Giant billboards may soon hide A29 eyesore

Sime Darby London Ltd wants to put four giant billboards along the Shripney Road frontage of the former Lec Refrigeration site.

They will stretch along the boundary of the southern portion of the site to provide a colourful and bright 'Welcome to Bognor' to visitors.

This portion of the large area is dominated by the one-time Lec technical block. The three-storey building, opposite Kwik-Fit, is already missing several windows to provide an especially unsightly appearance along the busy dual carriageway.

Arun District Council needs to give advertising consent for the hoardings, which will be 4.4m high, 4.7m wide and 0.15m deep.

Mark Head, of Sime Darby's planning agents Head, Roberts and Associates, says in a statement to the district council: "The applicant is conscious of the gradual visual degradation of the Lec site, particularly from the A29 which is an important artery into Bognor town centre, and as such is keen to provide some visual screening of the derelict buildings.

"Many responses from the public and stakeholder consultation events held in advance of the redevelopment planning application submission referred to the poor image currently portrayed by this derelict site on the northern approach to the town.

"As it is intended that the hoardings will carry 'artwork' composed by local youth groups, it is not possible to include the content of the displays with the application."

Specific consultation carried out by Sime Darby with community groups and local councillors showed widespread support for the decorative hoardings.

They will be placed in a zig-zag pattern and will be designed to avoid distracting passing motorists.

The panels follow two planning applications by Sainsbury's to redevelop the Lec site. One proposal details a 55,000sq ft store the retailer wants to build there. The other concentrates on the creation of enterprise units for fledging businesses.

They are still under consideration by Arun.

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