Littlehampton loses out on Coastal Communities funding

Littlehampton has unfortunately missed out on a Coastal Communities grant of £4.85 million from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) which would have helped to improve public spaces in the town centre.

The funding would have delivered a scheme to enhance the town’s pedestrian areas by installing new paving and landscaping, along with new lighting and seating for both the local community and visitors to the area to enjoy.

After being successful on the first application stage of the Coastal Communities Fund (Round 4) in October 2016, the Council was invited to a Stage 2 application process.

DCLG received 53 applications in the Stage 2 process requesting a total of £81m, against an available budget of £40m so the scheme was extremely competitive.

Councillor Mrs Gillian Brown, Leader of Arun District Council and Cabinet Member for Council Strategy, said: “We put forward an excellent scheme that would have transformed the town centre but unfortunately we weren’t successful on this occasion, which is disappointing. We are hopeful that there will be a further Round 5 Coastal Communities fund in the future that we can re-apply for.”

The Council will also be exploring alternative external funding streams as and when opportunities arise.