Mayor of Bognor Regis' weekly briefing

Welcome to this week’s column. As I begin to settle into my new role, I have thoroughly enjoyed my initial events as Mayor, thank you to everyone who has made me feel so welcome. On Friday, I was invited to meet with year 9 students from The Regis School on the completion of their ‘pier to pier’ charity walk from Worthing to Bognor Regis Pier, raising money and awareness for The Sussex Snowdrop Trust.

The Sussex Snowdrop Trust supports children and their families, providing vital nursing care at home for children who have a life-threatening or terminal illness such as, cancer, brain tumours, lung and heart conditions. In preparation for the day, the students had been working on their fitness and resilience, to ensure they could successfully complete the 25km walk as a team, which I’m thrilled to say they absolutely did.

Congratulations to the teaching staff and students who did such a wonderful job in completing their walk, for which they raised a massive £3,725 for this local charity, an amazing amount, well done to all involved!

Another big congratulations to everyone who took part in Sunday’s Bognor Prom Road Race. It was fantastic to be there to witness the runners cross the finish line and in very warm conditions too, you should all feel very proud of yourselves, and I hope you are wearing your medals with pride!

Nyewood C of E School have just celebrated their 50th anniversary and I was very honoured to attend their Tea Party last week, as one of the many fun activities the school had planned, to celebrate this special birthday. Here’s to the next fifty years!

Of course, as well as these celebratory events, there are also serious occasions. I was very pleased to be invited to a meeting arranged for business owners in the Town with the Police and other authorities last week. I was reassured that the issues facing the Town, such as anti-social behaviour and retail crime that can affect footfall into the Town Centre, are being taken very seriously and that there are plans in place to ensure that the few do not spoil our wonderful Town.

Looking ahead and this Bank Holiday weekend will see Bognor Regis Carnival take over the Town for a day of fun and colour celebrating all things ‘out of this world’. I’ll be there, along with our Town Crier to kick-off proceedings, joining the parade as it travels through the Town, along the seafront and into West Park, where I’ll be officially ‘opening’ the event.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, this year promises to be better than ever, with tons of entertainment on offer in West Park following the conclusion of the Parade, including craft and charity stalls, street food, a bar, arena events, tribute band and children’s entertainment. Make sure you join us for this not to be missed event, to start the Bank Holiday weekend in style!

A date for your diaries next week, and the Town Council organised ‘Book Day’ returns to Hotham Park on Wednesday 28th May between 12pm and 4pm. This free event promises to be fun for all the family, and the perfect way to keep everyone entertained during the half term break. ‘Alice in Wonderland Day’ will feature a big screen showing the film, art workshops, a bubbleologist (which sounds amazing), a giant maze and playing cards, some of your favourite characters from ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and of course, all the ‘Book Day’ favourites such as storytelling, a book swap and the fancy dress competition, which I look forward to judging. Event season has well and truly begun!