Bognor traders plead for action

Cllr Ken Scutt said those who traded along Aldwick Road needed help to survive. He said the one-hour parking restriction between 8am and 6pm was being flouted daily and a new yellow line needed to be painted to enforce the rule.

“The West End of Bognor is in dire straits,” he told Bognor Regis Town Council.

“A quarter of the shops – seven out of 28 – are empty down there. The traders who are left are getting very angry because the one-hour parking is not being observed.

“Cars are parked there all day. Businesses are losing trade and they are getting desperate.

“They are worried about closing down. That area is always forgotten. The regeneration never takes it in.”

He said the problem was worsened by the practice of issuing of free parking permits to workmen on a building site in the road so they can park all day.

This is common practice by Arun District Council and has been carried out for many years.

“Arun should not be doing that and they should be getting their parking enforcement officers to Aldwick Road. The county council should make sure a new yellow line is painted,” said Cllr Scutt.

Cllr Paul Wells, who lives on Aldwick Road, said: “The businesses along the road have suffered considerably in the past 12 months through parking and a series of break-ins.

“It is going back to the early 1990s when there were a series of empty shops there.”

He said he would again raise the matter of parking, worsened by the frequent deliveries to Tesco Express.

Sandra Daniells, the town mayor, said the issue would be put on the agenda of a liaison meeting with the district council last night.