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Funding boost for Sunken Gardens renovation project

Additional funding has been agreed to take forward the construction phase of a project to transform the Sunken Gardens in Bognor Regis.

At a meeting of the Environment Committee on 17 Nov, members pledged support for the exciting project by approving a sum of £312,000 to enable the full wish list of improvements to be done.

A budget of £230,000 was initially approved but additional funding of £82,000 was required due to increased costs within the industry, however the increased amount is within the original budget allocated for the project. 

The design – which includes new equipment for the play area with brightly-coloured surfacing, as well as the creation of a new southern entrance – received positive support with the public during consultation earlier this year.

Being close to Bognor Regis town centre, the Sunken Gardens are an important public open space, and the proposals focus on enhancing the quality of the landscape and encouraging more visitors. The improvements will also open up views into, and across, the site and include new planting and seating.

Councillor David Edwards, Chair of the Environment Committee, said:

“We’re delighted to be moving this project forward as it will make this popular space a lot more vibrant, and really open it up so that visitors can really appreciate how attractive the Sunken Gardens are. The consultation showed public support for the design so I’m really pleased that we now have the budget we need to deliver everything the public wanted to see.”

The work is due to begin early next year and should take around four months to complete, with some tree and survey work taking place before Christmas.