Motor scooter hire is pumping thousands into town's tills

The thousands of hirings of the mobility transport from the town's Shopmobility scheme are pumping tens of thousands of pounds in the town's tills, said chairman Barry Spalding.

One week in July had seen 21 scooters and wheelchairs hired from Bognor Shopmobility's office in the Belmont Street car park.

Each of the individuals using those would have spent at least 10 in the shops. One man was known to have done 100 worth of shopping.

"People have a cup of coffee and a sandwich, at least," Mr Spalding told the charity's annual meeting at the Regis Centre.

"My guess is that they are spending a lot more than that. If our customers are spending that sort of money, we should be getting more support.

"The more support we get, then the more customers we can have and the more money will go straight into the town's shops.

"That will help to regenerate this town a lot quicker than anything else will do.

"Our biggest problem is convincing people that we are helping, not just our members, but the town because we are letting them use the shops."

Bognor MP Nick Gibb, the charity's patron, said he believed the users of the service were putting in close to 50,000 a year into the town's economy.

"I think that's quite remarkable. The service is a lifeline to many people who would not otherwise be able to shop," he said.

Bognor Shopmobility's 18 volunteers '“ led by manager Marian Court '“ handled 4,933 hirings to 317 users from their main office in the year to the end of last March. They also made 2,162 loans to 84 users from their now-closed presence in Felpham.

The service has about 20 scooters for hire along with 20 wheelchairs and four powered chairs.

But the activity of the past year failed to hide an increasingly tough financial situation.

The charity ended the period in the red '“ by 3,500 '“ as funding became harder to come by.

Increased work was caused by taking over Worthing Shopmobility last February after the previous operator ran out of money.

Treasurer Ray Goldring said the deficit was less than he feared. A lot of hard work had been put in to install rigorous financial systems.

"I am happy Shopmobility is moving forward in the right direction financially and we have got a good management team on board.

"Certainly, getting the funding in is going to be critical, especially with this economic climate.

"You can send 20 applications out and only get one back. You might not even get any acknowledgments.

"That's why we have to put in more applications. They have to be reasonable and thought through. People will only fund a scheme if they think it is doing a worthwhile job."

One disappointment for Shopmobility in the past year was the closure of its shop in Butlins.

An attempt to make up for the lost trade with an outlet in Felpham Road failed after a few months.

Only five hirings were made in the year it was open.

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