Bognor Town Council calls on Arun to 'reconsider' plans for empty Brewers Fayre site

The former restaurant, on Bognor Regis seafront, has gone unused since April, when the lease was unexpectedly dropped by restaurant owners Whitbread PLC. Since then, the future of the site has been the topic of continual debate across both town and district councils and, in June, Arun District Council voted to investigate turning the building into a community venue.

But, at an extraordinary town council meeting on Tuesday (October 03) well attended by members of the public, the council voted to carry a motion by Independent councillor Steve Goodheart urging Arun to rethink its stance.

Cllr Goodheart argued that the feasibility study would lead to lost time, and lost money, since the venue will be empty while it takes place, and urged both councils to consider the short term use of the site.

As part of the motion, the council is also urging Arun District Council to convene an urgent meeting of the Economy Committee, and give the town council a “meaningful opportunity to review and be consulted on future plans.”

Although the motion was carried, Cllr Matt Stanley made clear it was not likely to make a difference, since the Economy Committee’s decision is protected for six months and cannot be revisited.

"Obviously there are mechanisms in place, the committee clearly can’t just revisit that decision,” he said. “My personal view is, it would be good to see the outcome of the feasibility studies, and what happens from that, before moving forward with this.”

Even so, many councillors felt this was a less than ideal outcome for the site, meaning it may go unused for some time.

"What we do not want to see is that building remaining empty for a long period of time,” said Councillor Paul Wells. “There’s an opportunity to put on some concessions and bring some life to that frontage over the next season.”

Happily, this might be possible, as Cllr Matt Stanley made clear: “I’ve already had conversations with officers about concessions on the frontage next summer,” he said.