Littlehampton Public Realm Regeneration Scheme

The current paving, seating, lighting and planting is dated, tired and uncoordinated. Vacancy rates are rising, footfall is falling in the harshest retail conditions in living memory, and tourism visits and spend are down compared to previous years.

Poor connectivity between the key attractions of town, riverside and seafront means visitors are not experiencing all the attractions that Littlehampton has to offer. This project will deliver new high quality, distinctive public environment in the high impact areas of the High Street pedestrian precinct and the routes from the railway station.

It will create clearer and intuitive linkages between town, seafront and riverside and will encourage people to come more often, stay longer and spend more. This increased turnover will safeguard and create new jobs in Littlehampton town centre, new businesses will be attracted to locate here and new event space will enable high quality all year-round events tackling seasonality.

Visitors, residents and local businesses will all benefit from these improvements. Through improvements to the public realm, the project aspires to generate additional revenue in the town centre and increased job opportunities.

Businesses will improve their premises, products and services, creating a better offer for the public. Enhancing the public realm will continue the high-quality regeneration programme started in Littlehampton.

Previous projects include the iconic Thomas Heatherwick designed East Beach Café, the quirky Longest Bench and Stage by the Sea on the seafront and the award-winning East Bank Riverside mixed development, new flood defences and public realm. These award-winning quality projects are located on the seafront and riverside, but this success has not extended to the town centre which is getting left behind.

The new public realm will transform Littlehampton's core retail area both visually and economically. With modern and timeless designs, stunning materials echoing the maritime heritage of the town, coastal-themed planting and new layouts to accommodate large scale events, the economic opportunities for the town will be improved, enabling businesses to be sustained and grow. Additional information: Please note, this is a tender opportunity on behalf of Arun District Council