Yes.
A crosswind join to Shoreham 20 should be flown from roughly north Worthing or, if you like, 2-3 miles north abeam Worthing Pier.
That way, one is flying a constant track of about 110, for 2-3 miles at least, ending up over the upwind numbers.
There is no good way to do that starting from the coast of Worthing. Well, it would be a severe dogleg, and you will be well over a built-up area with few engine failure options.
Whether this is what happened, I have no idea. The wreckage is a long way in from the coast.
From
here, a comment near the bottom, it sounds like the crashed plane was an RV6. The poster is however still clue-less about the role of ATC.