A ‘huge opportunity’ for Littlehampton’s leisure future

Councillor Gill Brown made the promise during Monday’s (July 21) cabinet meeting, which saw Arun’s top councillors debating the next steps in the swimming centre saga.

Councillors agreed recommendations to look at feasibility studies for two different proposals – building a new swimming centre at its current site in Sea Road or constructing a new one on land near the Daisyfields caravan site, in Littlehampton.

However, during the meeting, Councillor Dr James Walsh – who is not in the cabinet but is chairman of the leisure, tourism and infrastructure working group, which previously debated the centre’s future – raised his concerns about moving the facility further north.

Arun had hoped to negotiate a pact with West Sussex County Council, which owns the nearby Cornfield site, an area which consultants, the Sports Consultancy, said was a good site to develop.

Potentially, the two councils could agree a land swap.

However, Dr Walsh said this would never be possible.

He said during the latest North Littlehampton steering group meeting, a county council officer admitted the authority’s cabinet member of finance, county councillor Michael Brown would ‘go ballistic’ if this happened.

For the full report, see this week’s Littlehampton Gazette (Thursday, July 24).