Arun will submit bid for second round of Levelling Up Fund

Earlier this week, Conservative council leader Shaun Gunner said a bid is currently being prepared.

He is hoping that the council will be able to replicate last year’s success when it secured £19.4 million in funding for Littlehampton and Bognor Regis.

“We are bidding for round two and we are doing that work at the moment,” Mr Gunner said.

“We’re working with members of Parliament and our stakeholders and it will be around sustainable transport.”

The bid is in the early stages with feasibility work still ongoing, and it will feed in to renewed efforts to encourage more tourism in the district, according to the council leader.

“I have to say Andrew Griffith has been absolutely excellent in his support during both funding rounds,” he added.

Mr Griffith, who is the MP for Arundel and South Downs, was promoted as the Prime Minister’s top policy advisor in February.

Arun secured a share of the £1.7 billion funding pot in October which will be used for improvements to The Alexandra Theatre, in Bognor Regis, and Littlehampton’s seafront and riverside.

Round two, which will bring the total funding available to £4.8 billion, was announced in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement.

When asked about the progress of the current Levelling Up projects, Mr Gunner said: “There’s a lot of planning before the spades can go in the ground.”

“With the Regis Centre side of it, there’s more negotiations around Whitbread as the tenants as we don’t own all of it,” he explained.

Whitbread PLC currently leases part of the Regis Centre, which houses the Alexandra Theatre.

“In terms of Littlehampton, there are more logistical challenges there,” added the council leader.

“For example, there’s Southern Water drainage underneath so it’s with engineering teams at the moment.

“But I’m really excited about both of those projects getting going.

“These are gong to have real positive impacts and that’s why we got the money.”

The council has acknowledged the ‘very tight timescale’ set by central government to deliver the projects and have sought new staff to help manage them.