New shop hopes to 'breathe life' into Pagham parade

Pagham Village Stores was opened by Matthew Blackstaffe in December. The owner of the village newsagents for the last six years, he said the idea came from listening to his customers talk about needing to go into the town centre to buy everyday essentials like screws, tights and cooking equipment.

“For some of my customers, if they want to buy something as simple as a tube of glue or a saucepan, they have to get the bus into Bognor, or find somewhere to park. And a lot of them have mobility problems, there’s the green issue, the cost of petrol. It can be very difficult.

“Why should they have to drive all the way over to the other side of Bognor Regis to buy a tin of filler?

“A lot of the basic needs of the customer base here in Pagham weren’t being met.”

Mr Blackstaffe also hopes his new shop, which he is running alongside the newsagents, will help revive the Pagham parade.

“A couple of the little businesses we had here didn’t survive the lockdowns and closed up,” he explained.

“It makes the parade look a bit derelict, which it isn’t. So I’m hoping to breathe some new life into the area.”