In pictures: demolition of Bognor's old fire station is under way as preparations for new Premier Inn hotel begin

A great deal of the building has already been destroyed, with work having officially started last month. The area was fenced off on March 25 and, in a statement issued just beforehand, Arun District Council made clear demolition is expected to take between six to eight weeks.

The nearby car park and adjacent town hall are both still accessible, but access to the former via Clarence Road has been removed. Once the old fire station is fully demolished, work on the hotel itself is expected to start in September, with completion due in October next year.

Planning permission for the Premier Inn Hotel was granted by Arun District Council in November last year. Once finished, the new building will take up part of the esplanade, including the site of the old fire station and part of the Regis Centre car park, which visitors will use when the hotel itself is up and running.

The hotel represents a £13 million investment by Premier Inn parent company Whitbread PLC, who secured the right to build the hotel in a land-swap deal which saw them give up the long lease on the nearby Regis Centre, allowing multi-million pound refurbishments to take place.

Once construction is complete, it’s expected the hotel will create 30 new year-round jobs and generate somewhere in the region of £2.8 million for the local economy, annually.

In a statement issued shortly after planning permission was approved, Louise Woodruff, property acquisitions manager for Whitbread, said: “We’re fortunate at Premier Inn to have a customer base made up equally of business and leisure customers. The wide appeal of Premier Inn helps to drive the high year-round occupancy we experience across our network and informs the investment case for new locations like Bognor Regis seafront. The planning consent gives us the go-ahead to bring forward our multi-million pound investment in Bognor town centre, create new jobs and help to support the local economy through the year-round spending of our guests. It is fantastic news for us and the town.”