PROGRESS STATUS: ONGOING (2022 – date)
The Town Centre Forum is an informal discussion group of local stakeholders, hosted by the Bognor Regis Regeneration Board and including officers, directors and elected representatives from the local Business Improvement District, Bognor Regis Town Council, Arun District Council, West Sussex County Council and the University of Chichester
A number of surveys and consultations have been carried out over the past ten years, meaning that there is an existing database of information regarding what the community and businesses want to see improved in the town. The Town Centre Forum group meet regularly to encourage collaboration, to ensure the needs of the town centre are prioritised, to assess whether proposed projects match up to the data on what is wanted and to review and agree shared aims to make sure that the agencies that can deliver improvements are working together towards the same goals. The TCF members share information to support an evidenced best practice approach so stakeholders, particularly those in the public sector, are not wasting time or resources duplicating the same approaches or progressing schemes which might not have the impact needed.
Back in March 2022, guided by feedback from the community and businesses they represent, members of the group agreed that the development of a new masterplan for Bognor Regis, using the town values, and the development of a town centre vision were things that all organisations saw as top priorities. The next five priorities were agreed as:
- Improving perceptions of the town
- Improving town centre welcome & security
- Wayfinding
- Night time economy
- Gigabit broadband to commercial sector
- Raising aspirations
With these shared priorities in mind, Members of the Town Centre Forum were able to prioritise the types of projects submitted to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund when it became available, such as wayfinding design and implementation, extra illumination to increase the sense of safety at night and the introduction of better rubbish bins in the town centre. These projects are all being delivered now.
The Town Centre Forum is hosted by the Bognor Regis Regeneration Board. If you’d like to know more about the Regeneration Board – who’s involved, what they do and how they’re funded, please follow this link to their website: https://www.bognorregisregenerationboard.com/
