Arun's secret theatre deal - 'public should be consulted'

The decision follows a secret meeting held last week when district councillors, following recommendations from the Bognor Regis sub-committee, approved a detailed set of legal agreements with its preferred developer St Modwen.

It marks the next phase of the regeneration process which will ultimately see 100m poured into leisure, entertainment, retail, cafes, offices, and new homes for the town. It also allows for the developer to carry out yet another feasibility study over the provision of entertainment within the proposed development.

But Laurie Barnes, the chairman and Hugh Coster, deputy chair of Bognor Regis Civic Society, town's watchdog on developments in Bognor Regis, with Jim Brooks, the chairman of Arun Arts and an independent town and district councillor have accused Arun of being in "free fall" over the issue.

They have called for the public to be consulted now before the district council enters into irrevocable legal agreements with St Modwen.

They claim the dice is loaded against a theatre because they believe an operator will not be found to take on the running of a theatre, giving St Modwen an opt out to pay Arun 5.2 m in lieu of providing the building, and leaving the way clear for the developer to erect 168 flats on the site.

"There should be a whole re-think done to decide where the flats should go.

"No way will 5.2 m fund a theatre and there are no guarantees. There are very few theatres in this country which survive without a subsidy and we could risk loosing the theatre," said Mr Barnes.

He demanded that the money be ring fenced to safeguard the interest of the town's theatre and claimed that Bognor could end up with "a leisure heart with no leisure", with worries that the money could be spent instead subsidising the Windmill Theatre in Littlehampton.

"Arun clearly has got something against Bognor, a theatre is just not going to be viable and the matter is clearly out of control," declared Mr Coster. "More than 10,000 people signed a petition that there should be no flats on that site and Arun needs to recognise that is a vast number of people. With Bognor Regis the third largest town in West Sussex and the biggest in Arun, he declared: "flats will not regenerate the town."

"Bognor has a unique selling point being two minutes walk from the town centre to the sea and we want to see a landmark building on the Regis site," said Mr Brooks. He believed that what the town needed was a long-term investment in music and the theatre for youth and community.

Mr Barnes went even further in his condemnation of the latest decision by Arun over its regeneration plans.

"The whole strategy on the Regis Centre site is misplaced and needs a re-think."

"If Arun is about to sign up with St Modwen we need to know precisely what we are going to get before an irrevocable agreement is signed.

"Secret agreements have been made before it has even been signed up, we want to know what is on the table before we enter into legal contracts," said Mr Barnes.

With planning applications expected next year it is believed to be unlikely, said Mr Coster, that building will go ahead before 2010.

He is also critical about what he claims is a lack of the provision of jobs, with the extra proposed housing in the area, bringing with it addtional problems of congestion and pollution, adding to its daily outcommuting problems.