Sunken Gardens

Following a consultation in November and December 2021, work will take place to improve the Sunken Gardens in Bognor Regis. The first phase is expected to begin in March with tree work and the remaining elements a little later in the year. You can read more about the project on this page, which will be updated as the project progresses.

Latest news

January 2023

Blakedown Landscapes commenced their work at the Sunken Gardens on 9 January 2023. With the site completely secured with fencing their first focus has been on opening up the new southern entrance.

In spite of the recent cold weather Blakedown have made great progress with forming the correct levels for the ramped footpaths and grading soil in the adjacent shrub beds. Two low sections of stone wall have been reconstructed as these were found to be sitting on top of steps identified for removal.

Benches from the lower section of the gardens have been removed for refurbishment and new benches have been ordered for the upper areas. The contractor has also undertaken clearance works in other parts of the site in preparation for the next stage of the project. As much material as possible is being reused on site to minimise waste.

Click on an image to enlarge it.

December 2022

Blakedown Landscapes SE Ltd. has been appointed as the contractor for the Sunken Gardens project and is due to commence the works week commencing 9 January 2023. Blakedown will generally be working between the hours of 8:00am - 4:30pm Monday to Friday, with the project expected to take approximately 4 months to complete.

The contractors will be accessing the site from Hothamton car park and will have a small compound located north of the play area. The early works will require the whole site to be closed to the public but as different areas are completed, they will be reopened.

17 November 2022

Funding boost for Sunken Gardens renovation project

10 March 2022

Phase 1: Tree works March 2022

routine maintenance of trees in poor condition
encourage the better quality trees to flourish
to manage existing trees, open up views and improve the sense of security
embrace opportunities to establish new planting for the future

Next phase: main works summer 2022

11 February 2022

Sunken Gardens public consultation results revealed

How the gardens will look

The below PDF shows a concept design for the Sunken Gardens:

Sunken Gardens Concept Plan [pdf] 2MB

If you cannot open the PDF, you can view the image by clicking the thumbnail below. The text in the image has been written out below it.

Play area

1. Recessed entrance points with directional signage
2. 1m high railings with 2no. gates to replace existing wall
3. More accessible play equipment including roundabout, basket swing and in-ground trampoline
4. Existing play equipment retained
5. Existing play trail equipment re-located
6. Replacement toddler play equipment
7. Explorer area with boulders and tree stumps
8. Replacement benches
9. Areas of planting to break up hard surfacing
10. Striped safety surfacing based on beach theme
11. Tiled mosaics of coastal towns from original Pavilion Gardens

Sunken Gardens

12. Sand and re-paint railings
13. Replacement planting of poorer quality trees
14. Low-growing ornamental planting to centre with year-round interest. Potential for central sculpture feature in future
15. Low-growing clipped hedge to improve views through the Sunken Gardens
16. Replacement benches throughout
17. New access point

Sensory Gardens

18. Naturalised planting on mounded areas re-using soil excavated from southern entrance
19. Minor repairs to damaged wall
20. Small number of sensory play elements, accessible from main path

Southern Entrance

21. Allowance to remove sections of wall, improving visibility and sightlines
22. Remove small number of trees to open up views into the site from all sides
23. New southern entrance with ramped access and minor repairs to coping