Plants will keep Bognor blooming

Plenty of plants to keep Bognor Regis blooming this year will be the perfect celebration of a workforce's birthday.

All the sites around the town traditionally planted by Town Force will continue to benefit from the colourful displays.

They could well be even better than usual. A change of supplier and new species of petunias and marigolds among others are set to create eye-catching features.

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These will be prominent along the London Road precinct and the seafront.

Town councillors have agreed to keep supporting the floral arrangements in spite of the need for strict financial controls in these difficult economic times.

It is a fitting way to mark Town Force’s recent tenth anniversary. One of its two original members, Charlie Fogden, 62, is still involved in its wide-ranging work.

He said: “It’s been a challenging job but it’s a good one. As well as planting, we get involved in removing graffiti, tackling fly-tipping, building new planters, and we look after all the town’s main roundabouts.

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“We’ll also be installing new Bognor Regis roadsigns at the town’s boundary in the coming months.

“We will be putting in new decking on the beach opposite the Regis Centre as well.

“If people do phone up, we do what we can if they have a problem. We’ve not been defeated yet.

“All this means the town looks much better than it did before we started.

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“There is not the graffiti around that there was and there is all the planting we do.”

His son, Luke Fogden, 29, joined Town Force last April. He puts in the planting displays.

“It’s good being out around the town meeting people and getting a lot of comments about what we are doing,” said Luke.

“The better the town looks, the more it will attract people, residents and visitors, to come in and shop. It also makes them want to come back. That has to be a good thing.”

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Town Force’s original workforce in October 2000 soon grew along with its size as councillors enthusiastically backed its role.

There are now four full-time employees boosted by a seasonal worker for six months around the summer.

The expected net cost of Town Force to Bognor Regis residents in the current year is £14,176 after income for work for other agencies is taken into account.

But no amount of money can provide the ingenuity needed to solve one or two of trickier problems which have been given to Town Force. “The most unusual job I’ve done was to create two flagpoles on the Place St Maur for a twinning ceremony with just two hours’ notice,” said Charlie.