Employment

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.

Improving life for those less well off must, in the mid-long term be based on better earnings without the need to commute.

Arun’s main industries are traditionally horticulture/agriculture, tourism and retail. In essence the District is a low-paid and largely seasonal economy compared with other parts of West Sussex.  

Arun District Council in its published priorities for 2005-2009, states that it will seek to achieve “wage levels increased by marketing the district for higher skilled business opportunities rather than exclusively for Tourism”.

Current strategies to address these issues need the big boost to inward investment offered by a Science or Technology Park approach. This approach would open up new areas of hi-tech, higher quality and better paid employment.

"Technology Park" is a vague term used to describe a variety of efforts to stimulate the development of "entrepreneurial, knowledge-based, small and medium-sized enterprises" (or SMEs) within a country. The term has many synonyms - the most common being "Science Park", "Research Park", and "Technopole" (in France).

The term Science Park can encompass a range of initiatives which can vary greatly even within any one country. There is thus no question of a rigid definition, or a single transferable model being appropriate throughout the world.

A Science or Technology Park can be large or small, according to the size of the area it serves.

A Science or Technology Park is an industrial/commercial area that will provide high quality and well-paid employment. This could include scientific, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, engineering, computer software/hardware, electronics, biotechnology, legal and business services, design, in fact any hi-tech employment with synergies to local universities/colleges.  

Please see the Science Park section in which Dr Alan Black sets out an independent case for a Science Park in Arun District.

As an example, Arun could capitalise on its own natural advantages (unique selling points) and establish a Science or Technology Park to focus on the development of renewable energy. Ford is close to the coast (ideal for developing wind energy), is adjacent to the River Arun, the second fastest flowing river in the country (ideal for developing tidal energy), and is in the part of the country that has the most sunshine per annum (ideal for developing solar energy).

A Science or Technology Park would create many “knock on” opportunities across the local economy, providing additional business opportunities for existing local businesses and services.

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.

A high technology business park can forge links with Bognor and Littlehampton schools and both Chichester/Bognor and Worthing University campuses, helping to raise educational standards by providing better paid and higher quality work opportunities for local students.

Many social problems can be attributed to the demotivation associated with lack of opportunity. By motivating our young people in the right way we will address many social issues.

We want to see Arun’s top students go to university and graduate, but we recognise that if we want them to return to their home district, we must ensure that we have suitable high quality employment to offer them.

There are 5 universities within a 40 mile radius of Ford – Brighton, Southampton, Guildford, Portsmouth, and Chichester, together with Northbrook College at Worthing – providing a rich catchment area for a high technology business park. 

If we set our sights accordingly, we can reverse the outflow of our best students and instead attract university graduates to Arun.

Bognor and Littlehampton both have aging industrial/commercial areas, which have, over the years become “surrounded” by residential development. With commercial vehicle movements continuing to grow, it is now an increasing problem, both for the businesses and also the people living nearby.

If we can encourage the voluntary relocation of some, or all, of Arun’s “residential locked” industrial/commercial businesses to Ford it would draw much HGV traffic away from the towns. The businesses would benefit too, with far quicker and easier access to/from the A27.

If existing businesses can be persuaded to relocate they will, in turn, leave behind pockets of “previously developed land” for residential development.  

Existing businesses can be used to “kick start” the new Science or Technology Park and act as a catalyst to attract new businesses.

The two towns would become mainly residential once again and the industrial/commercial areas serving them would then be located just outside and equidistant between them.

We anticipate that some local businesses might find relocation to Ford attractive and some may not. Any relocation decisions should ultimately be taken by individual businesses, and should not be compulsory in any way.

FEH would set retail development at an absolute minimum within the development itself  to ensure that as much benefit as possible migrates outwards towards existing nearby retail operations in Littlehampton and Bognor, and particularly town centre shopping.

It is important to capture the benefits of any new development (i.e. the potential spending power of new residents) for the local economy rather than allowing those benefits to migrate elsewhere.

Being equidistant between both towns, development at Ford – either industrial/commercial or residential will look towards the local economies of Bognor and Littlehampton rather than the more glamorous and better off economies of nearby Chichester or Worthing.

FEH anticipates that, when fully developed, up to 11,000 new customers (i.e. new residents) could be generated largely (but not exclusively) for the benefit of the local retail and service economies of Littlehampton and Bognor. FEH could become an engine for a retail renaissance in both towns, generating substantial new wealth and employment.

A science or Technology Park at Ford could also be used to “tie in” existing disparate employment sites at Ford into one attractive and modern commercial area. Existing businesses at Ford would find themselves adjacent to a highly prestigious commercial area and would feel the uplifting benefit of close association with a modern state of the art commercial hub.

Much of the employment envisaged would be generated on site at Ford but with further significant spin off employment in Littlehampton and Bognor.

Improved earning capacity will increase spend in the local economy.

A stronger local economy will reduce the need for outward commuting, thereby improving sustainability.

FEH will make approximately 33 hectares of land available for employment creation, close to the A27, to enable local businesses to expand and to attract new businesses. In all it would be possible to create up to 4,000 new jobs.

FEH will provide a significant boost to the local economy in Arun and thereby assist ongoing regeneration efforts.

Page last edited: 12/01/2008