Key milestone reached on regeneration of The Arcade, Bognor Regis
Arun District Council is pleased to announce that the 'enabling' work to prepare The Arcade in Bognor Regis for regeneration is now substantially complete.
Since May 2024, contractors have been on site to repair and enhance the condition of The Arcade - which dates from 1902 and links the High Street to Belmont Street - through a series of major upgrades, additions and repairs to the building fabric.
The work to prepare the building for regeneration has included detailed structural and technical surveys, cleaning the external fabric of the building, stripping out redundant mechanical and electrical elements, demolishing internal partitions, repairing the roof of the building and removing old and damaged floor and wall finishes, ceilings and existing drainage/rainwater goods, replacing with new goods where possible.
The existing flooring has also been repaired where needed, coupled with repairs and temporary boarding of window frames. These repairs to the building interior and exterior have effectively insulated against further weathering and water ingress, therefore halting any further degradation of the structure. This will protect the structure and enable the major project work in the next phase of regeneration, later this year.
Specifically, the contractors, working with the council's regeneration team, have completed the additional work within budget, to enable the building to be sympathetically regenerated to the highest possible standards (and subject to planning permission). The additional work has included:
External Works:
- flat roof patch repairs on the east wing of The Arcade to ensure watertightness
- pitched roof repairs and roof tile replacement to ensure watertightness
- replacing a flat roof area on the west wing of the building
- brickwork repairs and mortar infills along York Road - preventing risk of water ingress into the building structure
- replacing damaged gutters and repairing roof soffits on the York Road side of the building
- clearing and reconnecting existing rainwater goods to the flat roof above The Arcade atrium
- clearing debris from the flat roof above the atrium
- clearing gutters and downpipes within the atrium
- removing spalling concrete on the south elevation
- removing damaged dangerous windows
- making windows safe and secure
- testing external facades to ascertain required render repairs
Internal Works:
- replacing damaged joists to the pitched roof
- floor joist replacement
- chimney breast repairs and lintel replacement
- brickwork repair in the east wing
- removing internal partition walls
- removing dilapidated floor, ceiling and wall finishes including plasterboard & lath and plaster, ready for upgrade and replacement
- removing outdated services that previously served the upper floors
- structural repairs to load bearing walls
- review and upgrades to the fire alarm and smoke heads to the upper floors
- review and replacement of the security alarm system to the upper floors
Whilst the main enabling work has been completed, the contractors will return to the site shortly to undertake and complete final sign-off work.
Councillor Martin Lury, Leader of Arun District Council, said, "Arun District Council is committed to the regeneration of our historic seaside towns, such as Bognor Regis. Completion of the initial enabling work on The Arcade is the first step towards its wider regeneration, and we are pleased with the progress being made to prepare the building for the potential forthcoming improvements, subject to planning permission being granted."
For any inquiries regarding the ongoing enabling work or the future plans for The Arcade, please contact Arun District Council's community representatives, DevComms, at arcade-bognorregis@devcomms.co.uk or on 0800 080 3178.