Eyesore for Christmas

Welcome to Bognor Regis town centre this Christmas.

Shoppers thronging the retail centre are greeted by this eyesore in the prime retail location.

The fenced-off building site was created during October. It is set to be replaced within a couple of days '“ but only by temporary paving for several months to come.

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The fencing surrounds the foundations created for a 7m high sun sculpture to be erected.

The hole '“ measuring some 7m long and 3.5m wide '“ scars what should be a prime location, where the London Road precinct and High Street meet.

Stones clothing shop owner Ian Hendry said: 'The hole is an embarrassment to the town. Obviously, if there's work to be done there, you appreciate it has to be done.

'But to leave it for this long is incompetence. The fact that it is for a sculpture makes it even more senseless. Having the hole there affects the whole atmosphere of the town centre.'

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Mr Hendry's shop at the northern entrance to The Arcade faces the security fencing around the hole.

'The fencing affects people's view of The Arcade and the shops within it,' he stated. 'The main shopping area is London Road. Anything that blocks the view of The Arcade from there is going to affect our customer flow.

'This situation is exactly what happened in the High Street about three years ago when they dug that up.

'The hole is right in the middle of the main thoroughfare of the town, which is already being compromised by the number of cars going along it.'

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Bognor Regis Chamber of Commerce chairman and president Nick Stuart-Nicolson said: 'It is unfortunate that in the run-up to Christmas we should have this large hole in the middle of our main shopping area.

'It does nothing to enhance Bognor's reputation as a shopping area at a time when the chamber is offering free parking in the Fitzleet multi-storey car park on Saturdays this month.

'The fact the hole has gone so badly wrong has to affect our confidence about how well the regeneration process will proceed.

'That may bring 100m of investment into the town but it seems the councils can't even arrange to dig a hole properly.'

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The 28,000 sculpture, a model of which is pictured here, is being created by Portsmouth-based Pete Codling. It reflects Bognor's famous sunshine record.

As a dramatic centrepiece, it will boast a 1.5m wide hemisphere on top of the stem to represent the sun's rays

Work on the sculpture began in early 2006.

It was intended to be installed last winter but delays put back the completion.

The plan was to take two days to dig the 2ft deep foundation and a further two days a fortnight later to bolt on the sculpture.

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But it is believed the discovery of unknown cables underground wrecked hopes of installing the artwork quickly.

The creation of the sculpture has been a joint project involving Arun and Bognor councils with funding from the Arts Council.

Town council projects officer Paul Beckerson said yesterday it had been decided with Mr Codling to delay the sculpture's installation until a more suitable time of year. This was likely to be late next February or early March.

The delay with the completion of the work had been caused by the unexpected discovery of service networks under the site.

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