked to set aside up to £1.5 million of council money to get the new arts venue built.
The recommendation is in a report to the cabinet meeting on 12 October. The meeting starts at 1pm, according to the published agenda.
Clair Hall has been shut for more than six years. The building closed in spring 2020 because of the Covid pandemic and never reopened as a hall.
What is planned for the site
The report names the winning bidder only as “Bidder A”. Its identity is in a confidential part of the report that the public will not see. The scheme it proposes includes:
- a cultural venue of about 1,020 square metres, owned by the council
- one main auditorium with a screen and stage, seating 133
- three smaller auditoriums of 49 seats each
- a community and event room for up to 50 people, a green room and an all-day cafe and restaurant
- 39 homes of two, two and a half and three storeys
- 45 car parking spaces
- a green walking and cycling link from Perrymount Road to Clair Park
Digital Picture House will run the venue on a 25-year lease and pay the council rent. The council chose it as operator in February 2026. The report says it has committed to at least 150 hours of live performance a year, three times the 50-hour minimum the council asked for.
Admissions are forecast at about 115,000 in the first year, rising to about 139,000 by year three. Digital Picture House expects to create up to 60 jobs, of which five would be full time.
Why the council is being asked for £1.5m
The plan was for the 39 homes to pay for the new venue. The tender showed they cannot. Both bidders said so in their own financial appraisals, the report says.
The figures in the report:
- the cultural facility is estimated to cost about £4.9 million
- the land for the homes is valued at £3.41 million
- that leaves a gap the council would cover with up to £1.5 million from its Place Regeneration Reserve
The report blames “elevated construction costs and more cautious residential sales assumptions”.
The money would not be paid upfront. It would be released in stages during building work, and only once planning permission and other conditions are met. That is expected in late 2027.
There is also a profit-sharing clause. If the developer makes more than an agreed profit, the council and developer split the extra equally. That would not be worked out until about 2030 or 2031, and the report says it “cannot be guaranteed”.
No affordable homes
None of the 39 homes would be affordable housing. The report says the council’s contribution “is predicated on the basis that the viability of the scheme relies on not delivering any affordable housing”.
The developer’s argument is that the homes are paying for a community building instead. The report is clear that this is not settled. It will be tested by an independent viability assessment when the planning application goes in, and decided by the council as planning authority.
Objections from residents
The site includes some public open space, so the council had to advertise the sale in March and April and consider objections. It received 56. They are printed in full in the report’s appendix.
The main concerns were:
- the loss of green space next to Clair Park
- the loss of a community building
- the effect on the town centre and Market Square
- a lack of clear information about the plans
The report admits one Category A tree and some Category B trees on the Perrymount Road edge would be lost. It says trees on the park edge would be kept and more planted across the site.
The timetable
The developer’s own programme, as set out in the report:
| Stage | When |
|---|---|
| Community engagement on the design | End of 2026 to spring 2027 |
| Planning decision | Autumn 2027 |
| Early works and demolition | Early winter 2028 |
| Main construction starts | Spring 2028 |
| Venue and homes complete | Autumn 2029 |
The report warns the dates could change after consultation or if problems are found on site.
What happens if cabinet says no
Officers do not recommend that. The report says the cost of making the existing buildings fit for use was put at £2.2 million over five years, rising to £4.3 million over 20 to 30 years. Those figures are four years old and will have gone up, it says.
Without the council’s contribution, the report says, “the scheme is not financially viable, and the development will not proceed”.
What it means for you
- No building work is close. Even if cabinet agrees on Monday, a planning application still has to be made and decided. Nothing would start on site before 2028.
- You will get a say on the design. The developer plans to consult between the end of this year and spring 2027. The planning application will then have its own statutory consultation.
- The affordable housing question is not closed. It will be argued again at planning stage, where anyone can comment.
- There is a challenge window. The other bidder can challenge the award during an eight-working-day standstill period before contracts are signed.
Cabinet will also consider a confidential version of the report in private, after the press and public leave the meeting. It contains the bidder’s name, the full scoring and the rent Digital Picture House will pay.
For other development plans across the district, see our Mid Sussex planning news page.
Have your say