Tourist Attraction Lost

ANGMERING has lost out on a unique 1million tourist attraction which could have brought thousands of visitors flocking to the area.

Arun district planners turned down an application.

Now the Magical Garden grotto, originally destined for Roundstone Garden Centre, is ready to launch in Manchester next year.

Creators of the scheme are setting up the moving, talking robotic characters in their fantasy world at the Trafford Centre, one of the country s largest shopping centres, where they have been welcomed with open arms .

Ex-owners of Roundstone Garden Centre, Richard Cahn and his daughter Miranda Rijks, developed the Magical Garden concept as a result of the successful Digby Dog.

Digby, a 7ft tall, singing, guitar-playing animatronic dog, made his home at Roundstone for a year and attracted thousands of fans from across Sussex.

Miranda s idea was to teach children about the environment in a fun way with computer-controlled plants, giant-sized insects and animals which talked, sang and moved.

But, at the time of the planning application, Councillor Ricky Bower said traffic in the vicinity was horrendous and changes to the A259 would make it worse.

It s not an area where we should be encouraging tourism, he said.

For the full story, see the Gazette, August 2.