St Modwen given more time to plan regeneration of Bognor Regis

The company has got until next March 31 to prepare its further proposals for the Hothamton and Regis Centre sites. B

y that time, a comprehensive review of the entire schemes will have been completed by the company and landowner Arun District Council.

This will hold the key to the future of the 100m worth of ambitious projects. They include a new entertainment complex on the seafront, for which Openwide Inter-national has been chosen as the operator, and other leisure attractions as well as flats. For Hothamton, the latest ideas featured a 30-storey tower block, offices, a large food store and a possible health centre.

St Modwen development manager Gary Morris welcomed the decision to move back the deadline for detailed plans to be submitted from the original date of December 31.

It recognised the drastically worsening conditions in the entire property market since the deal was signed last December.

He said: "We are still determined to provide as much of the originally intended scheme as is financially viable but we have to have regard to the wider circumstances.

"In the next two to three months, it will become clear as to whether we are going to get close to meeting that March target. It's certainly our intention to pull out all the stops and work very hard to do that.

"We are still passionate about working in Bognor and we are not looking at this as a chance to walk away."

But he stressed he was sure that no more flats would be added to the development mixture. "I am pretty confident that any changes will not involve increasing the amount of residential development."

The decision to delay the deadline was taken by the Bognor Regis sub-committee of Arun District Council. It followed a request from St Modwen because of the turmoil in the world's financial markets.

The council's property consultant, Jon Pinkerton, a partner at commercial property experts Knight Frank, said the request still made it possible for the schemes to proceed eventually.

"What is positive is that St Modwen are still demonstrating commitment to regeneration.

"By reviewing the proposals in partnership with them, the council gets involved so it can understand what the problems are and if the proposals need to change," he said.

Cllr Simon McDougall (Bersted) said it was important benefits of the regeneration for Bognor were kept in any changes. An easy way to boost profits for St Modwen would be to increase the number of flats allowed and decrease leisure facilities.

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