Brimstone Road

Image: © Simon Carey Taken: 31 Mar 2024

The road heading west from Image towards the New Monks Park Development. Phase 1 has been completed and can be seen in the distance, phase 2 is due to commence shortly. The development includes 600 new homes, a retail outlet, originally intended to be IKEA before they pulled out, a new primary school and a country park which will provide a buffer between the development and Shoreham Airport. I was hoping to walk down the road but as can be seen it is not yet open to the public. The land itself was once part of the River Adur estuary and was home to a port called Pende on the western side which operated at its peak during the 14th and 15th centuries. However, a mixture of flooding and longshore drift eventually silted up the harbour with the port itself disappearing by the 15th century. Much of the soil was alluvium and has long been left for pasture with the first development on land west of the Adur being Shoreham Airport in the early 20th century. Plans for a golf course got as far as raising the ground level but was eventually shelved. The construction of Brighton & Hove Albion's training centre in the south west corner in 2014 presaged further planning with the development of New Monks Park.

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