UPDATE: Designs For £15 Million Bognor Theatre Released - Councillors Tell Architects To Start Again

Designs of a £15 million improvement project in Bognor Regis have been shared this week, but councillors have since expressed disappointment.

Arun District Council was awarded more than £12 million in Levelling Up funding by the government to transform the Regis Centre and Alexandra Theatre.

It has since agreed to contribute a further £3 million to the project and designs have been submitted to the Policy and Finance Committee meeting on Thursday (20 October).

The designs, put together by MACE consultants and Nicholas Hare Architects, include one large studio with 100 seats; four smaller studios with 60 seats; and up to 386 seats in the auditorium with six wheelchair spaces, improved leg-room, and improved sight-lines.

They acknowledge that the building has ‘deteriorated significantly’ since opening over 40 years ago.

A time-line suggests that the project could commence as early as summer 2023 with a proposed completion date of Winter 2024 or 2025.

Mace says it has ‘worked closely’ with the council and with Arun Arts, which runs the theatre.

The main goals of the project are to increase capacity and improve audience experience as well as increasing the space available for community use.

The bar and front of house are also set to be improved with end-of-life services replaced and improved energy efficiency.

The theatre may have to close for around 18 months during the works and the new auditorium capacity is not quite as large as the 450 seats proposed in the original Levelling Up Fund bid.

Locals can expect a much roomier venue with floorspace increased to more than 2,750 square metres – up from the current floor space of just over 1,790 square metres.

The council’s original proposals included 2,700 square metres of additional floor space; increasing seating capacity to 450 seats; new technical facilities; a new façade for the building; increased energy efficiency measures; an accessible toilet; and an improved bar and catering facilities.

UPDATE: Friday, October 21:

Councillors have expressed ‘disappointment’ at designs for a £15 million Bognor Regis theatre and have told architects to ‘tear them up and start again’.

Put together by MACE consultants and Nicholas Hare Architects, they include one large studio with 100 seats; four smaller studios with 60 seats; and up to 386 seats in the auditorium with six wheelchair spaces, improved leg-room, and improved sight-lines.

But councillors were left ‘disappointed’ after seeing the new designs which look completely different to the ones originally approved.

There are currently 357 seats in the theatre and the council wants to deliver around 100 more.

But the new designs provide just 29 extra auditorium seats, which opposition leader James Walsh (LDem, Beach) fears will not draw in bigger acts or a wider audience.

“It does not in any sense look inviting,” Dr Walsh said of the design, “It looks as though it’s the back end of a building in a car park.”

Hugh Coster (Ind, Aldwick East) calculated that each additional seat would cost ‘just over half a million pounds’.

“Is this value for money,” he asked, “I don’t think so.”

Tony Dixon (Ind, Aldwick East) pointed to the original Levelling Up Fund bid which spoke of 2,700 square metres of additional floor space.

Instead, the whole project is tipped to provide just over 2,700 square metres in total.

Claire Needs (LDem, Aldwick West) wanted to know if any consideration had been given to disabled theatre-goers.

“As a regular theatre goer myself, on more than one occasion I’ve been told that I can’t go because of how big my chair is,” she said. 

“With wheelchairs getting bigger they sometimes take up two spaces.”

Katie Burgess, of Nicholas Hare Architects, said six wheelchair spaces could be created by taking out removable auditorium seats.

Grant Roberts (Con, Arundel and Walberton) called for an extraordinary meeting so Mace and Nicholas Hare Architects can come up with new plans.

Mr Roberts said the designs ‘lacked vision’ and ‘completely missed the brief’.

Meanwhile Francis Oppler (LDem, Orchard) said they were ‘awful’.

“The poor people of Bognor have been promised the world and are being delivered definitely not that,” he said.

“Tear the entire thing up and start again.”

Council leader Shaun Gunner (Con, Rustington East) said:

“I’m slightly struggling to see where £15 million is on these images.”

Katya Fenton, a senior project manager at Mace, said a lot of the costs were not ‘just going towards the finishes’ but were being used to replace and update ‘hidden elements’.

“This is a building that is nearly 40 years old,” she said.

“We are demolishing part of the existing building and we’re replacing the roof of the remaining building which at the moment is leaking.

“Surveys showed more seating would have required substantial structural works which would’ve brought it outside  and above any funding envelope.”

Regeneration consultant Neil Taylor promised to present costings for extra seating but said the designs had been worked up in close consultation with Arun Arts, which runs the theatre.

“There’s obviously a complete difference of opinion between members and Arun Arts who were actually happy with the number that we’ve got,” he said.

Asked why the appearance of the building had totally changed, Mr Taylor said:

“The council had not spent the money on a bottom drawer of schemes ready to go when the bid was put in.

“The application went in and was successful but it was a very quick and dirty sketch drawing.

“There were no surveys, there was no in depth work done at that time.”

Architects are now against the clock to amend the designs as the project must be completed in 2025.

There will be no formal public consultation and the public will instead be expected to comment on the planning application when it comes forward.