Plans For 35 Flats Submitted For Bognor Arcade Site

Plans for 35 flats above Bognor Regis Arcade have been submitted for to Arun District Council

The plans for the £8million scheme were published on Friday, June 6, by the council following feedback from a public consultation finished in April this year.

Bognor Regis Arcade was first opened to the public in July, 1902, and was purchased by the council in October, 2017, according to the plans.

If the council was to approve the plans, the new housing would consist of 29 one-bed and six two-bed flats spread over the first and second floors, with retail spaces on the ground floor.

The arcade building off Belmont Street, containing Bognor Regis Business Improvement District (BID) offices and ‘POP!’, would be demolished and replaced with a retail space, a substation and new apartment entrance and core – including bin store, post and plant space.

Two other sections of the arcade would be replaced, including a section damaged in a fire in the 1930s, and parts of the entrance from Belmont Street.

The existing upper floor entrance off Belmont Street, including the stair core, would be removed, with the brick columns on the ground floor to be rebuilt.

Two existing entrances to the upper floors off York Road and High Street would be kept, with the York Road entrance to be widened, whilst two internal, off-strip retail entrances would be turned into toilets for ground floor retail spaces.

Solar panels and a water tank would be installed on the roof, with 35 total cycle storage spaces on the ground and upper ground floors.

Preparatory works, starting in May last year, were carried out prior to submission of the plans, clearing space for the development if approved.

The arcade is not within a conservation area, but is near several grade II-listed heritage assets, such as the town hall, war memorial and Sussex Hotel.

Funding for the redevelopment was approved by the council for around £8million in July 2023, and is phase three of six in the wider Regis Quarter Regeneration scheme, which includes the new Premier Inn hotel and the Alexandria Theatre redevelopment.