Fresh bid for more Littlehampton regeneration funds

Plans for the regeneration of Littlehampton town centre have stepped up after Arun District Council applied for a £1.38m grant to help pay for the next phase of the work.

The application was submitted to the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership on July 2 for improvements along East Street through to the High Street junction and Beach Road.

At a meeting of the cabinet, leader Dr James Walsh said the council had since been invited to prepare a full business case by August 16.

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He said: “This is an encouraging step forward and we’re hopeful of a successful outcome.

“Let’s all keep our fingers crossed because I think this is actually quite exciting and will hopefully take forward the regeneration of Littlehampton town centre in much the same way that Bognor Regis is being successfully taken forward by the BID and other activities there.”

Coast to Capital works with local authorities to create jobs and drive economic growth. If Arun’s bid is successful, it will be given money from the Local Growth Fund, which must be 50 per cent match-funded, and spent by December 2020.

This latest bid covers phase 3 of a 5-phase project which will improve the look of the town centre and make it easier and safer for pedestrians to get around.

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As well as new seating, planting and lighting aimed at ‘decluttering’ the street scene, the work will also see crossings, such as the one at the junction of Terminus Road and Arundel Road, paved, narrowed and raised.

Phases 1 and 2 will improve the stretch from the railway station, along Terminus Road and the High Street, stopping just short of the Arcade and taking in short stretches of Clifton Road, Duke Street and St Martin’s Lane.

Phases 4 and 5 will cover Surrey Street to the Look and Sea Centre, Pier Road and New Road and the War Memorial roundabout.

Put together, the overall scheme is expected to cost £5.77m to complete.