Quietly working to create better future

Six months on from its announcement, the developer and partner charter at the centre of regeneration plans is quietly working its influence.

While it may not have the obvious headline-grabbing impact of multi-million pound water sports centres, seafront development or major retail and residential development in the town, there are strong signs of progress.

That's the case as far as Arun's Regeneration Task Force is concerned, which is liaising with the diverse range of commercial investors, university and major commercial developers delivering schemes in the town over the next few years.

There are a number of key aims which the task force's charter is hoping to achieve '“ most notably to assist in increasing business opportunities within the town by enhancing links with key regeneration players including housing developers, a retailer (Sainsbury's), leisure providers (such as Butlins) and educational attainment and skills development, through investment in the new Bognor Regis Community College.

The major investment programme and expansion of facilities at the Bognor campus of the University of Chichester is also set to offer significant links with local businesses.

As Richard McMann, head of the task force explains, its charter has been set up as a guiding principle for commercial progress.

Rather than consisting of a legally-binding set of rules, its broad scope of ambitions aims to foster a greater level of partnership working between existing businesses in the town and those planning major investment in the area.

Mr McMann said: 'My starting point for creating the charter was the fact a number of the schemes which are part of the regeneration may be three or four years away from being created.

'So I thought we should be looking at ways in which businesses in the area can be looking ahead to be aware of what opportunities there will be for them.'

Richard revealed organisations within the partnership, including Bognor Regis Chamber of Commerce, Butlins, the University of Chichester and Business Link, were now working closer than ever with each other.

He added: 'At the centre of what we are trying to do is find ways of making the town's businesses more profitable as figures have shown we have a far lower average spend per visitor in the town than in other areas along the south coast.