Bognor’s free parking offer extended in council U-turn

Two hours of free parking is available in Lyon Street, Fitzleet, and Hothamton car parks with a Bognor Regis parking disc, which can be purchased for £2.

In an effort to support the high street’s recovery, Bognor Regis BID proposed extending the time period from two to three hours for the rest of 2020.

However this idea was rejected by Arun District Council.

Following pressure from elected representatives and residents, Arun has performed a U-turn on the issue and decided to extend town centre disc parking from two hours to three hours in both Bognor Regis and Littlehampton town centres.

This extension will apply from the start of August and run until Christmas and be funded between Arun, the BID and town council.

Jason Passingham, chairman of Bognor Regis BID, said: “We’re extremely pleased ADC reviewed their initial decision, as, whilst the two hour free parking disc is already a fantastic facility for the town centre, this additional hour until the end of the year will really help the public support our businesses. “Businesses have been really proactive in adapting their premises to protect their staff and customers, and this does mean it takes a little bit longer to do the things we used to be able to do in two hours. This extra hour will really help people coming into the town centre by taking off some of the time pressure.”

James Walsh, leader of the council said: “Town centre retail is on a knife edge in both Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, and we want to do as much as possible to encourage shoppers, cafe users and others to start using our town centres again. We are determined to do everything possible to assist our small business community to thrive again.”

Samantha Staniforth, cabinet member for neighbourhood services, added: “Coupled with the Chancellor’s scheme for half-price meals at participating businesses on Monday- Wednesday during August, we think that this will be a welcome boost to town centre retail, cafés and restaurants. We hope it will encourage shoppers to stay longer to complete their banking, shopping and cafe experiences.”

Discs for the free parking schemes are available from all the usual outlets.

The issue came to light on Monday, when Bognor Regis town councillors agreed to contribute £3,250 despite hearing that Arun did not support an extension.

Arun’s decision prompted a number of angry comments on Facebook, with one independent Bognor trader saying: “With shoppers now expected to queue for longer on shopping trips one would have thought this would have been a brilliant initiative to support out restaurants and retailers in the current crisis.”

Meanwhile Conservative councillor Paul Dendle described how his party supported spending money to help the town’s retail economy and called for the decision to be reversed.

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