Littlehampton town centre: 'More events can take place' thanks to new installation ten years after 'catastrophic' incident
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On August 23, 2013, Littlehampton Town Centre faced a ‘catastrophic power failure’ that lasted more than four hours. It resulted in an estimated loss of £45,000 to trade to all businesses within the town – ‘blowing up’ tills, lighting and many other items, whilst ‘hundreds of pounds’ worth of food went to waste.
All the distraught businesses affected by the disaster called for a meeting in East Street. Celia Thomson-Hitchcock – the former chairman of the dissolved Littlehampton Traders Partnership – then negotiated the installation of a power point to be placed in the town centre for all events, free of charge.
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Hide AdNow, ten years on, the power point has been placed in Duke Street, following the completion of the Public Realm Improvement Regeneration project – ‘ready for any events and future generations to benefit from the town centre’s facilities’.
A plaque on the power point reads: “Dedicated to the pioneering work of Mrs Celia Thomson-Hitchcock in helping to secure this power unit, that will benefit generations to come.”
Celia said: “We hope to raise the profile of Littlehampton and start a plaque trail of all the famous faces linked inspiring future generations.
"I knew that the high street was important for events ten years ago but now more so than ever.
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Hide Ad“I am over the moon that it has finally been done. It’s been a bit of a journey and it nearly got lost with all the redevelopments and changes at the council. It’s there and doing its job.
"It will be extremely important for the town, especially for events as people won’t have to bring their own generators. It means a lot more events can be held and you don’t have to wonder around, looking for a power supply – because it’s right there.
“There’s three different sections you can access it from. I think it’s going to be brilliant.”