Littlehampton Pier Road closure decision

Arun District Council had asked West Sussex County Council to close Pier Road to traffic, following two temporary closures during the Covid-19 pandemic to help social distancing.

The county council said it had not received support from the area’s county councillor, David Britton, and so rejected the proposal.

Members of Arun District Council’s economy committee unanimously voted to send a letter from the chair of the committee, Roger Nash (Lab, Pevensey), to Bognor Regis & Littlehampton MP Nick Gibb calling for him to intervene and help challenge the decision.

Mr Nash said the letter would explore a temporary or seasonal summer closure, alongside trying to revisit the initial bid of permanent closure.

James Walsh (LDem, Brookfield) said it was a ‘sad’ report for the district, and the idea should be revisited with better consultation with new businesses, noting that seasonal closures were no longer supported by emergency legislation introduced to help social distancing.

Sean Gunner (Con, Rustington East) said he was mostly in favour of permanent closure, saying a very small proportion of the public voted for no closure of any kind when the issue went out to public consultation last year.

He said: “A permanent closure enables you to rework the road, the layout, sort out things like planting, lighting, seating, pedestrianisation – if it remains a road it will always be and look like a road.

“I agree with councillor Walsh that we need to press the county council, and if they’re saying this isn’t an option to tell us what the options are – this is the outcome no one wanted. No one is happy with this.”

The economy committee approved putting in the bid at its meeting on June 13 this year, with the idea of permanent closure floated in 2021 to businesses and opened to public consultation in 2022, when it received one fifth of businesses’ support, and 44 per cent of public support.

Mike Northeast (Lab, Courtwick with Toddington) said if Brighton & Hove City Council was opening parts of the North Laine district back up to cars, then Arun District Council could do something similar with Pier Road, proposing the committee send a letter to Mr Gibb.

He said: “I think [Mr Walsh] is right, we absolutely need to challenge this, by at least a letter from the chairman to the MP, because if there is no legislation there needs to be legislation.

“It’s taking away from seaside towns like us the opportunity to capitalise on closing areas, roads around the seafront on a seasonal basis for the benefit of visitors and residents.”

West Sussex County Council was approached for comment.