Plans for new Bognor Regis hotel near seafront revived

Back in 2018 the then Conservative controlled Arun District Council agreed in private session to dispose of its land next to the town hall so a new hotel could be built.

This was part of the administration’s wider regeneration plans for a winter garden alongside a new theatre at the nearby Regis Centre site.

However Arun was unable to reach an agreement on all matters with Whitbread PLC, the owners of Premier Inn, and negotiations stalled.

But according to council officers in recent months discussions have started up again.

A potential deal would see a land swap with Whitbread receiving the old fire station building to redevelop as an 80-bedroom hotel.

Meanwhile the council would gain control over the pub and theatre site at the Regis Centre, which are both currently leased to Whitbread.

The proposals are due to be discussed by the Bognor Regis regeneration sub-committee on Wednesday (June 17).

According to a report by officers these would not only deliver a ‘much needed modern hotel for the town’, they would also enable the council to secure the pub and theatre site so it could plan appropriately for its long term future as a ‘key asset in the social and economic fabric of the town’.

If redevelopment of the old fire station went ahead then alternative premises would need to be found for its current tenants, Citizens Advice and Shopmobility.

In the event a mutually acceptable deal cannot be reached with Whitbread, the council may then seek out other potential partners to deliver a hotel.

Since the Lib Dems took over control of the council in May 2019 they have changed course on the town’s regeneration schemes.

Plans to redevelop the Hothamton car park were shelved and the sunken gardens are now due to be retained and improved.

Proposals are also being advanced to transform the empty strip of hardstanding at Place St Maur between Belmont Street and The Esplanade.

Officers suggested that while the winter gardens project to completely regenerate the Regis Centre site was ‘very exciting and visionary’ it would also require a huge amount of public funding, which previous estimates have put in excess of £50million.

They suggested the Place St Maur work ‘effectively stops’ the winter gardens scheme unless public realm improvements are regarded as temporary.

But according to the officers’ report, the corporate management team believes ‘this is not the right time’ given the economic conditions and the coronavirus pandemic to consider the question of whether ‘to continue with the agreed [regeneration] scheme, something simpler, something else or nothing at all’.

The report added: “Those decisions should be made when there is more economic certainty.”

Any recommendations by the sub-committee will be put to full council.

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