Don't close off Esplanade

Miss Robinson and Mrs Williams have seen many changes to the town in their lifetimes. They were sure that the St Modwen proposals were another alteration too far.

They voted yes to question one and no to the following three questions.

The sisters live in Seaward Court in West Street, right next to the Hothamton car park and sunken gardens which form an important part of St Modwens' proposals.

Mrs Williams (72) said: 'Where is all the traffic going to go if they close off The Esplanade? Is it going to come along West Street past our flats? The traffic will not be any good for that road.'

Miss Robinson (76) said: 'The developers just want to put more flats on the seafront. They have got to come up with something better than their current ideas. They are just ridiculous.

'They have come up with these fanciful ideas and our pier is almost gone. They should be concentrating on getting our pier up to scratch.'

The sisters cast their votes in the Bognor Regis Methodist Church hall in Waterloo Square. An eager queue of 16 electors was present as the polling booths opened at 4pm last Wednesday.

About another ten were waiting in the sun nearby.

The polling station was busy throughout its first half hour. Electors often had to form a small queue to get inside.

Norfolk Square resident Jenny Jennings (65) was among them. She voted yes to questions one and three and no to questions two and four.

'I don't drive and I like to walk along the seafront but nobody is going to come here if they can't drive along it. They like to park their cars there and look at the sea. If they can't bring their cars, then they will not come,' she stated.

'There are enough flats on the seafront already. We don't want any more. I certainly don't agree with the 30-storey tower block on Hothamton. Fitzleet House is an eyesore and is high enough.'

David Fulcher (63), of Bassett Road, also voted yes, no, yes, no to the questions.

He said: 'I don't think closing The Esplanade will be to the benefit of the town. All that will do is to clog up the existing roads. It will create more complications for people wanting to get to Chichester or Worthing.

'That's even more important now if people from the west of the town are going to have to go to Worthing Hospital because it is being upgraded. The traffic around here is bad enough already.'