Seafront venue would be folly, warns chamber

Chamber of commerce president and chairman Nick Stuart Nicolson, pictured, said Sunday's awful weather showed the folly of putting a new entertainment venue on the promenade.

Regeneration proposals show the current Hotham Arts Centre site as the focus for a leisure complex with flats above.

But Mr Nick Stuart Nicolson told Monday's chamber executive committee meeting: 'Plans to locate this buiding right on the seafront would be folly. It is good to see that U-turns are possible '“ the proposed bingo hall has been dropped '“ and that nothing is yet firmly established.

'So, it would make all sorts of sense, notwithstanding the necessity to build a tall fly-tower, in a far more appropriate location. That is on the site of the old Pavilion, which incidentally had a capacity of 3,000 seats.

'This site is part of the Hothamton regeneration site and is situated at the northern end of Waterloo Gardens, within sight of the sea and the pier.

'It is closer to the existing car park at Fitzleet and altogether a safer location in view of rising tides and quite unpredictable weather on the sea front.

'It would be a far easier and, presumably, quicker build time on this site than would ever be possible anywhere on the sea front.

'It is a prominent and very visible location and altogether a far better prospect than what has been suggested so far.'

Seafront business owner Shirley Hardy, said: 'Having worked on Bognor seafront during yesterday's wind and rain, I can assure you it was not pleasant.

'Imagine getting dressed up in all your finery to go to the theatre and having to walk through a hurricane to get there and looking like it too.'

She said any building along the seafront could be at risk from the changing pattern of the sea.

Fellow executive committee member Jim Brooks said the theatre should never have been suggested right on the beach.

He warned that a regeneration scheme which was supposed to produce a leisure complex in a landmark building was being led by the flats element of the proposals.

'That could have repercussions for everyone in business in the town,' he stated. He called for consultation among business owners to find their preferred mix of attractions on the seafront location.