Cash boost on the cards for Bognor Regis

Cllr Phil Hitchins said the town was about to benefit from the massive investment to help it towards a bright future.

This was shown in the £6m announced last week to progress the Airfield Park business park on the former Lec Airfield.

“I would just urge everyone in Bognor and the councillors there not to look back at what has happened in the past but to look forward to regeneration,” the Aldwick West councillor told Arun District Council’s full meeting last Wednesday.

“Often, when I’m walking down the High Street and London Road, people say to me, ‘Why is all this money being spent on Littlehampton?’ I have to say this £6m which Cllr Dingemans has announced comes on top of a potential £50m which is being spent by St Modwen. There is also £500,000 from Sainsbury’s and the £600,000 from the county council. This is fantastic news for Bognor.”

As reported, the £6m was awarded last week by the Coast to Capital local enterprise partnership from its Growing Places investment fund as part of the wider enterprise@BognorRegis scheme.

The money will unlock large areas of employment land, build infrastructure such as roads and cycle ways and create an attractive parkland setting.

Outside the meeting, Cllr Norman Dingemans, Arun’s cabinet member for economic and cultural development, said: “We were disappointed not to have received the official enterprise zone status from government but pledged to create an unofficial one ourselves.

“We have not rested on our laurels and news of this funding boost is a great example of what can be achieved by working together and sets the scene for an exciting future as we continue to drive forward our ambitious plans.”

Arun’s leader, Cllr Gillian Brown, said: “Our ambitions for enterprise@BognorRegis will generate several thousand jobs in the long term, help and support