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The problems we face in Arun
There are wards in Littlehampton and Bognor, which suffer from serious deprivation – amongst the worst in the South East.
Home-buying is less affordable for many living and working in the area.
As a whole we in Arun live in a low pay economy.
According to the Nomis annual survey of hours and earnings - workplace analysis, the average gross weekly wage for Arun in 2005 was £396. This compares to a national average of £518, a South East average of £539, a West Sussex average of £489, Adur at £480, Chichester at £432, Crawley at £586, Horsham at £507, Mid Sussex at £496 and Worthing at £438.
Arun’s main industries are traditionally horticulture/agriculture, tourism and retail. In essence Arun is a low-paid and largely seasonal economy compared with other parts of West Sussex.
The lower the average wage the greater the need for affordable housing is likely to be. Arun has a deficit of affordable housing.
Low wage levels create an unacceptably high level of outbound commuting from the district for employment, with substantial road congestion, particularly at peak times.
Current regeneration proposals for Bognor are welcome, but are likely to generate jobs at similar wage levels and in similar employment sectors to existing ones.
To drive average wage levels up Arun will need to focus future phases of regeneration on creating better paid employment outside the tourism, retail and agricultural sectors.
Education standards in Arun are comparatively low. We need to raise expectations and set new aspirations for young people by forging better links between business and education. See how Arun compares to other districts in West Sussex:
Key Stage 4 (2003-2007) - Arun Key Stage 4 (2003-2007) - Adur Key Stage 4 (2003-2007) - Chichester Key Stage 4 (2003-2007) - Crawley Key Stage 4 (2003-2007) - Horsham Key Stage 4 (2003-2007) - Mid Sussex Key Stage 4 (2003-2007) - Worthing
Businesses need easy access to the Strategic Road Network (SRN) which, for Arun, means the east/west bound A27 and the north/south routes of the A3 and M3 in the west and the A24 and A23 in the east. All are largely dual carriageway – an essential consideration for most businesses.
The SRN is incomplete, particularly the A27, with bottlenecks at Worthing, Arundel and Chichester. Arundel suffers from severance - a town divided in two by the A27.
If we are to be successful in our attempts to regenerate Bognor and Littlehampton we must improve access to both towns, by creating a transport infrastructure that is attractive to business to help attract inward investment for new better paid businesses.
Currently, even with subsidies from West Sussex County Council, bus operators consider many routes are not viable.
Page last edited: 22/01/2008 |