Bognor's Place St Maur may not be suitable as an events space, despite £1.3 million renovation

The revelation came from Councillor Jim Brooks who said that, when the Place St Maur’s temporary tarmac is replaced, it’s possible vehicles and trailers will not be allowed on the site.

Cllr Brooks, who attended the Policy and Resources Meeting simply as a member of public, explained that this could mean an end to all events on the site – despite the fact that the recently completed £1.3 million regeneration works were originally intended to facilitate outdoor events.

"From the very beginning, we all said it had to remain as an events space, and it looks like in the future, we may not be able to have any decent events there,” he said.

The comments come after the organisers of the Bognor Regis ice rink submitted a licencing application for the coach park in London Road.

Many hoped the ice rink, which opens in Bognor Regis every year, would open on the Place, and the apparent change in venue has led many to question its suitability.

“Right from the start, a primary request for the design of the Place St Maur was that the ice rink would fit, and we were assured that it would,” one member of public, speaking at the meeting, said.

"My question is, will the rink actually fit and if not why not? If it doesn’t, then the original brief was ignored, which appears to be the case with another ADC venture, The Regis Centre.”

Back in August, the Place played host to the TASTE! food festival, which was praised for bringing international food and live music to the town centre. If the council’s concerns are well-founded, this could spell the end of such events.

“The bones of the Place St Maur was to provide an outdoor events space,” said Cllr Matt Stanley, “ If the space can’t accommodate events like that, then quite frankly it’s been a waste of time.”

Cllr Jeanette Warr added: “We haven’t had any consultation about the ice rink taking place on the lorry park. It’s all just pie in the sky. Arun have to be taken to task at some stage (...) because they have let us down left, right and centre.”

Read more

Residents speak out as 'wildlife habitat' in Felpham destroyed