A COUNCIL has wielded its powers to persuade the owner of a landmark building in Worthing to give it a facelift.

The Gospel Hall has stood in Bedford Row for nearly 170 years but the privately owned building has been derelict for more than a decade.

With chipped and cracked masonry, graffiti and rubbish dumped in the forecourt, it was an eyesore in the South Street conservation area.

Its facade has been renovated by its owner after Worthing Borough Council’s planning enforcement team stepped in.

It sent the owner a series of notifications but before it could issue a Section 215 order, which asks freeholders to undertake the work or risk the council carrying it out for them then claiming back the costs, the owner began the work, painting the facade, replacing doors, and removing weeds and rubble.

“The Gospel Hall is very much at the heart of this historic street,” said Councillor Kevin Jenkins, the council’s executive member for regeneration.

“While it has been empty for many years, it remains a much-loved building.

“For that reason, I want to praise the owner of the Gospel Hall for responding to our request.

“The transformation really is remarkable.”

The renovation is part of a major scheme by the council and the Worthing Society, which works to safeguard the town’s heritage, to spruce up the South Street conservation area.

Other owners of buildings in Bedford Row, which was built in the early 19th century and is one of three significant east-facing bow fronted terraces in the town centre alongside Montague Place and Liverpool Terrace, have also agreed to carry out improvements.

Bedford Row is at the heart of a pilot regeneration scheme by the council’s planning enforcement team after the condition of the properties deteriorated, with the exteriors not of the standard expected in a conservation area.