Littlehampton misses out on share of £1m funding

TRADERS in Littlehampton have expressed their disappointment after failing to become one of the Portas pilot High Street regeneration projects.

Bids from Littlehampton, Worthing, Bognor and Lancing missed out on the scheme that could have seen them each gain a £100,000 windfall towards improving central shopping areas.

On Saturday, the Government revealed the 12 towns selected from more than 370 which applied to be one of the pilots. They included Stockport, in Cheshire, Liskeard, in Cornwall, Margate, in Kent, and Nelson, in Lancashire.

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As well as the funding, they will have access to advice from television presenter Mary Portas, dubbed the Government’s “High Street Tsar”, and will feature in a programme fronted by her.

The initiative has gained significant national media attention this year and has highlighted the need for businesses to ensure they have a distinctive retail offering in the face of a weak economy and strong competition from the internet.

Celia Thomson, of Littlehampton Traders’ Partnership, said businesses felt dismayed not to have been selected for a scheme, yet hoped their work was not in vain.

She said: “It’s sad as so much work has gone into this from traders, who have given up their time for free to put this bid together. We had to make a video and fill out a lot of Government forms, which wasn’t easy.

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“I don’t think we could have done any more and Littlehampton is in need of it as it’s pretty deprived, with some of the worst unemployment in the area, as well as its social problems.

“However, there a lot of positives to come out of this and we would like to continue with the ideas that emerged from it.”

She added its key aims were working on filling empty shops in High Street, offering three hours’ free parking with a disc system, and gaining the assistance of the Royal British Legion in designing and enhancing shopping signage.

The Littlehampton Traders’ Partnership is due to meet later this week to discuss whether to make a further bid to become one of the next potential batch of Portas pilots, which will be announced in the autumn.