The TCI-backed summer planting competition attracted teams of volunteers to populate the planters adding splashes of colour to the seafront after the Council stepped aside in 2014.

Now the Council will take back the planters with its own parks and coastal teams helping to cultivate and tend the displays. In addition to the Spring and Summer planting it will now provide all year round displays, funding some work from this November.

Worthing Borough Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, Cllr Kevin Jenkins, said, ‘We have been extremely grateful to the TCI and the marvellous volunteers who have kept up this wonderful work brightening up our seafront every spring and summer. Now we want to step it up and ensure we have all year blooms and colour there.

‘When we heard from the TCI that they were unable to provide a winter display we were keen to step back in. However I want to be clear that we want to work with any existing volunteers who want to continue and indeed any other members of the community who are keen to get involved in a little horticultural work to make the seafront sparkle. Our teams will be reaching out to them soon.’’ 

The Chair of the TCI, Sam Whittington, who owns town centre jewellers and gift store Sewsilver, said, ‘The Worthing Town Centre Initiative would like to thank the Council for offering to take back the seafront flowerbeds to ensure the Town’s greatest asset has a year round floral display. 

‘We have really enjoyed working with the community to ensure the promenade has a burst of colour through the spring and summer, but we would have struggled to turn this into a year round display. 

‘We are delighted the community will still be involved as the success of the seafront planting since 2013 has been down to them. The Council offer will ensure the town has a colourful welcome all year round and we know their dedicated team will do a great job;  we can’t wait to see the winter planting.’

Meanwhile the Council’s parks teams are already involved in bringing winter blooms and colourful floral displays to transform the town centre elsewhere.

One of the team’s first tasks was to create a flower-based poppy in Beach House Park with the planting of Ophiopogon Planiscapus Nigrescens, Ajuga Reptans 'Chocolate Chip', Sempervivum 'Standard Green' and Sempervivum Tectorum 'Rubin'.

The decorative winter planting is also set to consist of more than 5,500 mixed Pansies and Wallflower Citrona, as well as 51 planters attached to the pedestrian barriers at the entrance to the town centre and Chapel Road area. Additionally, 37 floor planters are to be installed outside the Town Hall, Museum, Field Place, Crematorium and Railway Station, not to mention six precinct planter bases positioned at Warwick Street and Montague Street.