Bognor Regis Town Council calls for public consultation on £15 million Alexandra Theatre plans

With a unanimous vote, members agreed to urge Arun District Council to host a public consultation on the already-controversial plans at a full town council meeting on November 7.

They said, given the local significance of the theatre, residents deserve a seat at the table when it comes to discussion of the multi-million pound works, adding that currently proposed plans have fallen wildly short of expectations.

"The purpose behind the works was to extend the seating.It was to ensure that, as our town develops that we would be able to attract higher quality acts,” said Cllr Matt Stanley.

Plans for the £15 million regeneration were first announced last year and, though many councillors are happy the money is being spent on a vital seafront site, they feel shortchanged by the fact that current plans will only add 29 more seats. This, many have argued, is not enough to facilitate the town’s growth.

"We were always told that upwards of 450 seats attracts a very different level of artist, and it’s turned out that that’s something that’s not going to be achieved,” Cllr Stanley said.

He also said the designs proposed so far were ‘significantly different’ to what was initially suggested, adding: “For what’s been discussed to be so significantly different to what’s been proposed, I think that’s why this requires some extra scrutiny and some extra time.”

Alongside the consultation, councillors also agreed to host a public meeting, attended by Arun District Council leaders, to give residents a chance to comment on, and ask questions about, the proposals.

Contributing to the debate, Cllr Brooks added that Bognor Regis was missing out compared to neighbouring Littlehampton, which is receiving consultation for its own levelling up project. He said he wished to send ‘a strong message to Arun District Council that we’re just not to be ignored on these matters.’

Cllr Brooks was one of several councillors to criticise the current plans at last month's open forum - where the idea for a public consultation was first suggested. Echoing comments which compared the proposed building to a prison cell, he said it looked like a 1920s Gaumont Cinema and expressed disappointment at the lack of seating.

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