Regeneration cash disaster for Bognor Regis

Proposed changes to government funding rules, which have benefited the town by more than 1m, could mean its regeneration task force being disbanded.

The four-strong team has acted as a focal point for the seven major schemes to revive the town's economy which have been at various stages of progress in the past two years.

But the team of Arun District Council officers '“ based at Bognor Regis town hall '“ could be disbanded in less than 18 months as government ministers interfere with the grants which have paid for the team's work.

This could put a question mark over the regeneration projects which will still be incomplete by that time.

Arun chief executive Ian Sumnall explained: "The future of the regeneration team and the regeneration activity is seriously endangered by this proposal by the amount of money to be given by the government and the way it is to be distributed."

Cllr Gill Brown, the council's leader, said: "This funding change could be disastrious for this district."

Cllr Norman Dingemans, in charge of the council's economic and cultural development, stated: "I find it a great shame the government has taken this approach because we have used this money for regeneration and it has had good results.

"It is a pity to have it cut off after April 2010."

The council's cabinet members agreed on Monday to strongly oppose the proposed changes by the government's Department for Communities and Local Government. The department intends to reverse the distribution of the funding from the present 65 per cent to Arun and 35 per cent to the county council.

The money concerned is called the local authority business growth incentive scheme. It was started in 2005 to encourage councils to increase businesses in their areas and is based on how much the business rateable value base in an area has grown from year to year.

This formula has enabled Arun to receive 1.465m in the past three years.

A lot of this cash has been spent on the Bognor task force. This year's district council budget showed 509,000 being put aside by Arun for regeneration work.

Mr Sumnall added: "It is no exaggeration to say the regeneration programme and team in Bognor, and a considerable amount of the work which is associated with planning for regeneration, has been funded and will be funded until March 2010 by this programme."

The task force was set up in November 2006. Its role has been to co-ordinate the delivery of 500m worth of regeneration schemes around Bognor.

Sites in which its officers, led by Richard McMann, have been involved include the crucial town-centre locations of the Regis Centre and Hothamton, the former Lec factory and the University of Chichester.

They have also worked with the developers on the site six housing development in North Bersted and Felpham and its associated relief road.

But this work could be put in jeopardy at just the wrong moment as the country enters an economic recession to make any regeneration much harder to achieve.

The government is planning two blows to Arun's work. The first is to limit the amount of money available nationally under the growth initiative to a much-reduced 100m.

This would severely affect the council's grant even if the current formula continued.

But the second, potentially fatal blow to the regeneration efforts, will see the funding formula switched. Two-thirds of the cash will go to the county council.

It was said at the cabinet meeting to have received 3.4m of growth funding in the past three years but spent only 300,000 on regeneration. The same amount went on repairing pot holes and the rest bolstered its reserves.

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